Boston hardcore
Boston Hardcore is the influential hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. It evolved due to the city's American working class traditions, large numbers of colleges and art schools, independent record labels and possibly a revolt against the conservative values upon which the city was founded.
Boston hardcore music history
The colleges and universities of Greater Boston offered a favorable venue for non-commercial music to be played. Several schools have their own radio stations, such as WUMB, WMBR and WERS. The colleges also supplied young patrons for the local nightclubs and bars where local hardcore bands got gigs.
First generation Boston hardcore bands as documented in American Hardcore included SS Decontrol, Gang Green, Jerry's Kids, The F.U.'s, Negative FX, D.Y.S. and Impact Unit.[1]
Hardcore quickly usurped the existing "alternative" punk scene which included bands such as Mission of Burma. This created a "generation gap" conflict that could be seen at events such as Mission of Burma's "final show" where members of many leading hardcore bands created a near riot when Negative FX's sound was shut down due to the slam dancing "ruining" Burma's swan song.[2] This group was known as the "Boston Crew" and were affiliated with SS Decontrol. They were a militant straight edge group pioneered by SSD guitarist Al Barile. Their hard-line attitude became a defining characteristic for later bands such as PTL Klub, Slapshot, Eye For An Eye, Ten Yard Fight, Crossface, and Blood for Blood.
The Boston hardcore scene was later overrun by neo-Nazis, so a group of Boston hardcore fans created a group called FSU — who have been credited with getting rid of them. Their methods were aggressive, and they would attack Nazis by numbers at concerts. They also went after the drunken jocks who would pour into the bars and clubs on Lansdowne Street just opposite of Fenway Park. They were reported to have attacked kids for drinking alcohol or doing drugs, because that went against their straight edge beliefs.[3] FSU has since spread to other cities.
The Boston hardcore scene has been relatively quiet on the musical front in the 2000s, although bands like Death Before Dishonor, For The Worse, and Mouth Sewn Shut keep it going, with concerts at Tigers Den (Brockton), Artspace (Gloucester), and Central Sq Elks Lodge (Cambridege) . On the violence front, the "crews" re-emerged with the DVD release of Boston Beatdown - a self-produced documentation of show violence, even though the crews are almost defunct because of lack of neo-nazis. This attracted local media and police attention.
Record labels and famous records
Independent record labels like Taang! Records, Bridge 9 Records, Rodent Popsicle Records, Welfare Records, Hydra Head Records, Big Wheel Records and Deathwish Inc. help to fuel the punk culture in Boston . The highlight of the early New England hardcore era was the This Is Boston, Not L.A. LP, which was a compilation of local artists..
Scenes
Kenmore Square
As a result of the defunct club The Rathskeller, an inexpensive pizza parlor, and a few used record stores in Kenmore Square, Kenmore became a hangout for skate punks and members of the hardcore scene.
After Boston Red Sox games it was common to see fights break out amongst the punks and the more conservative suburban Red Sox fans. Mr. Butch was a fixture in this scene, and could often be seen playing air guitar with his dreadlocks swinging. He was a legendary character in Boston hardcore culture.[citation needed]
This neighborhood has changed quite a bit, and the building that held the Rathskeller, Planet Records and The Pizza Joint was demolished to make room for the Commonwealth Hotel. With the Rathskeller gone, the scene moved closer to Lansdowne Street, which is a street of clubs and bars on one side, and Fenway Park on the other.
Other scenes
- Harvard Square: The Pit at the Harvard Square subway stop is a longtime punk hangout.
- Allston: The high college population that lives in Allston continues to fuel the music scene in the area.
- Central Square: Clubs like The Middle East and TT The Bears fuel this scene.
Boston hardcore bands
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Venues
The following Boston venues have hosted hardcore concerts:
- The (Fishtown) Artspace
- Axis - A Gothic night club that would host the occasional hardcore band. Mostly though it was a bunch of kids in fishnet and black eyeliner.
- Bill's Bar - A bar on Lansdowne Street with cheap beer where bands will sometimes play. It is in contrast to the huge dance clubs that surround it.
- Bunnratty’s
- Cantone's
- Cambridge Elks Lodge - Number one D.I.Y. venue in the greater Boston area, this hall is booked by many different individuals and holds shows nearly every weekend* The Channel - One of Boston's earliest locations that would allow hardcore bands to play. The Club would headline local bands such as Gang Green, Slapshot and The F.Us as well as out of state bands like Butthole Surfers, Hüsker Dü and The Dead Boys. It was well known for its pit where punks and later jocks who thought they were punks would mosh.
- The Club
- Gallery East - Art Gallery by day, venue for all-ages shows in the early '80s, it was demolished during the gentrification of the leather district by South Station.
- Great Scott
- Green Street Station - Venue in Jamaica Plain was dirty and rickity with cheep beer and great local bands now closed.
- Harpers Ferry
- Johnny D's
- The Library [closed]
- The Middle East - Located in Central Square Cambridge they have two venues Middle East upstairs a smaller venue where less known local bands can be seen and Middle East Downstairs a larger venue - where WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble is currently held.
- O'Briens Pub
- The Paradise
- The Rat - Located in Kenmore Square. In the basement was a bar where the music was loud and the sweating concrete floors were always sticky and smelled of stale beer. Many bands got their start at the Rat and it had one of the best jukeboxes in Boston. If a band did not play there they would wind up there for beers later. The club flooded in 1997 during torrential rains and was closed soon after.
- Reflections
- TT The Bears