Boston hardcore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boston hardcore scene is an influential hardcore punk scene. It evolved in large part due to the city's working class tradition, large college presence, independent record labels and a revolt against the conservative values the city was founded on.
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[edit] Boston hardcore music history
The dual environments of conservative working class Boston and the radical/liberal nature of the largest college populations per capita - and several art schools - created a mix for hardcore to rise out of. The colleges and universities in the city offered a unique venue for non-commercial music to be played. Several have the own campus radio stations, such as WUMB, WMBR and WERS. The colleges also feed the local clubs and bar scene, where local hardcore bands got gigs.
First generation Boston hardcore bands - as documented in American Hardcore "film" - included SS Decontrol, Gang Green, Jerry's Kids, The F.U.'s, Negative Affects, D.Y.S. and Impact Unit.
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 Missioon of Burma's "final show" where members of many leading hardcore bands created a near riot, "ruining" Burma's swang song. This group was known as the "Boston Crew" and were affiliated with the band 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 for 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. FSU has since spread to other cities.
The Boston hardcore scene has beeen relatively quiet on the musical front in the 2000s, although bands like Mongrel, 26 Beers, and Rejected Society keep it going, with concerts at Reflections, Artspace, and Hutch's Basement.
On the violence front, the "crews" re-emerged with the DVD release of Boston Beatdown - a self-produced documentation of at show violence. This attracted local media and police attention.
[edit] Record labels and famous records
Independent record labels like Taang! Records, Bridge 9 Records, Rodent Popsicle 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.
[edit] Scenes
[edit] 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.
During the summer, after Red Sox games it was common to see fights break out amongst the punks and the more conservative suburban Boston 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.
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 a new 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.
[edit] 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 continue to fuel the music scene in the area.
- Central Square: Clubs like the Middle East and TT The Bears fuel this scene.
- Gloucester: A small scene focused around the Artspace, it is a commonplace for modern underground Boston punk bands to get their start.
[edit] Boston hardcore bands
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[edit] 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 bear where bands sometimes play. It is in contrast to the huge dance clubs that surround it
- Bunnratty’s
- Cantone's
- The Channel - One of Bostons early 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 it's pit where punks and later jocks who thought they were punks would mosh
- The Club
- Great Scott
- Green Street Station [closed]
- Harpers Ferry
- Johnny D's
- The Library [closed]
- The Middle East
- O'Briens Pub
- The Paradise
- The Rat - Located in Kenmore Square. It was a basement bar where the music was loud and the sweating concrete floors were always sticky and smelled of stale beer. Many bands got there 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. The club flooded in 1997 during torrential rains and was soon closed after.
- Reflections
- TT The Bears
