BY KEVIN DIFFILY // OCT. 3, 2013 //
Boston is home to a wealth of concert venues that attract big-name artists as well as huge crowd demand. The TD Garden has hosted some of the biggest acts in the world in recent years, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rihanna, the Foo Fighters and Justin Bieber. The House of Blues, Boston has also played host to bands of high caliber recently, such as Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, New Found Glory, and Yellowcard.
The Paradise Rock Club, located on Boston University’s West campus, recently hosted the Arctic Monkeys, one of the biggest alternative bands on the planet. The ’Dise, as it is affectionately known, is also where U2 played their first show in the United States way back in the 1970s.
It’s obvious that Boston has an amazing music scene. But where does the fuel for this scene come from?
If you ask me, the answer is the local punk and hardcore fans. There are countless dive bars and basement clubs across the area, from Allston to Cambridge to Quincy, that have small-scale shows featuring local bands every weekend. In fact, I recently went with my roommate and some friends to see his brother’s band, The Hideout, play a basement show at The Cantab in Cambridge. (The basement is referred to as Club Bohemia to distinguish from the bar upstairs.)
There were four bands, all of which hail from the Boston area, at this show: The New Warden, Trophy Lungs, The Hideout, and The Offseason. The cover charge was $10, and the bar had $4 Narragansett Lagers—a staple of the New England music scene—on tap. Each band mostly played punk rock and pop-punk, and played for about half an hour.
What struck me most about the show was the camaraderie between the bands and their fans. While there were probably no more than 30 people in the crowd, the atmosphere was enjoyable because most people knew at least one of the bands personally. No one was earning big bucks from their performances; the bands were just playing because they love to do it. The crowd was there because they wanted to support the local bands.
This is the passion that makes the Boston area such a great place to see a concert. So get out there and support the local music scene.
