Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It was definitely gritty, more like Central Square, in the mid to late 80s. The Rat was a fantastic rock club. They never really seemed to recover from that huge rain/flood. That had to be 89 or 90 or so.
Well they threw all that cat litter on the floor which made for a good "funk"
And then there was the Landsdowne strip with "9 Landsdowne" club and CITI at 15 Landsdowne which became Avalon for years with various themed nights then Steve Tyler's Mama Kin was annexed on to it. Then Venus de Milo came to be at 9 Landsdowne, near Bill's Bar. It should have been called Pat Lyon's way. Talk about an energized and diverse crowd down there at night.
Totally. You would see people in line at Karma club for trance night, Outside the Axis alley for Melt Banana, and club crowd outside Avalon. There was also a good Mod night at Bills bar. This is all in one row on one night.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,940,305 times
Reputation: 40635
Lansdowne has been happening a long time. The final location of the Boston Tea Party was there. Before my time, but if you want a who's who of 1960s and 1970s big time classic rock acts, look through their concert posters.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,940,305 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeePee
Well they threw all that cat litter on the floor which made for a good "funk"
Yeah, now that's class. I think the last show I saw there was ca 93, a horrible Christian Death gig.
In the late 80s the door man with the voice box made quite an impression. Still, I missed the heyday by about a decade. I think my first time there was probably 88. Often stopping at Nuggets to dig after. Saw many killer gigs though, Slapshot "Step on It" release show (a bloodbath), Inside Out (pre RATM Zach De La Rocha), and loads and loads more.
Good times. After The Rat and The Channel closed, and the old Bunrattys was no more, lots of the gritty venues went away. Sure, there were shows, but yeah.
Yeah, now that's class. I think the last show I saw there was ca 93, a horrible Christian Death gig.
In the late 80s the door man with the voice box made quite an impression. Still, I missed the heyday by about a decade. I think my first time there was probably 88. Often stopping at Nuggets to dig after. Saw many killer gigs though, Slapshot "Step on It" release show (a bloodbath), Inside Out (pre RATM Zach De La Rocha), and loads and loads more.
Good times. After The Rat and The Channel closed, and the old Bunrattys was no more, lots of the gritty venues went away. Sure, there were shows, but yeah.
That Inside Out 7" is still in my rotation. Can't say that about many other hardcore records...
I think the last show I saw there was Sick of it all.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,940,305 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeePee
That Inside Out 7" is still in my rotation. Can't say that about many other hardcore records...
I think the last show I saw there was Sick of it all.
Never saw SOIA there. Last time I saw them in Boston was 89 (remember that well), at Bunrattys with Rest in Pieces, Eye for an Eye and Crossface. Also, a brutally violent pit. That Crossface crew was.... intense. Was at a show at Ground Zero when they played where things got dicey too.
And yeah, the Inside Out and Burn EPs are keepers from that era. I had no idea who Inside Out were, they were just on the bill. I went for other bands playing. Lucky me.
Wow, it's finally happening. And we knew it was about to happen.
Not sure if it's been knocked down yet, but as of last week, fencing hid the former facades of the entire building.
Yes, it was the Ramrod/Machine LGBTQ bars (well, simply "gay" back in their heyday), Baseball Tavern (which was a gay bar called by its address 1254 or The Twelve), Sleepy's mattress, Domino's pizza and the former White Hen pantry years ago conveniently open late for the adjacent bar crowd, which then became a liquor store but had been vacant in recent years. And McDonald's drive thru to the side closed years ago in favor of luxury housing. And wasn't there a yogurt shop and an adult lifestyle boutique years ago in that mix at a time? Anything else we can recall there?
It's actually somewhat iconic, as the Pride parade started there (?) in recent years. I even recall a few hundred folks lined up overnight along there awaiting the Red Sox 2004 parade, cheering as I drove by and honked in appreciation.
It just seems eerie, and sad, to now see it all gutted inside as I peered over the fencing.
Oh well, memories...
It's all slated to become a small flavorless dorm?
It was never a good location. A lot of gay bashing used to occur from the homphobes. The type of violence you’d never hear about on channel 5 news. And, yes, it wasn’t LGBT, it was a gay men’s bar. Sadly, social media is displacing social interaction within the gay community, and has also introduced an explosion of closeted, often, married men satisfying their hidden sexual frustrations, and/or their curiosity. Isn’t it sad, that so many in Boston seeking a vibrant gay night life feel they have to go to Providence. I don’t understand it? Boston has approximately 700k people, plus surrounded by cities, have tons of students, plus the people have money, and yet the gay clubs don’t thrive like they once used to. Please; forget the excuse it’s because land values are so high in Boston, that excuse is lame, as gay night clubs ordinarily bring in a lot of money.
The question is, how does Providence, with approximately 180k people sustain 6 gay night clubs? Years ago, they used to say it was because Providence was a mafia town, and the mob liked the gays because they were private, kept to themselves, never drew attention, almost never started fights in the clubs, and had money to spend, but I don’t think that excuse works anymore. Providence is just a party town. They don’t need much of a reason to celebrate in Providence, they just do. I never really understood the continued success of Water Fire? Once or twice, a year ok? But, multiple times during the summer season?
The question is, how does Providence, with approximately 180k people sustain 6 gay night clubs?
Providence is just a better place for non corporate entertainment. Boston has become a place with a really high buy in, and a lot more bureaucratic which is just another Mafia if you will.
Totally. You would see people in line at Karma club for trance night, Outside the Axis alley for Melt Banana, and club crowd outside Avalon. There was also a good Mod night at Bills bar. This is all in one row on one night.
It was the 1270, and later became known as Quest and later still it was a salsa club.
Oh... you're right, the 1270! Even had a roof deck and a small additional basement dance area; Baseball Tavern later utilized the roof deck, as why not: it faced Fenwsy Park.
1254 is the Ramrod (and Machine club) address, of course. It showed up on my Uber and Lyft driver apps (on their fewer and fewer busy nights in recent years).
And Machine was not a nightly club, and seemed to become quite mixed in recent years, with Mondays night being drag show night, and not uncommon to have young women out for the night calling for an Uber from there and I received their request; in fact, back in 2012 or so when driving a cab, one young male from Ukraine jumped in my cab, complaining how there's too many straight females in the crowd that night!
And in recent years, Machine seemed popular with many young straight folks on certain Friday night, all lined up down the block waiting for admission. And weren't they notable for 18+ nights in recent years? Maybe that was those select Friday nights I noticed?
Yes, it seems straight women long ago here and maybe all cities started tagging along with gay male friends to gay clubs, at least some clubs. Saw that often when I picked up rideshare calls at Club Cafe also.
.
Last edited by bostonguy1960; 12-26-2020 at 02:52 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
