By Annie Henderson, News Staff
Music fans – want to know where to rock out to some jams in the Hub? Here’s a sampling of local venues for students to explore this fall.
Paradise Rock Club
967 Commonwealth Avenue
B Green Line to Pleasant St.
thedise.com
(617) 562-8800
The Paradise Rock Club is the place to go in Boston for many big name indie tours. Despite its sold-out shows and arena-worthy sound system, the ’Dise maintains an intimacy that many bigger venues lack. Its space is large enough to host nationally established bands yet still allows attendees to push their way to the front of the stage if truly desired.
Acts set to perform at the Paradise in the next few months include The Shins, Lotus, James Blake, Ra Ra Riot, and Portgual. The Man. Tickets for Paradise shows can be found online at ticketmaster.com or at their box office. Shows are generally priced 15 to 30 dollars and all tickets are floor admission.
The Middle East
480 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge Red Line or #1 bus to
Central Square
www.mideastclub.com
(617) 864-3278
Heading over to Central Square in Cambridge, music fans can visit The Middle East any night of the week to catch a variety of different shows. The Middle East houses four venues, with stages both upstairs and downstairs, the nightclub ZuZu, plus a Middle Eastern restaurant that also features live music.
For the 18+ scene, check out Throwed, an electro/indie dance party every Tuesday downstairs with resident DJ E-Marcé, or head upstairs to check out a rock show featuring local or touring talent. ZuZu also hosts DJs, local bands, and dance parties. The restaurant on the corner has plenty of jazz concerts, plus weekly events like open-mic comedy on Tuesdays, Funk Fridays, and Sunday night belly dancing. Most of these events are 21+, however the award-winning Middle Eastern restaurant is all ages.
Advance tickets ranging from 10 to 20 dollars can be found on the venue’s website, but are generally not necessary except for some downstairs events.
Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Avenue
66 bus to Commonwealth Ave or
B Green Line to Harvard Ave
www.greatscottboston.com
(617) 566-9014
Located on the corner of Harvard and Commonwealth Avenues, Great Scott is a staple in the Allston and Greater Boston music scene. The venue, which also functions as a bar, hosts live performances seven nights a week. It is locally owned and operated, and has a more dive-y feel to it than bigger Boston venues.
Many emerging local acts play at Great Scott, although over the years indie greats such as Of Montreal, Hot Chip and Wolfmother have graced the stage as well. Touring groups performing at Great Scott often feature local support bands as openers. The venue also hosts dance nights, with international and local DJs, and comedy nights.
Weeknight shows are usually 18+, while weekends are 21+. Tickets range from five to 15 dollars. As a local venue, Great Scott uses Ticketweb as its ticket vendor, although advance tickets are not usually necessary. Great Scott is a cash only venue.
House of Blues
15 Landsdowne Street
Walking or Green Line to
Kenmore Square
houseofblues.com
(888) 693-2583
Aside from arena acts, the House of Blues brings in many of the nationally touring bands that come through Boston. With artists ranging rom Lupe Fiasco to Mogwai, Deadmau5 to The Kooks, and Hanson to New Found Glory, almost everyone has a reason to see a show at the House of Blues. It has a large capacity, with three levels and a VIP section. Mezzanine and stadium seats, on the second and third floor respectively, are cheaper but much harder to see the stage from.
The general admission and mezzanine sections are standing room only. With more space, the House of Blues can hold some of the bigger-budget spectacle shows along with standard rock shows.
It is within walking distance from the Northeastern campus and across from Fenway Park on Landsdowne Street. Tickets range from 20 to 40 dollars and can be found at Livenation.com or at the Orpheum box office downtown. Most shows at House of Blues are all ages.
Brighton Music Hall
158 Brighton Avenue
66 bus to Brighton Ave or B
Green Line to Harvard Ave
www.brightonmusichall.com
(617) 779-0140
The recently opened Brighton Music Hall, formerly Boston rock standby Harper’s Ferry, showcases smaller touring acts and some relatively large local bands. This sister club of the Paradise features up-and-coming indie gems or lesser-known touring groups play in a small and low-key environment. Since it functions mainly as a venue with a bar for those of age, all shows at the Brighton Music Hall are 18+. It is located at the corner of Harvard and Brighton Avenues, occupying a convenient and central location in Allston.
Some bands set to play there this fall include Cymbals Eat Guitars, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Laura Marling, Neon Indian and Metronomy. Tickets range from 10 to 20 dollars, though Brighton Music Hall is a LiveNation venue, so online fees can bring the price up. Tickets may also be purchased at the box office of the Paradise.
Q&A with DAve [sic] Crespo, Events and Music Director for UNregular radio and F Nice Records
The Huntington News: What venues do your companies book for?
DAve [sic] Crespo: We book mostly local talent shows at 200 person capacity venues like TT the Bears, Great Scott, Church, the Middle East, and McGann’s.
HN: Which are your favorites to go to?
DC: I’d say Church and the Middle East upstairs. I love that you can get food at the Middle East, and Church is just a fun place to hang out at, but McGann’s is my home.
HN: What would you say are the best 18+ venues?
DC: That’s why I like the Middle East, they’re good for doing lots of 18+ events. Also TT’s, Great Scott, and All Asia – that’s a place that gets overlooked a lot. Some of the newest stuff in the city goes through there; a lot of people play their first set there.
HN: What are some other venues that tend to get overlooked in the Boston scene?
DC: I think newer venues tend to be the ones that get overlooked. Also those that aren’t bunched together. The Central Square venues get noticed and the same goes with Allston venues because they’re clustered. Although, there are lots of great venues in Union Square that get overlooked too – PA’s Lounge, Precinct, McCabe’s, Rosebud.
HN: Would you say that different venues in Boston are geared toward certain genres of music?
DC: Sure. For your indie rock shows you’ve got those in Central Square plus Great Scott. Pop rock is more at the Hard Rock Café and Church. You also have hip-hop at Church on weeknights, and also Good Life, which is another venue we book for. Venues definitely acquire different genres over time.
