Punk in Boston: A Lifestyle Turned Underground

Sandwiched between an attached restaurant and a Goodwill store, Paradise Rock Club is a fairly easy sight to miss given the fast-paced city life surrounding Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, MA. The Paradise, a 730-person capacity venue dedicated to Boston’s music scene since 1977, also remains one of the few venues that still strongly supports Boston’s punk scene since the genre’s decline over the past 30 years.

The crowd surrounding the Paradise on the night of punk band Anti-Flag’s only New England appearance is an accurate indicator of what remains of the Boston Hardcore scene. A small yet sturdy and united group of mostly young adults line the streets, with the occasional blue mohawk or spiked-leathered jacket spotting the crowd.
“The Paradise is definitely one of my favorite venues because of its small size and good music. Many of the bigger venues in Boston don’t even let you get up-close-and-personal with the band, and they usually don’t even book the underground types of bands I’m into,” said Sam Mitchell, an 18-year-old student from Roxbury, MA.

“It’s true,” said Mitchell’s roommate, 19-year-old Nicholas Karout, “Other than the Paradise, there are a few other good venues… the Middle East, Harper’s Ferry, Anchors Up… but it’s not easy. Good, pure punk shows are actually hard to find around the city.”

The scene at the Paradise greatly differs from what Alfie Bellini remembers as a young adult during punk’s heyday in Boston.

At 51 years old Bellini, a high school English teacher from Boonton, NJ, does not look like the typical punk stereotype. But his appearance has greatly changed since 1978, when he used to walk the streets of Boston clad in Dr. Marten boots and a leather jacket. “That was definitely my look back then. I still remember the days when I would hop on a bus from New York to Boston just for the weekends,” said Bellini. “We’d all be walking the streets around Fenway and there would always be some sleazy, underground bar with a punk band headlining.”

Today, many of the spots that catered to the punk lifestyle that those like Bellini followed during the late 1970s and early 1980s are defunct, including the once-popular venues The Rathskeller, Avalon, and Axis.

Once considered a premiere music venue of Greater Boston – despite its small size because of its basement location – The Rathskeller, or “The Rat,” housed famous acts including The Cars and Ramones until closing in 1997. Hotel Commonwealth now stands in its location. Both the Avalon and Axis were sold by owner Patrick T. Lyons in 2007 and later demolished by the House of Blues chain, a nationwide venue originating in Cambridge, MA that accommodates more towards mainstream music acts.

“I went to a Red Sox game last year with a few buddies, and man, the city’s different from what I remember,” Bellini said. “Most of the clubs and bars I remember going to don’t even look to be around anymore. I’m pretty sure I saw some nice hotel where The Rat used to be.”

The decline of Boston’s punk scene follows the decline of the music genre as a whole since the 1980s. Rolling Stone magazine’s Top Albums of 1977 included the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks and one of the top singles for the same year was the Ramones’ “Sheena is a Punk Rocker.” Both were very influential bands in regards not only to punk but to the entire 1970’s music era. Of the Top 25 for both albums and singles in 2009, not one punk band made the list. The more popular music of the generation includes many hip hop and alternative rock artists, including Jay-Z, U2, and Green Day.

“I think that punk culture, I’m talking good old fashion punk music with its rawness and ‘I don’t really give a shit’ attitude has died out everywhere, not only in Boston,” said Mitchell.

Even with its apparent drop in widespread popularity, the punk crowd that still gathers outside venues such as the Paradise gives hope that punk music is indeed not officially dead in Boston.

“Punk sorta died once it became a fashion, but the music still lives.” Bellini said. “I see it out there. I think it’ll survive just fine.”