- 10 GHOSTS -

A WALKING TOUR OF BOSTON MUSIC VENUES

 

Welcome to 10 Ghosts: a Walking Tour of Boston Music Venues!

From the dirty, beer-drenched, and graffitied dive bars to the grand, gold-tiled halls of the larger auditoriums and music halls, Boston venues hold extraordinary memories for those who played in them and for the music fans who saw some of the most seminal musicians and bands in history.

The venue situation in Boston is a tenuous one. The heyday of the dive bar venue has fallen by the wayside to be replaced by corporate venues that squeeze out the small venue owner, the more minor acts, and the working musicians who play there. Most venues from the 60s, 70s, and 80s are long gone, closed for various reasons. Whether due to gentrification or, more recently, due to COVID, the ever-changing landscape of the city has pushed music venues further out from the old neighborhoods in Boston proper and Greater Boston, where some of the most critical stages once were. The Rathskeller, The Channel, The Underground, Bunratty’s...stages where bands like The Police and U2 played their first U.S. gigs are gone, but the musicians and their music are forever linked to the venues that brought music to the Boston masses.

With these issues in mind, take a walking tour of 10 music venues that are gone but not forgotten. Using the Google Map interface below, you can walk from venue to venue (or at least where they once were) and learn why these venues were important, why they need to be remembered, some of the great bands who played there, and other exciting stories from musicians and audience members alike.

STOP ONE:
CHET’S LAST CALL

Mooney, C . Chet's Last Call - Flyer for Strangehold's Record Release W/The Del Fuegos. 2013. Photograph. Flickr, December 3, 2013.

Years: 1983 – 1987
Opener: The Bosstones
Feature: The Beastie Boys

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: Storyville. This is about a 14 minute walk. (½ mile) 

STOP TWO:
STORYVILLE

 Pee Wee Russell: Jazz at Storyville   Label: Savoy MG 15014   10" LP 1952
Goldblatt, Burt. Jazz at Storyville, Vol. 2. 1978. Photograph. Smithsonian, February 1, 1952.

Years: 1950-1960
Opener: Charlie Parker
Feature: Ella Fitzgerald

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: The Channel.  This is about a 21 minute walk (1 mile).

STOP THREE:
THE CHANNEL

Homan, Nate. ’80S GLORY DAYS AND THE GORY DEMISE OF THE CHANNEL. 2019. Photograph. DigBoston, October 9, 2019.

Years: 1980-1991
Opener: Gang Green
Feature: The Cars

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: Boston Tea Party. This is about a 33 minute walk. (1.5 miles)

STOP FOUR:
BOSTON TEA PARTY

Engstrom, Eric. Recalling the Legendary Rock Club the Boston Tea Party 50 Years Later. 1969. Photograph. Huffington Post, May 11, 1969.

Years: 1967-1970
Opener: The Velvet Underground
Feature: Led Zeppelin

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: Paul's Mall (The Jazz Workshop). This is about a 17 minute walk. (.07 miles) 

STOP FIVE:
PAUL’S MALL

Moss, Bernie. Paul's Mall and Jazz Workshop, 733 Boylston Street: Exterior Shot of Building Facade. Photograph. Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online.

Years: 1965-1978
Opener: Barry Manilow/Herbie Hancock
Feature: Bob Marley/Miles Davis

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: Psychedelic Supermarket. This is about an 11 minute walk. (0.5 miles) 

STOPOVER:
THE ELIOT HOTEL

STOP SIX:
PSYCHEDELIC SUPERMARKET

GRATEFUL DEAD - BOSTON 1967. 1967. Photograph. Jerrygarcia.Com, December 9, 1967.

Years: 1967-1969
Opener: The Mothers of Invention
Feature: Cream

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: The Rathskellar. This is about a 21 minute walk. (0.9 miles) 

STOP SEVEN:
THE RATHSKELLAR

Phlash, Philin. The Rathskeller. 2022. Photograph. Boston Globe, August 4, 2022.

Years: 1974-1977
Opener: The Police
Feature: The Cars

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: T.T. The Bears Place. This is about a 36 minute walk. (1.6 miles) 

STOP EIGHT:
T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE

Gonson, J.J. 7Seconds Performs at T.T. the Bear's in 1987. Photograph. WBUR.

Years: 1984-2015
Opener: Xmortis
Feature: Rock and Roll Rumble

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: The Underground. This is about a 14 minute walk. (½ mile) 

STOP NINE:
THE UNDERGROUND

Grecco, Micheal. The Dead Kennedys Perform in Boston in 1981. Micheal Grecco Productions.

Years: 1980-1981
Opener: Dead Kennedys
Feature: The Neats

Continue on to the next stop on the tour: Bunratty's. This is about a 42 minute walk. (1.8 miles) 

STOP TEN:
BUNRATTY’S

Tree, Dave. Sam Black Church at Bunratty's in 1989. Photograph. WBUR.

Years: 1969-1993
Opener: The Cowsills
Feature: Aimee Mann

This is the end of the tour. Go stop by The Avenue Bar at 1249 Commonwealth Ave for a nice dinner!