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The Rathskeller

The Rathskeller

The Rathskeller (known as The Rat for short) was a Kenmore Square live music venue in Boston, Massachusetts that opened in 1974. As implied by its name "Rathskeller" (German: "council cellar"), the Rathkskeller was a dimly-lit establishment with a bar and restaurant on the street level and a rock club in the basement.

The Rathskeller is notable for being one of Greater Boston's premier music venues for three decades and the starting point for the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble. [ [http://www.takeourword.com/TOW154/page2.html] Your Etymological Queries Answered]

One Boston-area magazine describes:

There was also a new Ground Zero for live performance in Boston at that time. Deep below freaky-funky Kenmore Square, the Rathskellar (or, as everyone called it, “The Rat”) was a dingy subterranean dive bar that would appeal to the ever-burgeoning punk movement, and that hosted shows by everyone from Talking Heads and Tom Petty to Thin Lizzy and The Ramones. Everybody played there—and would continue to do so until the club finally closed its doors in 1997 amid a movement toward gentrification. [ [http://www.panoramamagazine.com/panoramamagazine/articles/boston_rocks.aspx] Panorama Magazine, "Official Guide to Boston"]
The Rat also hosted such acts as the Cars, Pixies, the Dead Kennedys, and Replacements and Mr. Butch. The Rathskeller closed in November 1997 and was ultimately razed in October 2000 to make way for the Hotel Commonwealth, a 148-room luxury hotel of which Boston University is a limited partner. [ [http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/press/PressDisplay.asp?pressID=57 Boston Redevelopment Authority ] ]

In recognition of their place in Boston's punk rock history, Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks [http://www.easternstandardboston.com] , currently located at 528 Commonwealth Avenue (the former site of The Rat), offers a cocktail known as "The Rat" which consists of Fernet Branca and Coca-Cola.

The Rat is referenced in both "Guitar Hero II" and "", where one of the venues is called "The Rat Cellar" and it is located in Boston.

Official "RAT" gear can be bought at QRST's.com [http://www.qrsts.com] including t-shirts, coiffee mugs, mousepads and hats. Just click on "The Rat" logo located on QRST's front page. www.qrsts.com

Notable acts

*The Cars
*The Dead Kennedys
*Dropkick Murphys
*SNFU
*Joan Jett
*The Melvins
*Metallica
*The Minutemen
*Mission of Burma
*Mr. Butch
*The Pixies
*The Police
*The Ramones
*The Replacements
*R.E.M.
*Rick James
*Sonic Youth
*Talking Heads
*Thin Lizzy
*Tom Petty
*Plane Jaynes
*Toxic Narcotic
*The Unseen
*The Casualties
*Gang Green
*Swingin Utters
*Aus-Rotten
*Destroy
*Dropdead
*Bouncing Souls
*Tree
*Mung

ee also

*The Middle East
*The Channel Nightclub

References

External links

*myspace|id=rathskeller|name=The Rathskeller
* [http://www.geocities.com/uridfm/r/rat1.htm NEMS page on The Rat]
* [http://www.boston.com/ae/sidekick/blog/2006/12/rip_the_rat_1.html Boston Globe]


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