{{Short description|Concert venue in Boston, US (1974-1997)}} {{for|bars or restaurants called "Ratskellers" in general|Ratskeller}} {{Infobox venue | name = The Rathskeller | nickname = "The Rat" | image = TheRatInWinter.jpg | image_size = 250px | image_alt = Snowy B&W image of the venue with a woman (Aimee Mann) standing in front | location = 528 Commonwealth Avenue Kenmore Square, Boston {{coord|42|20|54.97|N|71|5|46|W|region:US|display=title}} | type = Music venue | event = Punk rock, alternative rock, hardcore punk, garage rock, rock and roll | opened = 1974 | closed = 1997 | demolished = 2000 | owner = Jimmy Harold }}
The '''Rathskeller''' (known as '''the Rat''') was a live music venue in Boston that was open from 1974 to 1997.{{r|Boston Mag}}<ref>{{cite news | title = Kenmore Square's fabled Rat to close this weekend | newspaper = The Boston Globe | first=Jim | last=Sullivan | date=15 November 1997 | page = C.5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Quint|first=Al|title=Suburban Voice On The Rat|date=18 November 2007 |url=https://subvox.blogspot.com/2007/11/suburban-voice-blog-51.html|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref> It was considered the "granddaddy" of Boston rock venues.<ref>{{cite web|title=Culture Brats, Bars of Our Youth|url=http://www.culturebrats.com/2010/11/bars-of-our-youth-rathskeller-boston-ma.html|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Time Magazine via Boston Groupie News|url=http://www.bostongroupienews.com/TimeMagazine.html|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref>
During its heyday, the Rat hosted such acts as the Cars, the Pixies, Metallica, Dead Kennedys, the Ramones, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Dinosaur Jr., the Replacements, the Police, and Soundgarden. From 1980 to 1987, the Hoodoo BBQ, which ''Esquire'' called one of the "100 Best Restaurants in America"—was located at the Rat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Phoenix On The Rat|url=http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/97/11/26/THE_RAT.html|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref>
In the 1960s the Rat was a restaurant and bar catering to college students. At the time, it offered live music in a back room, featuring local bands such as the Remains (who opened for the Beatles on their final tour), the Lost (with future Boston punk Willie "Loco" Alexander) and the Mods (whose drummer Harry Sandler went on to play with "Boston Sound" hitmakers Orpheus). The Remains were so popular in 1965 the owner of the Rathskeller was forced to open up the basement for the overflow crowds that the Remains attracted. Live music was phased out in the late 1960s, returning in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mmone.org/the-rat |title=The Rat |website=mmone.org |date= 30 July 2012|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref>
[[File:YoungSnakesRat.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Aimee Mann playing with her band the Young Snakes at The Rat, 1981|Aimee Mann (right) playing with the Young Snakes at the Rathskeller in 1981]]
The "locus of boston rock and roll,"<ref>{{cite web|title=The Changing Face of Kenmore Square, BU Today|url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/tracing-the-changing-face-of-kenmore-square/|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref> the Rat was noted for the artists who performed there before their commercial breakthroughs and the local bands and scenes it helped to develop. In 1976, the album ''Live at The Rat'' was released; it documented the music of the time as well as the importance of the club in the development of Boston rock and roll.<ref>{{cite web|title=Live At The Rat at All Music|website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-rat-mw0000972859|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref> The WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble was held at the Rat for its first three years and was originally referred to as the Rumble at the Rat.<ref>{{cite news | title = Winner is Neighborhoods in the Battle of the Bands | newspaper = The Boston Globe | first = Thomas | last = Sabulis | date = 6 July 1979 | page = 28 }}</ref> <!-- thumb|The location as of 2025 --> The Rat was important for its contribution to the Hardcore movement. In a 2010 interview, Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys said: "(The Rat) afforded us the opportunity to have a place to play and develop our fan base, and it was just amazing to us. And the reason I credit it with all of our success, was this is how we started to tour. The hardcore punk scene in the mid-’90s was huge in Boston."<ref name="Boston Mag">{{cite web|last1=Baker|first1=Matthew Reid|title=Top of Mind: Ken Casey, Extended Version|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2010/06/top-of-mind-ken-casey-extended-version/4/|website=bostonmagazine.com|publisher=Boston Magazine|accessdate=29 July 2014|date=July 2010}}</ref>
References to the Rat's cultural impact can be found in the book ''All Souls'', ''The Sound of Our Town'', the film ''All Ages: The Boston Hardcore Film,''<ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Hardcore at IMDB|website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361143/|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref> and in both ''Guitar Hero II'' and ''Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s''.
The Rathskeller closed in November 1997, and was torn down in October 2000 to make way for the Hotel Commonwealth, a 148-room luxury hotel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hotel Commonwealth, News|url=http://www.bu.edu/hotelcommonwealth/news/pr5.html|accessdate=3 February 2013}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://www.rockerzine.com/2016/03/8562/ "The Rat Remembered: 8 True (and Terrifying) Stories from Boston’s Legendary Rock Club" - Rockerzine.com 2016]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathskeller, The}} Category:Culture of Boston Category:Music venues in Boston Category:Nightclubs in Massachusetts Category:Former music venues in the United States Category:Demolished music venues in the United States Category:Punk rock venues Category:Drinking establishments in Boston Category:1974 establishments in Massachusetts Category:1997 disestablishments in Massachusetts Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2000 Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Massachusetts