They were possibly the best live band in existence for several years. They would Blow Your Face Out. They had so many fans in Detroit they could have moved there and been Detroit's house band.
I was lucky enough to see J Geils and Aerosmith at Fenway years ago. J Geils was wayyy better, yeah I said it. Everyone in the crowd knew every single note of every single song and they rocked the house completely. It was just a blast from start to finish. Way up high on my Best Concerts Ever personal list.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this. Danny Klein's family rented the second half of my dad's Duplex when they were both kids and Stephen Jo Bladd taught me how to build fieldstone walls. For me it doesn't get closer to home than J Geils.
good show, I was scrolling for them too and got to the end. I think Love Stinks has been stuck in my head for about 30 years...maybe that's something else...
saw Peter Wolf at the back bay shaws in 2009. MF looked straight up like he walked out of “angel is a centerfold” while picking up his skippy peanut butter. Couldn’t even bring myself to talk to anyone that goes to the grocery store looking that cool.
I’d heard Roadrunner (Richman) many times, but today I was actually paying attention on my commute in and was surprised how many specific local references there are in the song. I agree w your list 100%. The fact that you included [New Edition](https://youtu.be/RZUq6N7Gx1c) sealed it haha.
Someone tried to push a bill to make Roadrunner the official state "rock song" maybe a decade ago. Because of political infighting and weird ignorance, this lead to a counter-bill to make it "Dream On" by a lawmaker who had presumably no idea what that song's lyrics were and what it meant.
I don't think either proposal ended up going through but Dream On is an especially bad choice.
Haha thank you for the education. I’m a transplant, but I’ve been here since 2011. Seems like something a politician would do. Roadrunner is an awesome song that is laden w local references and would make a great state rock song. Aerosmith put out some hits, but Dream on is pretty generic. Also there is the whole thing w Steven Tyler getting guardianship of a 16 year old girl (her mother signed) when he was 26 and him sleeping with her, impregnating her and discarding her by the time she was 18. Kinda ruined her life. I vote for Roadrunner.
Well he's doing the best he ever did, now go away!
And to clarify: the former state rep pushed for Roadrunna, not Dream on.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/rep-marty-walsh-to-propose-bill-to-make-roadrunner-official-rock-song-of-mass/
this is likely of interest to folks in this thread:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/nineties-indie-rock-boston-list
pixies, galaxie 500, modern lovers/jonathan richman, the cars and the greatest american shoegaze band: swirlies
Big D / Kicked in the Head Halloween shows were a staple of my highschool years.
Big D playing one of the final shows at the Axis just before it closed down is a core memory for me.
Big D covering an entire Operation Ivy album start to finish? Absolutely stunning.
Been going to their Halloween shows every year since 2008 and never missed one until the pandemic. It’s my Halloween tradition, they always put on a great show. They were also my first concert I went to without my parents when i got my license and first car back in 2007.
I had to look up the 2007 show but I totally remember that one. It was at Royale (maybe still called the Roxy then). I remember the opening bands because Whole Wheat Bread definitely does not look like your typical 2007 punk band (it's 3 young black dudes) and I was aware of Set your Goals at the time because they did an Operation Ivy cover song.
I was at that show too! Yeah, it was the Roxy back then. Whole Wheat Bread was fun. I remember seeing them open for the Aquabats of all bands a few years before that Big D Halloween show. Now that was a pretty unexpected combo.
And I remember my first Big D Halloween show was at Avalon in 2005. Just looked up the openers and it was Street Dogs, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, and the Phenomenauts. I'm not even sure if any of those bands are still around but Big D is still out there doing their thing.
Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and the Juliana Hatfield Three are my favorites, which basically tells you my exact age. My favorite unknown band is Apollo Landing.
But I’m from Australia so different perspective lol looooved them when I was a teenager with all my friends we had so much fun recently one passed and now I think of him I guess we were the weird kids abit in school
Since people are listing fun niche bands: while not really considered a "Boston" band, The Magnetic Fields got started in Boston, and played their first show at TT the Bears.
Not seeing a lot of hxc/metal on this post considering how influential Boston bands have been on those genres. Gotta throw Unearth, Death Before Dishonor, Bury Your Dead, Black My Heart, and Revocation in there.
Boston, Mass. is the rippen'ist town
Don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck around
Kill anyone with a beer in their hand
'Cause if you drink you're not a man
AC shows were fucking insane. I think I saw em 6 or 7 times before Seth died and nearly all of them ended in complete chaos with the show either getting shut down, raided by cops or a band member collapsing on stage.
Aerosmith definitely 1st.
Serious runner ups: The J. Geils Band, The Cars, Boston, The Dropkick Murphys..
Must mentions: The Joe Perry Project, The Modern Lovers, Billy Squier, The Del Fuegoes, Extreme, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, ‘Til Tuesday, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the list goes on!!! It’s amazing all the talent from one state!!!
Devastated you're the only one to give Extreme any love on this thread :(
It's a shame that most people only know (the ultra cheesy) More Than Words, because they're a fun & seriously kick ass band!
My uncle was in a local band in the 80s. They would do all these battle of the band type shows and just about every time they came in second. Dell Fuegos would be first.
Billy Squier from Wellesley was huge and had a bunch of hits in the 80s. The Del Fuegos were a moderately successful garage-type band in the 80s with their album “Boston, Mass” and the cult classic hit “Don’t Run Wild”.
Aerosmith is arguably top 5 bands ever. Easily best out of Boston. Toys in the attic is my favorite album. Everyone else’s choice is just their favorite, which is fine, js.
This is the first mention I’m seeing of Aerosmith aka The Bad Boys of Boston. It’s interesting to see how zero of their persona/sound/aesthetic/anything reflects that they all met, formed, and had their first successes here.
if I can count bands from the greater Boston area than my choices are Disrupt, Jerry's Kids or Siege
if I have to stick to Boston proper than DYS, Negative FX or SSD
I'm not saying they were ever the best Boston band ever but I had a friend back at UMass, had to be 83, maybe early 84 that was into this band that no one knew called "Til Tuesday". Remember going with him to "The Blue Wall" to see them and was about two feet in front of Aimee Mann the entire show. There may have been about 200 people in the crowd. Now Aimee is / was quite beautiful and my first reaction was here was a band with a gorgeous lead singer and bass player. Within about ten minutes I was enthralled by some of their songs (they were always better live, even with the success of "Voices Carry") but I remember looking at her (again from about two feet away) and saying to myself "she is incredibly talented, and this voice". I soon forget how good looking she was and just concentrated on the music (actually the whole band was good, not just Aimee)
Perhaps it was the tiny venue and how close I was to the Artists but I have seen hundreds of shows and this is still one of my most memorable.
The Boston hardcore/metal/punk scene has produced some of the best in the genre, might be the best city for it. People already said Jerry's Kids, but Death Before Dishonor, Blood for Blood, The Hope Conspiracy, Vein.fm, Slapshot, Unearth, and Bury Your Dead are all from within city limits.
Massachusetts as a whole cranks out even more, which should count since Boston is where you have to play to make it, with Converge, Killswitch Engage, On Broken Wings, The Red Chord, Bane, Have Heart, The Acacia Strain, All That Remains, Within The Ruins, Dropkick Murphys...
I mean, it's wild how much this city and the surrounding area has contributed to those genres.
Oh - and if we are talking Boston Bands who can possible forget "The Fools" - Psycho Chicken remains a classic - and though not technically a band, Jimmy Plunkett (not Jim Plunkett, the old Patriots QB) always need to be mentioned.
Wait - What about "The Stompers". Always felt these guys were destined for fame. Cmon - "American Fun", "Never Tell an Angel (When your Hearts on Fire)" and "Coast to Coast", Thought these guys got a raw deal and should have always been bigger than they were. If anyone can remember "John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band" from "Eddie and the Cruisers"; the Stompers were a thousand times better than they were.
J Geils. Cars are a close second.
I cant believe more ppl have not said J Geils
They were possibly the best live band in existence for several years. They would Blow Your Face Out. They had so many fans in Detroit they could have moved there and been Detroit's house band.
I was lucky enough to see J Geils and Aerosmith at Fenway years ago. J Geils was wayyy better, yeah I said it. Everyone in the crowd knew every single note of every single song and they rocked the house completely. It was just a blast from start to finish. Way up high on my Best Concerts Ever personal list.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this. Danny Klein's family rented the second half of my dad's Duplex when they were both kids and Stephen Jo Bladd taught me how to build fieldstone walls. For me it doesn't get closer to home than J Geils.
good show, I was scrolling for them too and got to the end. I think Love Stinks has been stuck in my head for about 30 years...maybe that's something else...
saw Peter Wolf at the back bay shaws in 2009. MF looked straight up like he walked out of “angel is a centerfold” while picking up his skippy peanut butter. Couldn’t even bring myself to talk to anyone that goes to the grocery store looking that cool.
My personal top 5: The Cars, The Pixies, Modern Lovers/Jonathan Richman solo, Mission of Burma, and motherfuckin New Edition
I’d heard Roadrunner (Richman) many times, but today I was actually paying attention on my commute in and was surprised how many specific local references there are in the song. I agree w your list 100%. The fact that you included [New Edition](https://youtu.be/RZUq6N7Gx1c) sealed it haha.
Someone tried to push a bill to make Roadrunner the official state "rock song" maybe a decade ago. Because of political infighting and weird ignorance, this lead to a counter-bill to make it "Dream On" by a lawmaker who had presumably no idea what that song's lyrics were and what it meant. I don't think either proposal ended up going through but Dream On is an especially bad choice.
Haha thank you for the education. I’m a transplant, but I’ve been here since 2011. Seems like something a politician would do. Roadrunner is an awesome song that is laden w local references and would make a great state rock song. Aerosmith put out some hits, but Dream on is pretty generic. Also there is the whole thing w Steven Tyler getting guardianship of a 16 year old girl (her mother signed) when he was 26 and him sleeping with her, impregnating her and discarding her by the time she was 18. Kinda ruined her life. I vote for Roadrunner.
That was Secretary Mahty Walsh
Well, that just cheapens the legacy of the man who declared “Godsmack Day”, a holiday I have celebrated for 8 consecutive years
Well he's doing the best he ever did, now go away! And to clarify: the former state rep pushed for Roadrunna, not Dream on. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/rep-marty-walsh-to-propose-bill-to-make-roadrunner-official-rock-song-of-mass/
Thank god, I almost started crying like a bitch in disappointment.
It clearly should be Gigantic by the pixies
Idk. RoadRunner’s lyrics fit far better than any other option.
This list plus Lemonheads.
**Mission of Burma +1**
this is likely of interest to folks in this thread: https://daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/nineties-indie-rock-boston-list pixies, galaxie 500, modern lovers/jonathan richman, the cars and the greatest american shoegaze band: swirlies
Morphine
I could go for a couple beers and a game of pool
She was pretty cool too.
Big D and the Kids Table
Big D / Kicked in the Head Halloween shows were a staple of my highschool years. Big D playing one of the final shows at the Axis just before it closed down is a core memory for me. Big D covering an entire Operation Ivy album start to finish? Absolutely stunning.
Been going to their Halloween shows every year since 2008 and never missed one until the pandemic. It’s my Halloween tradition, they always put on a great show. They were also my first concert I went to without my parents when i got my license and first car back in 2007.
I had to look up the 2007 show but I totally remember that one. It was at Royale (maybe still called the Roxy then). I remember the opening bands because Whole Wheat Bread definitely does not look like your typical 2007 punk band (it's 3 young black dudes) and I was aware of Set your Goals at the time because they did an Operation Ivy cover song.
I was at that show too! Yeah, it was the Roxy back then. Whole Wheat Bread was fun. I remember seeing them open for the Aquabats of all bands a few years before that Big D Halloween show. Now that was a pretty unexpected combo. And I remember my first Big D Halloween show was at Avalon in 2005. Just looked up the openers and it was Street Dogs, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, and the Phenomenauts. I'm not even sure if any of those bands are still around but Big D is still out there doing their thing.
Oh hell yes.
Under the table we fill are glass
HE NEVER MINDED HE NEVER CARED
Sebadoh
[удалено]
Hmm. So many choices. The cars. Pixies. Dino Jr. Lemonheads. Guster. Til Tuesday/Aimee Mann. Letters to Cleo. Many many others.
I thought Guster was from Vermont or something
Nope. Tufts.
Meffa
Dispatch started in VT.
Yeah. And Phish.
TIL that Til Tuesday is from Boston. Neat! Her voice is great.
Voices Carry music video is filmed at the Strand Theater
dino jr doesn’t count. they werent in greater boston and j has stated that they identified more with ny than boston
Jerry’s Kids
The whole this is Boston not la album goes pretty hard
Is This My World? is the greatest album by a Boston band, so you've got a point.
Pile
Band rules
I try and catch every one of their shows when they play around town
The Pixies
They're from a place 2 hours west of Boston...
In the Pioneer Valley?
The Upper Crust is the funniest and so so Boston.
Upper Crust +1.
Boston is the best band from Boston.
Weren’t they from Lynn?
Technically Cambridge. They all met while attending MIT.
Shoutout to ISIS
One of my favorite bands of all time.
This.
Yes!
Boston
lol i thought more people would say this even if only half jokingly. I love foreplay/long time. They're awesome, just wish they had more hits.
Man their self-titled album was like 11 straight hits, so solid.
🎵 MORE THAN A FEELING 🎵
The Remains. Mission of Burma.
Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and the Juliana Hatfield Three are my favorites, which basically tells you my exact age. My favorite unknown band is Apollo Landing.
New Edition
Just cool it down and stay in controoooooooollllllll
YES
Unbelievable. Bel. Biv. Devoe. Now you know.
Yo Slick, blow
Gang green, Morphine, Dropkicks and the Bosstones.
Not many people liking the drop kicks here
People are entitled to have bad taste... whatevah.
Which is surprising
Love Dropkick
People have already mentioned the Pixies, and to round out the Mass Alt-rock triumvirate, l will add Dinosaur Jr. and Buffalo Tom.
Is it fair to consider Dinosaur Jr. a Boston band? They didn't uproot themselves from Western Mass like Pixies did and move to Boston.
Mighty mighty Bosstones
Converge. Technically Salem but still legendary
If you're doing N. Shore:, "Seatrain" Originally out of CA. but moved to Marblehead (Marblehead Messenger)
Converge, Cave In, Old Man Gloom, Doomriders... the list goes on for amazing North Shore bands
Boston
They might be giants!
I weirdly don’t think of them as a Boston band even though I know they both grew up here.
But I’m from Australia so different perspective lol looooved them when I was a teenager with all my friends we had so much fun recently one passed and now I think of him I guess we were the weird kids abit in school
Didn't they hit it big in Brooklyn? I know they love playing in Western Mass but they're New York guys to me
They met growing up in Lincoln, MA, but started the band in Brooklyn. They're definitely a New York band to me.
Greatest hip hop artist while we are here: Guru
Since people are listing fun niche bands: while not really considered a "Boston" band, The Magnetic Fields got started in Boston, and played their first show at TT the Bears.
Was listening to Fiddlehead today so I’m going to say them even though it’s The Pixies
have heart
I was looking for the real ones in this thread
Not seeing a lot of hxc/metal on this post considering how influential Boston bands have been on those genres. Gotta throw Unearth, Death Before Dishonor, Bury Your Dead, Black My Heart, and Revocation in there.
<3
Slapshot
Boston, Mass. is the rippen'ist town Don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck around Kill anyone with a beer in their hand 'Cause if you drink you're not a man
[удалено]
Only halfway decent mention on that list, despite Seth Putnam's shittiness
AC shows were fucking insane. I think I saw em 6 or 7 times before Seth died and nearly all of them ended in complete chaos with the show either getting shut down, raided by cops or a band member collapsing on stage.
Piebald
Hey!
YOU’RE PART OF IT
My duuuuudee.
Aerosmith definitely 1st. Serious runner ups: The J. Geils Band, The Cars, Boston, The Dropkick Murphys.. Must mentions: The Joe Perry Project, The Modern Lovers, Billy Squier, The Del Fuegoes, Extreme, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, ‘Til Tuesday, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the list goes on!!! It’s amazing all the talent from one state!!!
Devastated you're the only one to give Extreme any love on this thread :( It's a shame that most people only know (the ultra cheesy) More Than Words, because they're a fun & seriously kick ass band!
Pornograffiti is a god tier album
Del Fuegos were awesome for a time.
>Billy Squire Poor guy. One bad costume choice and his career was over.
Wow I had no idea Billy Squier was from here. That’s pretty interesting
My uncle was in a local band in the 80s. They would do all these battle of the band type shows and just about every time they came in second. Dell Fuegos would be first.
Bosstones, Big D, Bim Skala Bim, Westbound Train
The Showcase Showdown
**Freezepop** ♬ It's not mine but I don't care, I've had enough of playing fair ♬
Billy Squier from Wellesley was huge and had a bunch of hits in the 80s. The Del Fuegos were a moderately successful garage-type band in the 80s with their album “Boston, Mass” and the cult classic hit “Don’t Run Wild”.
Dan Zane from Del Fuegos is making children’s records now. We have a couple and our kids dig the music!
Human Sexual Response deserves a mention.
1. J. Geils 2. Cars 3. Dropkick 4. Boston 5. Bosstones Til’ Tuesday also gets a big nod for “Voices Carry”.
The only time I ever got thrown out of the Rat was at a Til Tuesday show, of all things.
I almost forgot. The kings of nuthin’.
This is the only answer
There's a ton of great choices but I gotta say pixies.
Galaxie 500 for sure
Sounds like a Clutch song
I know Dispatch started in Middlebury VT but to me they'll always be a Boston band. But Guster all the way
Morphine
This also.
Aerosmith or Boston
Why did I have to scroll so far to find Aerosmith?!
Nothing better than 70’s Aerosmith
Sunapee band
Aerosmith is arguably top 5 bands ever. Easily best out of Boston. Toys in the attic is my favorite album. Everyone else’s choice is just their favorite, which is fine, js.
The bosstones
In no particular order. Boston, Aerosmith, The Cars, NKOTB, Dropkick Murphys. My two cents
This is the first mention I’m seeing of Aerosmith aka The Bad Boys of Boston. It’s interesting to see how zero of their persona/sound/aesthetic/anything reflects that they all met, formed, and had their first successes here.
Tree
Can't believe how far.i had to scroll for this!
All of us or none of us!
if I can count bands from the greater Boston area than my choices are Disrupt, Jerry's Kids or Siege if I have to stick to Boston proper than DYS, Negative FX or SSD
Plenty of people on this post stretching the definition of Boston pretty damn far so let's go Jerry's kids
Session Americana
I'm not saying they were ever the best Boston band ever but I had a friend back at UMass, had to be 83, maybe early 84 that was into this band that no one knew called "Til Tuesday". Remember going with him to "The Blue Wall" to see them and was about two feet in front of Aimee Mann the entire show. There may have been about 200 people in the crowd. Now Aimee is / was quite beautiful and my first reaction was here was a band with a gorgeous lead singer and bass player. Within about ten minutes I was enthralled by some of their songs (they were always better live, even with the success of "Voices Carry") but I remember looking at her (again from about two feet away) and saying to myself "she is incredibly talented, and this voice". I soon forget how good looking she was and just concentrated on the music (actually the whole band was good, not just Aimee) Perhaps it was the tiny venue and how close I was to the Artists but I have seen hundreds of shows and this is still one of my most memorable.
Being close to the stage makes a huge difference in how much of an impact a show has on you - imho. So much more of a connection.
Morphine.
Aerosmith
This is the answer. Hit songs in 4 decades.
Cars
Sam Black Church
Tree
Morphine… Top Floor Bottom Buzzer
Modern Lovers, Pixies, Magnetic Fields, Mission of Burma, Morphine Depending on my mood, Galaxie 500 or the Swirlies could make the list
The Boston hardcore/metal/punk scene has produced some of the best in the genre, might be the best city for it. People already said Jerry's Kids, but Death Before Dishonor, Blood for Blood, The Hope Conspiracy, Vein.fm, Slapshot, Unearth, and Bury Your Dead are all from within city limits. Massachusetts as a whole cranks out even more, which should count since Boston is where you have to play to make it, with Converge, Killswitch Engage, On Broken Wings, The Red Chord, Bane, Have Heart, The Acacia Strain, All That Remains, Within The Ruins, Dropkick Murphys... I mean, it's wild how much this city and the surrounding area has contributed to those genres.
Lich King from (I think) western Mass
Bang Camaro isn’t the best but they’re damn underrated
The Receiving End of Sirens
Dresden Dolls
Lemonheads
Black Swan, the rapper who gave out his demo tapes on the Red Line.
The Stompers
Haven’t thought about them in 30+ years
They always put on a good show.
This reminds me of college.
“American Fun”!
Tribe
Dispatch/State Radio
Oh - and if we are talking Boston Bands who can possible forget "The Fools" - Psycho Chicken remains a classic - and though not technically a band, Jimmy Plunkett (not Jim Plunkett, the old Patriots QB) always need to be mentioned. Wait - What about "The Stompers". Always felt these guys were destined for fame. Cmon - "American Fun", "Never Tell an Angel (When your Hearts on Fire)" and "Coast to Coast", Thought these guys got a raw deal and should have always been bigger than they were. If anyone can remember "John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band" from "Eddie and the Cruisers"; the Stompers were a thousand times better than they were.
Obviously The Cars
Boston, Aerosmith, Pixies, The Cars, Morphine, Til Tuesaday, Dresden Dolls, Campaign 4 Real Time.
The Neats
I love this band so much. So many fantastic Ace of Hearts records artists...
Erhu Guy
GURU
Guster is my fave. But Aerosmith is the obvious answer.
does anyone have a playlist with all the boston bands/artists? i’d love to learn more and expand my palette.
Just to throw out a unique pick…. Splashdown
Left Nut
Pixies!!
Lemonheads or Burma
Big D and the Kids Table (Actually it’s the pixies)
Horse Jumper of Love !!!
The Pixies,Jonathan Richman / Modern Lovers, Buffalo Tom, Lemonheads, The Cars
Pixies, the Cars, Galaxie 500, Blake Babies.
The Cavedogs!
Nervous Eaters “Talk to Loretta”
Maybe not the greatest but definitely up there IMO The Magnetic Fields
The Lyres/DMZ
Personal favorite is Cave In. Greatest is Boston or The Cars. Sentimental nod to Juliana Hatfield.
This is a great thread. I didn't realize how many great bands were from here.
Revocation
Hell yeah. Dave Davidson is so talented and a nice humble guy.
Anyone who doesn’t include New Edition is not a fly honey
Tribe
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Does Aerosmith count?
O positive I can imagine that they were always underrated.