Ryley Walker, Kevin Devine, Clairo, Har Mar, Frank Turner & more pay tribute to Great Scott
The greater Boston community (and beyond) has been distraught upon learning that Allston venue Great Scott won’t be reopening after the coronavirus pandemic, and justifiably so. In the 40+ years Great Scott stood its ground at 1222 Commonwealth Ave, it served as a beacon for the local DIY community. For concert-goers, it became a safe-haven where you felt as though you were part of an intimate family while you got to witness bands shred. For musicians on the come-up, it became a place where they could be heard and supported.
“The big thing was to have your last show at Great Scott or to have your album release show [there],” Sami Martasian of Boston indie rock group, Puppy Problems, said for a WGBH piece about the closure. “It was like a hospital where things are being born, and things die. You don’t think that the physical place could ever go away, because it’s what holds all of that creation and the undoing.” In that same piece, Rick Maguire recalled that Great Scott “taught [his band, Pile] a lot about how to be a band.”
In the days following the release of general manager Tim Philbin’s statement about the closing, many have taken to social media to express their devastation at the loss of this pillar institution of Boston live music. Read tributes from Sidney Gish, Vundabar, Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz and Sad13, Horse Jumper of Love, Clairo, Ezra Furman, Ryley Walker, Kevin Devine, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Anna Burch, Sarah Thompson of Camp Cope, Pronoun, Potty Mouth, Cloud Nothings, Frank Turner, Future Teens, TWIABP, Weakened Friends, Gouge Away, Har Mar Superstar, Honey Cutt, Told Slant, Alex Lahey, Greg Rutkin of Trace Mountains and LVL UP and more below.
thank you great scott for years and years of incredible live music this breaks my heart & allston won’t be the same without you https://t.co/ksl9ND8sRe
— sidney gish ☀️ (@sidneyg156) May 1, 2020
-unity has been huge for so many folks playing shows, attending, forming scenes, forming themselves and getting lost for a little while. thanks for making us and so many others feel at home in a city bent on trading home for housing
— Vundabar (@Vundabar_band) May 2, 2020
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i honestly don’t think any of you would know about my bands if @greatscottrock hadn’t taken so many early chances on us. please sign the petition and write their landlords asking for a lease renewal. scoured youtube for some show goodies, as follows… 1. “young liars” by @tvontheradio , night 2 of our residency 12/12/2014 shot by @newartillery 2. “dirty work” by steely dan ft @realtedleo, 12/31/2017 or possibly it had JUST turned 2018, shot by @ihavesweatypalms 3. “plough” 12/19/2014, last night of our residency. honestly this exact ass vantage is how i watched most shows at great scott lol shot by michael achille 4. “indoor soccer” 8/22/2012 by @instant_rock 5. “cutco” 3/1/2012 also by @instant_rock 6. “silver spring” 4/9/2012 by @davespak 7. “no below” at the major arcana release show 7/6/2013 shot by andrew gibson for @allstonpudding A post shared by speedy ortiz online presence? (@sad13) on
This is terrible. The best place in Boston to play music is gone. Thank you great Scott for everything https://t.co/HIP99xxBbH — Horse Jumper of Love (@horsejol) May 1, 2020
and this one’s for mass, help save one of the greatest venues that we all grew up going to https://t.co/qehnohUZZ8 — claire cottrill (@clairo) May 4, 2020
This is a drag. Great Scott, a classic Boston venue, has closed. I've played this wonderful venue so many times. Didn't realize in September that I'd never be coming back. Here's the last time we played there – just me, Sam & Jorgen, 3-piece punk style
https://t.co/M6BBekHXOw— Ezra Furman (@ezrafurman) May 4, 2020
Boston publication, Allston Pudding…
Grieving is an understatement. Great Scott has always created space for us and other independent promoters in Boston to showcase our incredible local scene. This is a huge blow. https://t.co/Z6Q2C1q5zY — Allston Pudding (@AllstonPudding) May 1, 2020
Respect to great scott. The one place to find parking in Boston and a great club. Heady loving staff and close proximity to Pho. Everything you want in a spot to jam. Rest in power. https://t.co/DJJKh2ZCvV
— Ryley walker (@ryleywalker) May 2, 2020
Great Scott was this other worldly place that always took my ID, where I saw bands that blew my mind and I thrashed my body w other people, where my band played two of our favorite shows to date… I am weepy. Irreplaceable. https://t.co/4cFl0d5PQ1
— Emma Jane (@n0blebeast) May 1, 2020
Such sad news. Two very memorable shows there – 2007 on PYGTR, 2019 launching @kennyobrienodo1. Integral to the fabric of Boston’s local independent music scene. Someplace where you were happy to be part of the lineage. https://t.co/qIosaW5NHs — Kevin Devine (@KevinDevineTwit) May 1, 2020
Sad news. We played a memorable sweaty show at @GreatScottROCK & met a bunch of great Bostoners (Bostonites?) Sending love to the GS fam ☘️ https://t.co/W3CSIqDkSe
— Rolling Blackouts C.F (@rollingbcf) May 3, 2020
Loved the spot, hated the friends — Greg Rutkin (@Mylifeinshamble) May 1, 2020
Writer Luke Oneil who also plays in no hope/ no harm…
I wrote down everything that I could and couldn’t remember about our dearly departed @GreatScottROCK over the past 20 years and interviewed @cplavin about what happened and how he built it into one of the best indie rock clubs in the country. https://t.co/uCDTZL4Bdy — luke oneil (@lukeoneil47) May 2, 2020
So gutted by this news! One of my all time favorite places to play 💔
— Anna Burch (@annaisaburch) May 1, 2020
first show we ever played in Boston was at @GreatScottROCK in 2017, first time we met @rfcrecords was here, and it was here that I first I learnt of having to tip a buck even with drink tickets (my bad sorry to the previous 2 venues on this tour). such a great venue 💔 https://t.co/2cpv9vluBZ
— Sarah Thompson (@slthomthom) May 2, 2020
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO https://t.co/fF12wNTnZl
— PRONOUN (@musicpronoun) May 1, 2020
in a city full of excellent music venues, great scott always felt like the most tight-knit local hang of them all. my girlfriend lived right near it back when we first met, so i've got lots of nice memories of seeing some incredible shows. sad news, but the memories will live on! https://t.co/St4GKAUw6A
— Cloud Nothings (@cloudnothings) May 1, 2020
Gutted / angry to hear the news about @GreatScottROCK in Boston getting closed down. Sign the petition to save a legendary venue here:https://t.co/7mjOkQRbIh
— Frank Turner (@frankturner) May 4, 2020
when this band began we always talked about great scott as our madison square garden. have had the opportunity to play there many times as a band and thru out each of our careers as musicians. it’s hard to imagine Boston without it. 😓❤️ https://t.co/N1s3fn8uuE
— future teens (@futureteensusa) May 2, 2020
RIP Great Scott. https://t.co/ubWaHjnU2k
— TWIABP&IANLATD (@twiabp) May 1, 2020
Where the fuck are we supposed to play in Boston now? This one hurts, today can fuck right off. RIP @GreatScottROCK
— Weakened Friends (@wkndfriends) May 1, 2020
Wow RIP Great Scott. We were so lucky to get the chance to play there https://t.co/AukNO5Gfrv
— Gouge Away (@gougeawayfl) May 1, 2020
We played @GreatScottROCK on March 8 this year. It was of my favorite shows of all time. Adam Green, @HeartBones2, and Nation of Language. Sad it won’t be reopening. Thanks for some great nights! pic.twitter.com/GRvf1kyiuc
— Har Mar Super Far (@HarMarSuperstar) May 3, 2020
First time opening a sold out show and being scared shitless was at Great Scott. I was packed and I think Malia Obama was there. Just one of countless memories 😭 https://t.co/r4FWiD281e
— Honey Cutt (@HoneyCuttband) May 1, 2020
sad to read this. great scott was where i booked some of my first shows, spent countless nights ages 20-24, learned a lot & met friends who are v important to me. thanks for the mems https://t.co/7iX6qU8PqP — liz pelly (@lizpelly) May 1, 2020
i’m sad to hear about Great Scott closing. i’ve always really liked playing there. i hope that when the dust settles we aren’t only left with big corporate venues that don’t support unknown and strange art
— Told Slant (@Felixixix666) May 1, 2020
I have a piece of the Great Scott ceiling somewhere in my apartment but can’t find it. It fell on @HopAlongtheband’s merch at their show with @xthinlipsx and @Palehound on 5/8/15. I’ll miss all the weird quirks of the place — Christine Varriale (@certaintragedy) May 1, 2020
So gutted to hear about this. A true Boston institution with so many memories. I had my very first sold out show in the US here, along with my very first Narragansett. Thanks for everything, Great Scott x https://t.co/3KUYcxSfPt
— Alex Lahey (@AlexLahey) May 2, 2020
so sad. great scott was the first venue i was kicked out of for being underage and my biggest boston headline show to date https://t.co/dBlkWCDbKJ — Squirrel flower (@sqrrlflwr) May 1, 2020
Maybe that’s because it never faded? It wasn’t like other places that had a heyday but stuck around long past its prime it’s still going strong and I never stopped loving it there. — Pizza is exactly the same in every city (@indierockranger) May 4, 2020
Nina Corcoran, former music editor for Dig Boston…
I feel like a friend died. Boston without Great Scott is truly unimaginable. There’s no place like it, its management, or its staff. Thank you for making a tiny venue feel like a second home. Hundreds of irreplaceable memories https://t.co/tFJGAjvaU8 — Nina Corcoran (@Nina_Corcoran) May 1, 2020