< Back to front page Text size – +

R.I.P. The Rat

Print | Comments () Posted by Emily Sweeney December 4, 2006 05:23 PM

Tweet
E-mail

I miss The Rat.

For newcomers who don't know anything about the old Kenmore Square, let me explain: The Rathskeller (a.k.a. The Rat) was a legendary dive bar that hosted some of the best bands in their early years. We're talking The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, Black Flag, Metallica, Joan Jett, R.E.M, Mighty Mighty Bosstones....and the list goes on.

The Rat has been gone for almost 10 years now. But its memory lives on in cyberspace...

Check out this gem I found on YouTube. It’s an old episode of a TV-38 show from the 1980s. The host Dana Hersey invades the Rat and then waltzes over to the old Pizza Pad. It’s priceless:

I was lucky enough to attend a few all-ages shows at the Rat before it closed in ’97. I went to mostly ska shows. You could usually find me wearing a black-n'-white checkered skirt with a matching headband and a navy blue jacket with patches sewn on it (and I still wear that jacket once in a while.) Here’s a flyer from one of the shows:

Skavoovie