It’s no secret that local celebrity Robby Roadsteamer and his partner in crime, Boston punk legend Dave Tree, have already paid tribute and lamented the loss of Great Scott.
Great Scott, an Allston staple for decades, is finally returning to the local scene after a few years of closure and question marks.
The club first opened on the corner of Commonweath and Harvard Ave. in Allston in 1976. For the following 44 years, the space would play host to local and national acts, popular dance nights and more, becoming a neighborhood epicenter for music and culture.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Like too many local venues, Great Scott closed in 2020 and did not reopen. Save a 2022 summer pop-up, the club has faded into memory and legend. 1222 Comm. Ave. is now a Taco Bell. I went there. It made me sad.
But now, I'm not sad anymore.
A Plan Comes Together
While Allston patrons have been tearfully munching chalupas on the corner of Comm. and Harvard Ave., some local players have been working behind the scenes to bring Great Scott back. In mid-2023, the club's longtime booking manager Carl Lavin made a call.
That call was to Redefined CEO Paul Armstrong. Paul produces the Boston Music Awards, publishes the award-winning online music mag Vanyaland, and does a lot more for the Boston music scene. Armstrong hit up local real estate maven Jordan Warshaw. A plan was hatched.
It's no secret that local celebrity Robby Roadsteamer and his partner in crime, Boston punk legend Dave Tree, have already paid tribute and lamented the loss of Great Scott.
A Triumphant Return to Allston
Says Lavin: “Since Great Scott closed four years ago, there has been such an outpouring of support for its reopening, but we live in a difficult economic climate where in the past few years more small venues have closed than have opened. This partnership with Paul and Jordan has enabled us to create an economic model that will not only allow a new Great Scott to be built, but for it to be successful for many more years.”
So what's the plan? Two separate venues: Great Scott, with a 300 person capacity, and the 75-person capacity O’Brien’s Pub, its long time sister club. "These beloved venues will be housed in a mixed-use building, complete with additional retail space and much-needed rental housing," the press release goes on to state.
Exciting times in Boston, with venues opening instead of closing. Visit the Great Scott website to find out more about the project's timeline and the club's opening date.
I Visited the Boston Taco Bell Where Great Scott Used To Be
I forced myself to do something sad and uncomfortable. I forced myself to go to the Boston Taco Bell that replaced Great Scott.
Great Scott sat comfortably on Comm. Ave. at the corner of Harvard Ave. in Allston from 1976 until 2020. I could go on and on about the beloved club's cultural significance and the role it played as a hub for multiple communities over the years, but I did that already. It's in this oral history I organized for GBH and NPR Music a few years ago, and it's totally worth the read. Great Scott was special.
Then, like too many local music venues, Great Scott was no more. Yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club closed its doors in early 2020. There was talk of a revival at another Allston location, and there was even a celebratory pop-up, but in the fall of 2023, it became official: 1222 Comm. Ave. wouldn't even be Great Scott's ghost anymore. It would become a Taco Bell Cantina.
I Visited the Boston Taco Bell Where Great Scott Used To Be
I can't claim Great Scott the way a lot of the folks I chatted with in the abovelinked oral history can. But I certainly spent a few memorable nights there. A Walter Schreifels solo show in 2009. My friend Paul Driscoll's bachelor party a few years later. Cave In at least once that I remember. I can close my eyes and picture the room in all its scruffy detail. Great Scott was that kind of place.
So to walk into that physical space in 2024 and have it be a chain restaurant? I can't think of a bigger 180. Comfy shadows banished by stark light. Time-worn character replaced by fresh, clean lines. It was jarring. But it was also Taco Bell. So I grabbed a Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito for myself and Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme for my 15-year-old and I took some pictures.
"Make Boston Shitty Again"
It's no secret that local celebrity Robby Roadsteamer and his partner in crime, Boston punk legend Dave Tree, have already paid tribute and lamented the loss of Great Scott.
The Front Door
Remember that feeling you'd get when you'd walk into Great Scott and whoever was on the door that night would greet you and I.D. you and it always felt friendly and welcoming? That's gone now!
Kiosks
Then: A merch table, where you could buy t-shirts and music from the band and sometimes even chat with them post-set. Now: A way to order chalupas where you don't have to chat with anyone at all, ever.
Taco Art
I mean, this actually would have made sense hanging in between old show flyers at Great Scott if it was hung ironically.
"The Bar"
Here's the thing about Great Scott that doesn't get talked about enough: it was a great local bar. Sure, the shows and theme nights were great. But you could pop in during the day for a couple of pops and be in good company with the bartender and regulars. Now, it's a different kind of "pop" altogether.
Tacos
"The Answer is Always Tacos." Actually, I can't fault this. That's a factual statement.
A Window To a Changing Comm. Ave.
It just felt weird to look out the front window of Great Scott and have it not be the front window of Great Scott. No showgoers and smokers killing time on the concrete patio.
Grumpy Old Man
I love Taco Bell. I just don't love that there's one where it shouldn't be.
