thePULSEThe Palladium: TheHardcore Haven
The Palladium and MassConcerts have made Worcester the Heart of the Massachusetts Underground Music Scene
August 2005 – There’s no question metal is back — back in the mainstream, that is. With MTV2’s Headbangers’ Ball, Fuse Television’s Uranium and sellout national tours like Sounds of the Underground and OzzFest, the poppy punk and emo of the last few years has quickly gone the way of the dodo, sent into near extinction by heavy riffing and guttural rasps.
I hate to give any credit to the “rapcore” bands of the turn of the century, but…There’s no question that bands like Limp Bizkit introduced a mainstream audience drowning in hip hop, acoustic pop, and alternative rock to the underground of heavy music. Now groups like Hatebreed, In Flames, Unearth, Shadows Fall, and Killswitch Engage have parents and roommates screaming, “Turn that noise down!!”
Heavy metal and hardcore in their many forms and fusions have been simmering on small stages at matinees, Knights of Columbus halls, all-ages venues, and backstreet bars for almost two decades. In recent years, metal has spawned with hardcore and even pop elements, emerging to thrash and blast its way into popular culture as metalcore. Bands from the Northeast – Massachusetts in particular – have been leading this rock revolution.
Not only has time changed the sound, making it more appealing to a wider audience, but it has also changed the fans who have long supported the hardcore and metal communities; they can now do more than practice pentatonic scales in their basement, they can get their music heard. “The people who were listening to bands like Metallica 20 years ago are 20 years older and in positions to bring heavy music to the forefront,” says Gina Migliozzi, General Manager of The
Palladium.
Migliozzi is one such influential person in the Worcester area. John Peters of MassConcerts, the promotion company that books The Palladium, is another. Scott Lee, organizer of the New England and Hardcore Festival, is yet another. “A lot of people behind-the-scenes, so to speak, like myself, have deep roots in the harder side of music,” says Migliozzi. “We all know it, understand it, and enjoy it. We have all been booking this style for years and now we have a great venue with a staff of people who all like the heavy stuff.”
The “we” Migliozzi is referring to is The Palladium. Located at 261 Main Street, the revered all-ages venue has a long, checkered past. Originally opened in 1927, the former E.M. Loews Plymouth Theater still retains its original Art Decco interior, though its battered elegance better fits the entertainment it now hosts. In recent years, The Palladium has been the mega-disco called Clubland, a college dance club (affectionately nicknamed the “Get-laid-ium”), and narrowly escaped reincarnation as a strip club, pole dancing and all. It was also the victim of fire, robbery, and a labor dispute in which staff barricaded themselves in the concert hall for a few days until they were paid. There was even a demolition permit taken out on the building four and half years ago, almost wiping out one of last mid-size all-ages venues in Massachusetts.
The Mass underground scene has long been a bastion of aggression and, since MassConcerts took over booking in 1999, The Palladium has become its capital. It was not long ago that Boston’s Kings of Nuthin’ were lighting a fire under the New England rockabilly scene’s ass (literally); Darkbuster was ripping people they didn’t like a new one; and Blood for Blood and the Ducky Boys were leading circle pits and call-response choruses. However, blue collar boys started finding it tougher to play music and/or live in Boston. In more recent years, the testosterone driven angst of the underground has migrated west, particularly thanks to back-tobasics hardcore acts like Bane and Hatebreed.
Massachusetts hit the national spotlight first with Springfield’s Staind and their hard rock anthemsturned- acoustic ballads. And now the state more known for its football dynasty and World Series Champions is leading the way with our Swedish-tinged, pop-inflected metalcore, shredding stereos internationally. “Our state has been turning out the brightest and best when it comes to metal and hardcore,” says Migliozzi. “Bands like All That Remains, Shadows Fall, and Bane – they are all getting on great tours, selling records. Massachusetts and The Palladium have a worldwide reputation for great heavy music.”
If you’re old enough, you may have been to one of the few bars that are willing to host extreme music, like the Fat Cat in Springfield, the Lucky Dog in Worcester, and occasionally the Middle East in Boston. Otherwise, you’ve probably waited in line under The Palladium’s marquee. Although metal and hardcore are popular everywhere, “not everybody will work with heavy music, so certain clubs book it, others don’t.”
MassConcerts books it and The Palladium opens its doors to it. They not only book and host local and touring bands, they also host the New England Hardcore and Metal Festival (one of the largest festivals of that type in the world), SkateFest, Rock and Shock, and the Massachusetts Tattoo Festival – making the Palladium the destination for fans – young and old – of heavy rock.
For more information about the Palladium, check out www.thepalladium.net
