Boston: Statistics

ARENAS
The FleetCenter, 1 FleetCenter, Suite 200, cap. 18,600. Alias the 'New Boston Garden.' Major acts, from Aerosmith to Celine Dion, book here when the Briuns and Celtics aren't playing.
Gosman Center, 415 South St., Waltham, cap. 6,000. A Brandeis University gym with general-admission shows by Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morissette and others.
Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts, P.O. Box 810, 885 S. Main St., Mansfield, cap. 19,900. State-of-the-art amphitheatre with one of the busiest summer schedules anywhere.
Wallace Civic Center, 1000 John Fitch Hwy., Fitchburg, cap. 4,000. Metal and hardcore acts are the staple of this unfancy site. Korn, Marilyn Manson and Tool appear here.
Worcester Centrum Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester, cap. 14,400. Still holds its own against the new FleetCenter. Good acoustics and a heavy Central Mass. fan base.
THEATERS
Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Ave., cap. 1,200. Slick theater at Berklee College Of Music. Narrow stage, but intimate setting. Singer-
songwriters, jazz and world-music acts.
Harborlights, Fan Pier, 28 Northern Ave., cap. 4,700. Beautiful harbor tent with skyline views. Performers range from Nanci Griffith and Seal to Dead Can Dance and Tony Bennett.
North Shore Theatre, P.O. Box 62, Dunham Rd., Beverly, cap. 2,000. Popular upscale venue.
Orpheum Theatre, 1 Hamilton Pl., cap. 2,800. A timeless rock 'n' roll theater. The Allman Brothers, Police and James Taylor have recorded live discs here.
Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, cap. 800. Many singer-
songwriters and world music acts have stopped at this vintage, recently restored venue.
South Shore Music Circus, P.O. Box 325, 130 Sohier St., Cohasset, cap. 2,300. Classy summer tent. Features pop acts and a growing number of country stars, like Patty Loveless.
Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., cap. 2,600. The Boston Symphony calls this home, but some international acts like the Chieftans are also regulars.
Wang Center, 270 Tremont St., cap. 3,700. Used to be called the Music Hall when Bob Seger and the Grateful Dead stopped here. It's since been restored and hosts high-priced musicals with some one-nighters interspersed.
CLUBS
Avalon, 15 Lansdowne St., cap. 1,500. Sleek dance club also offering mid-level rock shows and special-occasion gigs by the likes of Dylan and Bowie.
Axis, 13 Lansdowne St., cap. 600. The epicenter of Boston's rave scene. Alternative bands also booked.
Big Easy Bar, Boylston Place, cap. 700. A festive, New Orleansstyle dance club with live bands.
Bill's Bar, 5 Lansdowne St., cap. 250. Funky rock bar accenting new bands.
Bob the Chef's Jazz Cafe, 604 Columbus Ave., cap. 90. Cozy, urbane jazz room with terrific soul food.
Club Bohemia/Kirkland Cafe, 421 Washington St., Somerville, cap. 125. Entry-level room.
Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, cap. 125. The city's leading folk club, with a fabled history. Suzanne Vega and Nanci Griffith are alumnae.
Green Street Grille, 280 Green St., Cambridge, cap. 160. Underground rockers call this gritty club home.
Hard Rock Cafe, 131 Clarendon St., cap. 500. The Basement Cavern Club is a popular industry hangout.
Harpers Ferry, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston, cap. 150. Unlike the larger clubs in the HOB chain, this one still primarily books blues.
Johnny D's, 17 Holland St., Somerville, cap. 305. Casual, eclectic room bridging roots, jazz, folk and rock.
Kendall Cafe, 233 Cardinal Medeiros Way, Cambridge, cap. 90. Acoustic-rock room that has had residencies by Jewel and Pete Droge.
Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, cap. 110. Subterranean haunt with exotic bookings.
Linwood Grille, 69 Kilmarnock St., cap. 240. Hub of Boston's rockabilly renaissance.
Mama Kin Music Hall, 36 Lansdowne St., cap. 600. Aerosmith co-owns this rockin' madhouse in the shadow of Fenway Park.
The Middle East, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, cap. 575. The current 'scene' club in town. Alternative, college-fave rock to neo-hippie tie-dyed fare. Three clubs under one roof.
The Paradise, 967 Comm. Ave., cap. 700. Longtime showcase rock club. Dire Straits made U.S. debut here. Bette Midler called it 'Purgatory.'
Phoenix Landing, 512 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 'Alternative Irish' bar.
Regattabar, Charles Hotel, Cambridge, cap. 225. Stylish jazz retreat in Harvard Square. National acts from Joshua Redman to Ruth Brown and Chick Corea.
The Roxy, 279 Tremont St., cap. 1,500. Revived ballroom with uptown dance nights, plus rock and reggae dates.
Scullers, 400 Soldiers Field Rd., cap. 200. Classy smorgasbord spanning mainstream and smooth jazz, R&B, Latin, Brazilian, cabaret. From Eartha Kitt to Spyrogyra.
T.T. the Bear's, 10 Brookline St., cap. 225. Creatively booked rock club emphasizing new music.
Western Front, 343 Western Ave., Cambridge, cap. 225. Melting-pot hideaway for reggae and extreme jazz.
Boston radio is second to none. Fueled by a youth culture that fills the airwaves with college stations, listeners have many alternatives to the standard commercial fare. Harvard's WHRB (FM
95.3) has everything from
the punk-rocky 'Record Hospital' at night to the country-ish 'Hillbilly At Harvard' on Saturday mornings. Boston College's rock-tilted WZBC (FM 90.3) has a show called 'NCP (No Commercial Potential).' Emerson College's WERS (FM 88.9) has the influential 'Late Risers' Club' in the morning.
Album rock stations duking it out include WCBN (FM 104.1), which also puts on the 'River Rave' concert series each summer, WAAF (107.3 FM) and WFNX (FM 101.7), a smaller but relentless competitor. For contemporary pop, KISS-108 takes honors, while WJMN (JAM'N 94.5) pleases the young rap crowd.
Adult contemporary is the province of WBMX (FM 98.5), while adult album-rock is ubiquitous on WBOS (FM 92.9) and WXRV (FM 92.5, alias the River). WZLX (FM 100.7) is an excellent classic-rock station, with sturdy, high-rated oldies stations (not all of Boston is dominated by youth culture) in WODS (FM 103.3), WROR (FM 105.7), which packages '60s, '70s and '80s hits; and WECQ (FM 93.7, alias the Eagle), featuring hits of the '70s.
Other stations of note: public-radio pillar WGBH (FM 89.7), R&B specialists WILD (AM 1090) and country station WKLB (FM 99.5), which caused Nashville to notice that some Yankees like country music after all.
BiB Records, P.O. Box 441606, Somerville. Run by local ska band Bim Skala Bim.
Castle Von Buhler Records, 16 Ashford St., Allston. Experimental music from local bands Betwixt, Splashdown and Turkish Delight.
Catapult, 215 A St. New indie with releases by the poppy Ultrabreakfast and Cherry 2000.
Cherry Disc, 129 Kingston St. Veteran indie operation that has launched many Boston acts.
Cosmic Records, 7 Eastburn St., Brighton. Run by Deb Klein (who manages Morphine). Boasts titles by Trona and punk-Latin group Jayuya.
Curve Of The Earth, 1312 Boylston St. Offbeat label run by maverick Alvin Long.
Flat Records, P.O. Box 7504, Quincy. The buzz-generating Dropkick Murphy's may break out of this label.
Monolyth, 839 Beacon St. Feisty new indie with releases by Grandpa Boy (a Paul Westerberg project) and punk-rockabilly aces the Amazing Royal Crowns.
Q Division, 443 Albany St. Leading alternative-rock label in town with discs by Letters To Cleo and Jen Trynin.
Reproductive Records, P.O. Box 398073, Cambridge. New label with music from Harvey Milk.
Rounder Records, 1 Camp St., Cambridge. Began as a hippie label with Southern-folk obsession. Now a national company with acts that have ranged from George Thorogood to Alison Krauss. Imprints include Heartbeat (reggae), Bullseye Blues and Philo (folk).
Rykodisc, 27 Congress St., Salem. Established company with hot catalog reissues (Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Elvis Costello) and intriguing new rock and world-music releases. Ryko imprints include Hannibal and Gramavision.
Tone-Cool, 1 Camp Street, Cambridge. Blues-oriented indie with discs by Monster Mike Welch, David Maxwell and Rod Piazza & the Flyers.
Wonderdrug, P.O. Box 995. Hardcore records by 6L6 and Scissorfight and novelty funk from Chucklehead.
Blue Jay, 669 Bedford St., Carlisle. Underrated 48-track site where Roy Orbison and k.d. lang recorded their 'Crying' duet. Billy Joel, Yo Yo Ma, Pat Metheny and Ronnie Earl have also been here.
Fort Apache, 2 Tyler Ct., Cambridge. Legendary center where alterna-rockers Tracy Bonham, Belly and Juliana Hatfield have made hits.
Long View Farm, North Brookfield. Top-flight rural studio with client list from the J. Geils Band to Indigo Girls.
Newbury Sound, 1260 Boylston St. Longtime player in the city's recording scene.
Q Division, 443 Albany St. Producer Mike Dinneen's industrial-site facility.
Sound Techniques, 1260 Boylston St. (same address as Newbury Sound). 48-track SSL board and an artist roster from Duran Duran to Wynonna Judd and Catie Curtis.
Soundworks, 10 Wheeler Ct., Watertown. 32-track recording; acts from Ellis Paul to the Persuasions to the Chenille Sisters.
Toxic Audio, 1116 Boylston St. Rock, rap, alternative, acoustic featured.
HMV, Tower and Strawberries all have multiple stores in and around the city.
Disc Diggers, 401 Highland Ave., Somerville. Used and discounted CDs and cassettes.
Cheapo Records, Central Square, Cambridge. Roots rock and especially soul.
Looney Tunes, two locations in Boston and Cambridge. Used records.
Newbury Comics has seven stores in and around Boston. Hip chain.
Nuggets has locations in Kenmore Square and Brookline. A granddaddy of the used-record market.
Planet Records, 536 Comm. Ave. Wide array for every palate.
Sandy's Music, 896 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Unbeatable shop for folk and acoustic records.
Skippy White's has two sites, in Cambridge and Jamaica Plain. Lovers of R&B and oldies have a friend here.
Stereo Jack's, 1686 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Specializes in jazz, blues, nostalgia.
Twisted Village, 12 Eliot St., Cambridge. Specializes in ethnic, jazz, acid-folk and psychedelic rarities.
The dailies include the city's largest paper, the Boston Globe, followed by the Boston Herald. Both cover music in enormous detail by daily-paper standards, the Globe in its Music Section on Friday, the
Herald in its Scene on Friday.
The leading weeklies include the Boston Phoenix (jointly owned with rock station WFNX-FM) and the Tab.
Lollipop magazine, 7 Davis Square, Somerville. Devotes attention to unusual club happenings, geared to 18-plus and twenty-somethings.
Noise magazine, 75 Jamaica St., Jamaica Plain. Circulation is only 5,000, but the Noise has covered the local scene extensively for 17 years. Other local magazines include Instant, Northeast Performer and Cheeseball.

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