TD Banknorth Garden, originally the Fleet Center, is a structure of imposing size that is evident when driving along The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston's newest landmark. The venue primarily functions as home court and home ice for both the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins, but during off-seasons and away games it serves as Boston's biggest concert venue.
The Garden opened in 1995 when it became clear that its predecessor, the original Boston Garden, could not keep up with other comparable arenas. It had no air conditioning, it lacked luxury boxes, and its hockey rink was just a few feet short of regulation. It was painfully obvious that the Boston Garden had reached its final years. Originally dubbed the Fleet Center and owned by Fleet Bank, in the past 14 years the Garden has gone by many different names and will have one more under its belt by the end of 2009, yet to be announced.
Many people pass through the Garden each day: It rests on top of North Station, South Station's less-famous companion, from which runs trains run in and out of Boston's suburbs all day long. Across the street are Green Line and Orange Line stops, making TD Banknorth Garden easily accessible from most locations in the city.
TD Banknorth Garden garnered national fame in 2004 when it was the host location for the Democratic National Convention. In 1996, it hosted the National Hockey League's All-Star Game and it served as the venue for the 2008 Boston Celtics' winning season and national championship title.
The Garden is set up exactly like a sports arena. It just happens to double as a concert venue. Concerts can be set up in the round or with a stage at one end of the floor, and the balcony rises up ten stories, giving visitors an intense sense of vertigo at the very top. Food service is not a trademark of musical performances, but the Garden keeps every hot dog stand and bar open as if there were a basketball game going on. It's not unusual to see fans enjoying a concert with beer and sausage in hand.
The seats run much steeper at the Garden than at other comparable venues, which is a bonus in that there is easy visibility from any seat in any level. The downside: Legroom is limited, but this shouldn't be a deterrent as most of the Garden's musical guests call for standing instead of sitting.
In terms of musical acts, concert-goers won't find any underground artists here. The acoustics are not conducive to subtle melodies and harmonies and are more geared towards thumping bass and poppy tunes. The Garden also has a capacity of 19,580, a difficult number of seats to fill with a lesser-known act. Shows often sell out exceedingly quickly due to the sheer magnitude of the acts that take the stage of the Garden.
Solely in terms of filmed and recorded shows, bands and artists such as U2, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Genesis and Celine Dion have chosen TD Banknorth Garden as the venue for their live performances in the Boston area. In the past few years, the Garden has also hosted big names like the Rolling Stones, Metallica and Britney Spears. In the fall of 2007, it became a comedy venue as well: Dane Cook graced the stage with his coarse humor and sarcastic wit.
At the recent Britney Spears concert, the pop princess' team truly took advantage of the large space that TD Banknorth Garden offers. The show was performed in the round, and an LCD screen was built to surround the stage and flash images throughout the show, proving that the Garden can accommodate technologically advanced visual effects. Flashing lights, pyrotechnics and incredible volume were also utilized during her set, a feat that would have been extremely difficult to accommodate at any other venue in Boston. TD Banknorth Garden provides the space, seating and technological backup that today's big name acts (and their fans) have come to expect. For flashy, all-out shows, there's no place in Boston that can top this venue.
In the next few months, TD Banknorth Garden will host such artists as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, a frequent guest of the Garden, and the Jonas Brothers on their upcoming world tour. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com.
