Boston Info
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 Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:58 am Post subject: NIGHTLIFE IN BOSTON / BOSTON NIGHTLIFE GUIDE |
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NIGHTLIFE IN BOSTON
General
Countless musicians, actors, and comedians went to college or got their start in the Boston area, and it's a great place to check out rising stars and promising unknowns. You might get an early look at the next Branford Marsalis, Denis Leary, Bonnie Raitt, or Yo-Yo Ma. And you'll certainly be able to enjoy the work of many established artists.
The nightlife scene is, to put it mildly, not exactly world-class -- you can be home from a night on the town when your friends in New York are still drying their hair. Closing time for clubs is 2am, which means packing a lot into 4 hours or so.
For up-to-date entertainment listings, consult the "Calendar" section of Thursday's Boston Globe, the "Edge" section of Friday's Boston Herald, and the Sunday arts sections of both papers. Three free publications, available at newspaper boxes around town, publish nightlife listings: the weekly Boston Phoenix and the biweekly Stuff@Night (a Phoenix offshoot) and Improper Bostonian. The Phoenix website (www.bostonphoenix.com) archives the paper's season-preview issues; especially before a summer or fall visit, it's a valuable planning tool.
At press time, MBTA Night Owl bus service was operating on Friday and Saturday nights until 2:30am. Budget cuts were threatening the service; if it's still operating when you visit, you can ride it on popular bus routes and on supplemental routes that parallel the subway lines. The fare is $1.50 in coins. For info and schedules, contact the MBTA (tel. 800/392-6100 or 617/222-3200; www.mbta.com).
The hottest nightlife destination in town is, of all things, a bowling alley. Kings, 10 Scotia St. (tel. 617/266-BOWL; www.backbaykings.com), is a 25,000-sq.-ft. complex in a former movie theater. It has 20 bowling lanes (4 of them private) and an eight-table billiards room. The complex also includes a branch of the Cambridge restaurant Jasper White's Summer Shack. Scotia Street is off Dalton Street, across from the Hynes Convention Center. Open until 2am daily; patrons must be 21 after 6pm.
On the first Friday of each month, the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. (tel. 617/267-9300; www.mfa.org), becomes a spirited nightlife destination. From 5:30 to 9:30pm, music, a cash bar, and a crowd of 20- and 30-somethings liven up the galleries. General admission to the museum ($13 after 5pm) includes admission to "firstfridays."
Theatres & The Performing Arts
Free Friday Flicks at the Hatch Shell (tel. 617/727-5215) are family films shown on a large screen in the amphitheater on the Esplanade. On the lawn in front of the Hatch Shell, hundreds of people picnic until the sky grows dark and the credits roll. In the last few years, the films have tended toward recent releases (no big thrill for anyone with a Netflix subscription), but a few classics usually crop up, and the movie is only part of the experience.
Note: Bring sweaters in case the breeze off the river grows chilly.
Local and national companies, professional and amateur actors, and classic and experimental drama combine to make the local theatre scene a lively one. Call or surf ahead, or check the papers or BosTix after you arrive.
Boston is one of the last cities for pre-Broadway tryouts, allowing an early look at a classic (or a classic flop) in the making. It's also a popular destination for touring companies of established hits. The promoter is often Broadway in Boston (tel. 617/880-2400; www.broadwayinboston.com). You'll find most of the shows headed to or coming from Broadway in the Theater District, at the Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St. (tel. 617/426-9366); the Opera House, 539 Washington St. (tel. 617/880-2400); the Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St. (tel. 617/482-9393); the Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St. (tel. 617/482-9393); and the Wilbur Theater, 246 Tremont St. (tel. 617/423-4008).
The excellent local theatre scene boasts the Huntington Theatre Company, which performs at the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. (tel. 617/266-0800; www.huntingtontheatre.org), and the American Repertory Theatre, or ART, which makes its home at Harvard University's Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge (tel. 617/547-8300; www.amrep.org). Both stage classic and contemporary productions.
The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon St. (tel. 617/437-7172; www.lyricstage.com), mounts contemporary and modern works in an intimate second-floor setting. The Copley Theatre, 225 Clarendon St. (tel. 617/266-7262), stages revues, concerts, and one-person shows. The Stuart Street Playhouse, 200 Stuart St., in the Radisson Hotel Boston (tel. 617/426-4499; www.stuartstreetplayhouse.com), often books one-person shows. Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway, 255 Elm St., Davis Sq., Somerville (tel. 617/591-1616; www.jtoffbroadway.com), is a 200-seat space where you'll often find the owner/comedian/actor/social critic performing.
The Loeb also features student productions, and other college options include Suffolk University's C. Walsh Theatre, 55 Temple St., Beacon Hill (tel. 617/573-8680); various performance spaces at MIT (tel. 617/253-4003; web.mit.edu/arts) and Boston University (tel. 617/266-0800); and Northeastern's Blackman Theater, 360 Huntington Ave. (tel. 617/373-2247).
World Music (tel. 617/876-4275; www.worldmusic.org) showcases top-flight musicians, dance troupes, and other performers from around the world. Shows (60 a year) are at the Somerville Theater, the Berklee Performance Center, Sanders Theatre, the Cutler Majestic Theatre, and other venues.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway (tel. 617/734-1359; www.gardnermuseum.org), features soloists, local students, chamber music, and jazz in the Tapestry Room. Performances are Saturday and Sunday at 1:30pm from late September to early May. Tickets (including museum admission) are $20 adults, $14 seniors, $10 students with ID, $5 children 5 to 17. Children under 5 not admitted.
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra (tel. 617/520-2200; www.landmarksorchestra.org) performs free classical concerts in parks around town, including Boston Common, on weekend afternoons and evenings in July and August. The goal of the "greatest hits" repertoire is to demystify classical music and call attention to the historic settings.
When the Boston Symphony Orchestra goes on summer vacation, it goes to Tanglewood (tel. 413/637-5165 or 617/266-1492 out of season; www.bso.org), in Lenox, Massachusetts, a 2 1/2-hour drive from Boston. Weekend concerts sell out in advance, but tickets to weeknight performances and Saturday morning rehearsals are usually available at the box office. If you can't get a seat inside, bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn. (Consult Frommer's New England for in-depth coverage of western Massachusetts.)
The repertoire of the Boston Lyric Opera (tel. 800/447-7400 Tele-Charge, 617/542-6772, or 617/542-4912 for tickets; www.blo.org) includes classical and contemporary works. The season runs from October to May. Performances are at the Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St. Tickets cost $34 to $159; student rush tickets are half price.
Boston Baroque (tel. 617/484-9200; www.bostonbaroque.org), a Grammy-nominated period orchestra with a chamber chorus, performs at Jordan Hall and Sanders Theatre. Tickets cost $22 to $63.
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (tel. 617/532-1252; www.commonwealthshakespeare.org) performs free on Boston Common Tuesday through Sunday nights in July and early August. Bring a picnic and blanket, rent a chair ($5 or so) if you don't want to sit on the ground, and enjoy the sunset and a high-quality performance. The company is about half Equity actors, the sets are spectacular -- and it's free!
Films
For first-run independent and foreign films, head to the Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Sq., Cambridge (tel. 617/499-1996; www.landmarktheatres.com). The best movie theatre in the immediate Boston area, it offers discounted parking in the adjoining garage. Second-run current releases at discount prices are the usual fare at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Sq. (tel. 617/625-5700; www.somervilletheatreonline.com), which sometimes schedules concerts, too. A great place to see mainstream releases is the 19-screen Loews Boston Common, 175 Tremont St. (tel. 617/423-3499), which has stadium seating and digital sound.
The Bar Scene
Bostonians had some quibbles with the TV show Cheers, but no one complained that the concept was implausible. From the Littlest Bar (a closet-size downtown watering hole) to the original Cheers bar (formerly the Bull & Finch), neighbourhood bars occupy a vital niche. This tends to be a fairly insular scene -- as a stranger, don't assume that you'll get a warm welcome. This is one area where you can and probably should judge a book by its cover: If you peek in and see people who look like you and your friends, give it a whirl.
Hotel Bars & Lounges
Many popular nightspots are associated with hotels and restaurants; as a rule, these are the only watering holes in town where you don't have to shout to be heard.
The Club & Music Scene
The Boston-area club scene is multifaceted and constantly changing, and somewhere out there is a good time for anyone, regardless of age, musical taste, or budget. Check the "Calendar" section of Thursday's Globe, the "Edge" section of Friday's Herald, the Phoenix, Stuff@Night, or the Improper Bostonian while you're making plans.
Many nightclubs are along Lansdowne Street, near Boston's Kenmore Square, and on Boylston Place, off Boylston Street near Boston Common. The centre of the local live-music universe is Central Square in Cambridge. Rowdy college bars and clubs abound near the intersection of Harvard and Brighton avenues in Allston. That makes club-hopping easy, but it also means that students run wild on weekends. If you don't feel like dealing with swarms of teenagers, students, and recent college grads, stick to slightly more upscale and isolated nightspots. If you do like teenagers (or you are one), seek out a place where admission is 18- or 19-plus. Policies change regularly, sometimes from night to night, so call ahead.
A night on the town in Boston and Cambridge is relatively brief: Most bars close by 1am, clubs close at 2am, and the T shuts down around 12:30am (though Night Owl bus service -- assuming it survives the MBTA budget process -- runs till 2:30am on Fri and Sat nights). The drinking age is 21; a valid driver's license or passport is required as proof of age, and the law is strictly enforced, especially near college campuses.
Dance Clubs
Most clubs enforce a dress code that forbids athletic wear, sneakers, jeans, and ball caps on everyone, as well as tank tops on men. Some places require that men wear a shirt with a collar, or even a jacket. Check ahead to make sure you don't wind up spending the evening on the sidewalk instead of the dance floor. While you're checking out websites, note that some clubs will let you put your name on the VIP list online. Can't hurt, might help.
Folk
Boston is one of the only cities where folk musicians consistently sell out large venues that usually book rock and pop performers. If an artist you want to see is touring, check ahead for Boston-area dates. The annual Boston Folk Festival (tel. 617/287-6911; www.bostonfolkfestival.org) is a 2-day event in mid-September on the UMass-Boston campus in Dorchester.
The music listings in the "Calendar" section of Thursday's Globe include information about coffeehouses, the area's main outlets for folk. The streets around Harvard Square are another promising venue -- Tracy Chapman is just one famous graduate of the scene.
Jazz, Blues & Live Music
If you're partial to these genres, consider timing your visit to coincide with the Boston Globe Jazz & Blues Festival (tel. 617/929-3460; https://bostonglobe.com/promotions/jazzfest), usually scheduled in late June or July. Constellations of jazz and blues stars (large and small) appear at events, some of them free, many of them outdoors. The festival wraps up with a free Sunday-afternoon program at the Hatch Shell.
Two restaurants that offer jazz along with excellent food are Bob the Chef's Jazz Café and Les Zygomates.
On summer Thursdays at 6pm, the Boston Harbor Hotel (tel. 617/491-2100; www.bhh.com) sponsors free performances on the "Blues Barge," which floats in the water behind the hotel.
The Hard Rock Cafe, 131 Clarendon St. (tel. 617/424-ROCK; www.hardrock.com), is a fun link in the fun chain -- just ask the other visitors in line with you. The two-level space boasts a guitar-shaped bar and stained-glass windows that glorify rock stars. You'll see memorabilia of Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Madonna, local favorites Aerosmith and the Cars, and others. The kid-friendly menu features salads, burgers, and sandwiches, including the legendary "pig sandwich." |
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