Boston-Ma NightLife

Boston-Ma NightLife information

Music

The Boston Symphony Orchestra plays at the elegant Symphony Hall October through April. Ask at the box office about reduced price rehearsal tickets. The Boston Pops are at Symphony Hall May and June playing lighter programs of classical, popular, and show music. 300 Massachusetts Ave, Tel: +1 (1)617-266-2378/1492. Jazz is well represented in Boston, thanks in part to the presence of the Berklee School of Music, turning out some of the world's finest jazz musicians. Check with the school for a schedule of performances by the next generation of jazz greats. 136 Mass Ave, Tel: +1 (1)617-266-1400. Local jazz clubs include the RegattaBar at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square (1 Bennett St, Cambridge, Tel: +1 (1)617-864-1200), Scullers at the DoubleTree Hotel (400 Soldiers Field Road, Cambridge, Tel: +1 (1)617-562-4111), and Ryles at Inman Square (212 Hampshire St, Cambridge, Tel: +1 (1)617-876-9330) All are intimate clubs drawing world-renowned musicians. Paradise Rock Club has been packing in the 20-something set for decades at 967 Comm Ave, Tel: +1 (1)617-562-8800. Fans of alternative rock gather at the Middle East in Cambridge, featuring national acts and local talent. 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge, Tel: +1 (1)617-864-3278. Folk music is popular in New England and the granddaddy of Boston's folk scene is the simple Club Passim at 47 Palmer St, Cambridge, Tel: +1 (1)617-492-7679.

Theatre

While Boston may no longer be the "Hub of the Universe" as some once called it, the city does attract a consistent stream of international entertainers. Check with the Wang Center, 270 Tremont St, Tel: +1 (1)617-482-9393, for a schedule of ballet, opera, film, and theatre performance at its two auditoriums the Wang Theater and Shubert Theater. Touring shows, including Broadway productions, are also staged at the Colonial, 106 Boylston St, Tel: +1 (1)617-426-9136 and the Wilbur, 246 Tremont, Tel: +1 (1)617-423-4008, all visually beautiful, well-preserved venues. Check with BosTix at Copley Square (Boylston and Dartmouth Sts.) and Faneuil Hall kiosks. Both offer half-price day-of-performance tickets to these theatres as well as smaller venues, comedy, improvisational theatre, and some concerts. Tel: +1 (1)617-723-5181, cash only, 11h00-18h00 Tue-Sat, until 16h00 Sun. Copley location open Mon as well.

Cinema

Naturally you can find multiplex cinemas in most suburbs and malls that show the latest blockbusters and usual Hollywood fare. However, Boston's Ivy League population means that there are rather more independent and art house cinemas, showing world movies and classics, than you might expect. A couple of suggestions for this type of cinema follow below: Brattle Theater Foreign movies, thought-provoking film festivals, and classics show in a favorite hangout near wonderful restaurants and cafés. 40 Brattle St, Cambridge. Tel: + 1 (0)617-876-6837. Coolidge Corner Theater Another popular filmhouse surrounded by affordable, ethnic eateries. This Brookline treasure features independent movies, offbeat film series, foreign flicks, and shorts. 290 Harvard St. Brookline. Tel: +1 (0)617-734-2500. Museum of Fine Arts Film festivals showcase filmmakers of the world. 465 Huntington Ave. Tel: +1 (0)1-617-267-9300. (Museum stop)

Nightlife

Boston boasts an increasingly funky nightlife scene, much bolstered by the vast numbers of hedonistic students who are hell bent on having a good time. There are several "super-clubs" that can pack in thousands of revellers at a time, while in between you'll find countless smaller more intimate venues where you can chill-out or dance as the mood takes you. An Tua Nua 835 Beacon St Tel: +1 (1)617-262-2121 The Gaelic name gives a lot away, and indeed by day this is one of Boston's many Irish themed bars. At night though the bar turns into a lively if always overcrowded nightclub. Usually the haunt of students only venture in if you think you look i) young and ii) cool. Avalon 15 Lansdowne St Tel: +1 (1)617-262-2424 Right next door to axis this is Boston's super-club, where the great and the good like to be seen chilling out in the VIP area. The state of the art sound system belts out hardcore dance and chill-out grooves according to the evening's ambience, and with global superstar DJs manning the decks serious clubbers needn't look anywhere else. Voted the number one club in the US for 2003 this is the place to go. The Roxy 279 Tremont St Tel: +1 (1)617-338-7699 The largest club in Boston, the Roxy is also one of the most opulent. The vast marble foyer complete with gilt lion statues and the dance floor that can pack in up to 2000 revellers is always going to mean that the Roxy guarantees to impress. Club nights vary from salsa to hardcore dance, and there's never a shortage of patrons willing to party the night away here. Occasional live performances take place on stage. axis 13 Lansdowne St Tel: +1 (1)617-262-2437 A popular club on the Lansdowne Street strip the axis DJs keep the enthusiastic crowd happy with a changing menu of progressive rock, hip-hop, and techno. Q 25 Union St Tel: +1 (1)617-742-2121 Located above Hennesey's the Q club is relatively new on the scene but has proved itself a favourite with a wedge of Boston's cooler nightclubbers. It's half lounge bar, half nightclub so if you don't want to work yourself up into a dance frenzy then this is the place. Plenty of chrome, plenty of plush and even a pool table or two make for a laid-back evening in sophisticated surroundings.

Sports

This is a sports-lover's town, so join the crowds and head for Fenway Park to catch a Red Sox baseball game or tour the well-loved stadium. Season runs April 'til October. Yawkey Way, Tel: +1 (1)617-267-8661. Come winter, it's off to the FleetCenter to cheer for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics or the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins. This is also the place to visit the New England Museum of Sports. 1, FleetCenter Place, Tel: +1 (1)617-624-1000. 2002 Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots American football team play at Gillette Stadium in the distant suburb of Foxborough each fall. Tel: +1 (1)800-543-1776. Train transportation from Boston's South Station. If you fancy participating rather than watching sport, then Community Boating offers some of Boston's best deals on watersports. This non-profit, public programme for sailing, kayaking, and windsurfing on the Charles River tries to make watersports accessible to everyone. Fees start at USD50/adult for two days, including instruction and equipment. 45-day adult memberships cost just USD75. Children 10-17 pay just USD1 per season. Yes, one dollar. It's perfect if you've got time to kill in the city. Open April-October, weekdays 13h00-sunset, weekends 09h00-sunset. Tel: +1 (1)617-523-1038, along Storrow Drive, near Longfellow Bridge.

Special Events

Boston is a city of grand events and spares no expense on celebrating national holidays and city-wide events with lavish entertainment. December/January The New Year's Eve First Night celebration spreads an indoor-outdoor arts extravaganza through the downtown neighbourhoods including opera and ice sculptures, parades, and fireworks in a family-friendly event that's a model for New Years festivals around the world. Tel: +1 (1)617-542-1399. March Boston has long been famous for its large population of Irish descent and on St Patrick's Day in March the entire city celebrates alongside those of Irish ancestry. Everything is bedecked in green, the Irish pubs are full of enthusiastic drinkers and anyone who can lay claim to an ounce of genuine Irishness marches in a vast parade that runs from Broadway T station and ends at Andrew T station. Expect lots of leprechauns, shamrocks and green, white and gold tricolores. April First run in 1897 the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and continues to put the city in the world spotlight each April. The field of 15,000 participants invariably includes some of the finest road runners on the planet as they race 26 miles from the town of Hopkinton into Copley Square. For those on the sidelines it's also known as Boston's 26-mile party. Hop on a Green Line subway and head away from the finish line, towards Brookline, Newton, or Chestnut Hill for the best views. The marathon is held on Patriots Day (the third Monday in April each year) and the same date sees Boston celebrating the events which heralded the start of the revolution here in 1775. The town of Lexington out in the suburbs is the centre of the events, celebrating the famous midnight ride of Paul Revere from Lexington to Concord to warn of the approaching British forces. A full costumed re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington Green is held each Patriots Day by local historical battle groups, and what the Americans now refer to as "the shot heard round the world" echoes round the town green. July The "Cradle of Liberty" unsurprisingly pulls out all the stops for the country's Independence Day, the Fourth of July. Harbourfest celebrations stretch for days before and after the holiday with concerts, parades, and historic re-enactments. An all-day picnic is held on the Esplanade waiting for the Boston Symphony Orchestra's free evening concert, which always culminates with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture complete with booming cannons. 200 events in all fill Boston's downtown and waterfront areas in the first week of July. Tel: +1 (1)617-227-1528. October Fall brings brilliant foliage and the Head of the Charles Regatta, two days of sculling competitions on the scenic Charles River, easily viewed from Boston city center and Cambridge. Mid-October, Tel: +1 (1)617-868-6200.