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Entertainment
Guide to Events, Entertainment and Nightlife
in Boston
Although Boston cannot lay
claim to an entertainment scene to rival New York's it certainly
more than holds its own and you should be able to find something to
suit you no matter what your tastes. The city's nightlife is
particularly notable, with a vast population of students keeping the
party going nightly.
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.
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