The STUFF crew sounded like a
gang of valley girls in this year's first editorial meeting about the nightlife
issue. "There's absolutely nowhere to dance in this city," cried one editor,
ripping gulps off her imported bottled water. "Tell me about it," bemoaned a
lifestyle contributor. "It's all the same places with the same electro grooves.
It's like A Night at the Roxbury every night. So
unfortunate."
About five minutes into the discussion - after we nearly
unanimously agreed that Beantown nightlife was hopelessly monotonous - some of
us realized how close-minded we were being. Like so many Bostonians, we were
mentally confined to a few go-to retreats, those reliable "second homes" where
we seem to unconsciously wind up jamming regularly.
In order to atone for our late-night sins (or at least for some
of them), we sketched a round-up of parties ranging from such renowned Boston
nightlife staples as Status at District to such eclectic, lesser-known shindigs
as Fresh Produce at Good Life and the monthly Bodega Girls bash at Middlesex.
Boston may seem like a mere mini-metropolis sometimes, but you should never
judge a carnival until you've screamed on all the rides.
Spot: Formerly The Squealing Pig (stay tuned for the new location)
Party: Underground
Control
When: Every
Saturday
Longtime Boston party instigator Martin Doyle built this
night on rock and roll. Underground Control is the newest of these featured
fiestas. At press time, this '80s tribute dance party was between venues, but
it's well worth tracking down (look out for an update on our website). On the
ones and twos, Underground Control is currently fueled by DJ Dan Riti (of Local
121 fame in Providence) and DJ Slick Hair, who strictly spins cheesy and
regrettable billboard toppers from the likes of Michael McDonald, Wings, Hall
& Oates, and a mess of one-hit wonders. "We call it ‘yacht rock,' " says
Doyle, who will soon be augmenting Underground Control by screening zombie
flicks and indie-film snippets. "That's the joke - music that you imagine rich
people listening to on a boat - but that's what's fun about it."
Spot: Wonder Bar (Allston)
Party: Humpday Wednesdays
When: Every
Wednesday
We know what you're thinking - Wonder Bar
(186 Harvard Avenue, Allston, 617.351.2665) is for college students, and anyone
who defies that notion could wind up looking like the dirty old man or woman in
the club. You're probably right, but here's the catch: DJ Hevan rocks the booth
there every Wednesday, and Boston's undeniable mixmaster party pleaser has an
arsenal of hot joints that are sure to get just about everybody high. Known for
reading his dance floor more carefully than he does noise violation complaints,
Hevan slices no more than 60 seconds of any track before segueing into more
excitement. And while his rep as the go-to DJ for the ADD generation has earned
him frequent gigs at such esteemed venues as Estate and Shrine at MGM Foxwoods,
the UMass-Amherst grad holds down his Wednesday residency for the type of crowd
that he started his career serenading: sweaty college dudes and high-energy
co-eds.
Spot: ZuZu
(Central Square, Cambridge)
Party: Soul-Le-Lu-Jah
When: Every Saturday
If there really is a "soul revival" going down in Boston - a
suggestion that repeatedly pops up in the local music pages - then the weekly
Soul-Le-Lu-Jah jam at ZuZu (474 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.864.3278) is
largely responsible. Started in 2003 by Carrie D'Amour (who's better known as
Miss Firecracker of La Gata Negra League of Masked Lady Wrestlers), the small
but always-brimming soiree is the heart and, um, soul of a scene grounded in
affection for rare and ancient 45s and long nights of rug cutting. Though
D'Amour no longer runs the show, DJs PJ Gray and Claude Money hold it down with
more wax than Madame Tussaud. While they and the night's guest DJs are all
hopeless and admitted vinyl-philes, the Soul-Le-Lu-Jah clan is not about
playing highbrow rarities that impress a nerdy few. You might hear some obscure
gems that inspire moves you never knew you had, but Curtis, Michael, James,
Stevie, and Aretha are known to make quite a few appearances.
Spot: Estate (The Alley)
Music: International
House / Latin
When: Every
Friday
It's not easy keeping one of Boston's biggest, best-known
clubs classy on a Friday night. But C Entertainment and MKE Entertainment -
both of which
were largely responsible for luring well-dressed partygoers from Lansdowne to
the Theater District in the first place - have kept the space within the luxuriously
padded walls at Estate (1 Boylston Place, Boston, 617.351.7000)
stuffed with impeccable panache every Friday since their party kicked off this
past January. In addition to the suave dudes and high-heeled women who
routinely show, promoter Cameron Grob promises contemporary house hits for pop
sensibilities, as well as remix action that gets asses swinging from the ornate
chandeliers. "It's the best house night in Boston," says Grob, who relies on
the Vinyl Disciples and DJ Matos to bring a vibrant yet accessible crossfire of
domestic and international vocal house. "We like to say it's mixed - not
stirred."
Spot: Phoenix
Landing (Central Square, Cambridge)
Party: Makka
Mondays
When: Every Monday
There's an argument to be made that Central Square's Phoenix
Landing (512 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.576.6260) is the best-kept
secret in Boston-Cambridge when it comes to intense late-night dancing. Then
again, such a claim could be compromised by the fact that such parties as
Mid-Week Techno on Wednesdays and Drum n' Bass Thursdays have been swelled to
the walls for a straight decade. Assisting the Landing in its mission to keep
the floor smoking every night but Tuesday (when they have Wii karaoke), DJs
Voyager: 01 and Uppercut fill Makka Mondays with a raging spread of roots and
dancehall. Guest-wise, expect appearances from the region's top selectors;
Junior Rodigan and DJ Gold Finger are hardly strangers. In short, this is not
your daddy's reggae show - if you want to sway side to side and puff spliffs to
classic Bob Marley slow jams, then you might try the Western Front down the
street.
Spot: Good
Life (Downtown Crossing)
Party: Fresh
Produce
When: Last
Saturday of Every Month
The list of celebrated rap artists and producers who have
manned the downstairs decks at Good Life (28 Kingston
Street, Boston, 617.451.2622) could literally double as an abridged hip-hop
hall of fame roster. From Jeru the Damaja and Stretch Armstrong to Peanut
Butter Wolf, Dr. Claw, and DJ Benzi, host vinyl jockeys DJ Knife and DJ Tommee
spare no expense to bring the planet's top urban-minded turntablists to
Downtown Crossing's subterranean boom bap bunker. As for the crowd, Fresh
Produce is one of the few hip-hop parties in the Northeast that attracts
females who don't pack razors in their cheeks; the night draws one of the most
diverse crowds in Boston, with all shades of tight asses represented. As you
might have noticed, retro-fitted tunes and hipster-hop acts like M.I.A. and Kid
Cudi have officially penetrated mainstream consciousness, making nights like
this draw much more than just a standard head-nodding b-boy crowd (though
breakers often do show up). The result: a bash that looks a lot like House
Party and sounds like an electro-smacked old-school and Golden Era
upgrade.
Spot: District
(Leather District)
Party: Status
When: Every
Saturday
District (180 Lincoln Street, Boston,
617.426.0180) is one of Boston nightlife's most visually titillating
attractions - and not just because of the lounge's refined natural brick and
wood styling. The Saturday crowd at this aesthetically wondrous alcove would
make for one hell of a hot-body contest; the majority of women in the room are
tan and tone, and the men tend to be the same. That said, club promoter Frankie
Stavrianopoulos of 6one7 Productions says Status lures a "mature" crowd and
serves downtown as the perfect club-bar-lounge hybrid for everything from
philandering to mega birthday and bachelorette parties. DJ Matty D regularly
spins dance classics from every era, and, to keep the
two-and-a-half-years-running event interesting, 6one7 throws the occasional
themed gala; recently they hosted a Le Cirque night and a Ducati fashion show.
If the name Status sounds a tad elitist, it's because the night's promotion
squad has more than earned that right. If you don't get there by 10 p.m.,
you're not getting in unless you're Ray and Shannon Allen.
Spot: Middlesex
(Central Square, Cambridge)
Party: Bodega Girls
When: Last Wednesday of Every
Month
When a band names Vincent Gallo as an influence, then its
audience had better wear waterproof attire. Moderation is a foreign word to the
Boston dance-rock troupe Bodega Girls, who in the last year have quickly
graduated from underground phenomenon to East Coast icons of sweaty parquet
mayhem. Their songs - take, for example, "She's Into Black Guys" - demonstrate
the group's credo that absolutely nothing is sacred, and their monthly bangout
at Middlesex
(315 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.868.6739) proves just the same. At
their "Lo-Fi Hedonistic Dance Party," the Bodega Girls deliver pants-down live
sets with hot and heavy DJs in between. And what would such a night be without
visuals? You never know what might show up on the overhead projector, but
you're likely to catch the crotch-stiffening video for their remix of the Sean
Bones track "Dancehall" (if you dig naughty '80s workout tapes, then YouTube it
immediately). Long story short: you know those party pics you've seen where
bearded perspiring animals in vintage tees are getting sandwiched by hipster
chicks with no underwear and hoop earrings? Chances are more than a few of them
were taken here.
Spot: Alchemist
Lounge (Jamaica Plain)
Party: This
Is Why They Hate Us
When: Every Fourth Saturday
In case you
haven't figured it out yet, the "They" in "This Is Why They Hate Us" is code
for straight people. That doesn't mean that heteros aren't invited to this
post-punk indie-dance throwdown at the
Alchemist Lounge (435 South Huntington
Avenue, Jamaica Plain, 617.477.5741), but it does mean that right-wing Alabama
senators and bigoted Miss USA contestants would likely be offended. In
designing TIWTHU, promoter David Dancer jokingly claims that he asked around
the Fens and other homo hangouts what gay dudes might want in a party, and the
answer was a resounding "Free, loud, and fresh." He also writes that anyone who
attends is sure to catch the H1 GAY1 dance virus, so watch out. On a side note
- if you're asking yourself "Where is this Alchemist Lounge anyway?" it's time
to lace up your candy-colored kicks and ride the Orange Line to JP for some
hipster pandemonium.
