Boston - Fun stuff to do, please!

Can I get new answaz before I gotobed?

I've only been there once; when I was there, The Middle East in Cambridge seemed to be the best live venue (when it comes to the bands they booked). I saw The Rock*A*Teens there, and it was a perfect performance. Superchunk was the headliner, but I skipped out of there. It was a night before or after the Music for Brain Degeneration tour went through town, so I wasn't about to let Superchunk destroy my sense of hearing. I think the Middle East also had Super Furry Animals lined up back then. Clinic is playing there April 6. Great city, easy to get around. There are tons of used CD stores with rare/out-of-print CDs on Newbury and in that general shopping district. A cool Hello Kitty store in the same area as well. Have fun!

There's usually some good shows around at the Berklee School of Music and the bars around there. The Regatta Bar in Cambridge (it's in a hotel) has lots of fantastic jazz groups come through, I saw Elvin Jones there when I was in Boston.

I've lived in and around Boston my whole life so here we go.

Newbury St is really nice, very high class, lots of high end shops and fancy smancy restaurants. A few record shops, Newbury Comics is top notch as well as CD Spins. There is of course a Virgin Megastore there now as well. Really cool and funky clothing at Urban Outfitters.

Downtown Crossing, pretty dead during the weekends, very busy during the week. Lots of Department Store types, Filenes, Macy's etc.

Harvard Square, hop on the Red Line to Harvard Sq. Best place for hip record store, lots of used record stores, but need to wander the streets to find them. Cool bars too.

Nightlife, tons of it, there are bars everywhere, THIS IS AN IRISH CITY you know. Good bars in Harvard Sq, Newbury, Downtown Crossing. If you can find the "Good Life" in Downtown Crossing, they have live Jazz in the basement and nice drinks. Harvard Sq, Central Sq in Cambridge lots of hip bars also lots of HAAARVARD Types. Fanuel Hall is a bar goers dream, there are about 100 bars within a 4 block radius, so get yourself down there. Middle East and TT's usually has really good live shows, as well as the PAradise. For Dance Clubs, i recommend Landsdown St, Avalon, Axis, Bills Bar, Karma Klub, Jake Ivorys (dueling piano bar), Jillians (entertainment complex), bonus they are all directly behind the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

Anything Else???

Oh yeah, the Museum Of Fine Arts is worth it, but the real GEM is The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, located within a block of the MFA. Its awesome, trust me Im getting married there.

I second pretty much everything Poops said, particularly about the Gardner. Also, if you get the opportunity, try to check out Wally's on Mass Ave in Boston; lots of Berklee jazz combos play at this TINY TINY place and it's a lot of fun.

go to the North End and see if you can find the street where Pickman had his studio.

the Freedom Trail is fun to walk on. I think more cities should have lines painted on the streets for tourists to follow.

record store that are all close to each other (harvard square)
other music-anything new
twisted village-psych, mod specialists
newbury comics-cheap mid-indie store, good for anything middle of the road

and you must check out
Mystery Train, in Glouchester Mass, kinda far and gross but it has boxes and boxes of 45s and rare as fuck LP. generally a good time

BY DAY:

1) Gardener Museum kicks ass.

2) Shop at Harvard Square. Sit on the slopes of the Charles. Reflect, Yoda-like.

3) Newbury St. stroll <---> Public Gardens.

BY NIGHT:

4) Ride the Commonwealth Ave. "T"-line. Refer to the on/off CITGO sign audibly as a "great eye of evil" peering at you. Note responses from other passengers.

5) Maybe do something on Lansdowne St. Go dancing, sing-a-long at the duelling piano place (is it still there?), or skip the pretense and head for the nearest bar.

Jake Ivory's? Yeah, that's still there. Haven't been in ages, though. Jillian's is about the only place on Landsdowne I go anymore.

How about the Allston Beat stores, are they still there? A friend once described them (wrongly or rightly, I don't know) as "where rich people go to look poor". :)