brokedown kitchen at the top of the stairs

I do karaoke in the Boston area a lot, so I pick up on the little differences between joints. For instance: Charles Playhouse Bar, the bar beneath the theater that hosts Boston’s long-running Blue Man Group and Shear Madness, hosts karaoke every Friday. DJ Jimmy boasts a selection that rivals Paul B. over at Asgard [...]

I’ve got that rock and roll; I’ve got that future flow

We’ve Got The Beat That Bounce Watching the video for “Boom Boom Pow” this weekend – just because, okay? – raised the obvious question: what do the other two guys in the Black Eyed Peas do? Why are they there? You’ve got Will.i.am producing the songs – and as little as I like their songs, [...]

free, only want to be free

PROLOGUE: Some trivia about the Neil Diamond classic that titles this post:Pete not only references it on this week’s Overthinking It podcast, but he sang it at karaoke this past Wednesday. It was awesome. By contrast, I sang Billy Idol’s live cover of “Mony Mony” and got the entire bar to curse at me. That [...]

there’s a chance we can make it now

“How many?” the proprietor at Do Re Mi asked. “Thirteen,” Trisha said. Trisha made a rare visit to the East Coast this past weekend, and trashy karaoke in Allston topped the list of events. The old man rubbed his chin with his thumb. “Normal rooms, very crowded for thirteen. Party room, best size.” He led [...]

nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by

I found a new karaoke spot on Friday: the bar beneath the Charles Playhouse in Boston’s theatre district. Small turnout for a Friday, though Memorial Day weekend might have contributed to that. A few friends had turned out for Dave C’s twenty-ninth birthday. “I wanted one last big bash,” he said. “I’ve noticed that I [...]

the city’s a flood and our love turns to rust

I’m a city boy at heart. I always will be. # # # Go to Mike’s Pastry in Boston’s North End before 7:30 and you beat the evening rush. You’ll still have to shoulder your way through a mob thirty deep – Back Bay couples with gray temples, suede and camelhair; pudgy college parents wearing [...]

du, du hast, du hast mich

I’m fortunate to have funny friends. Shows at ImprovBoston can be touch and go (it’s a big theater; a lot of different groups perform there), but Three Hole Punch was one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen. Any of the four cast members could help carry a show in her own right. But [...]

on the cover of the magazine, there’s no question why I’m smiling

Local software powerhouse Vecna Technologies has blitzed the Red Line with ads recently, looking for new developers. Most of these have really stood out – showing handsome people with eloquent pull quotes talking about the meaningful work they do. However, one that I spotted last week, and again last night, makes me laugh in derision: [...]

and the world don’t stop every time that you call

Christine insisted on showing off Central Park on Saturday afternoon. We scrambled over glacial rocks, wandered past the closed gates of the Central Park Zoo, and took pictures of the New York skyline. I find it easy to forget that New York isn’t just a tourist destination, like Disney World or the Taj Mahal. Actual [...]

you can try to fix my broken wings; you can know all the words to the songs I sing

Busy week so far. After having a knee ground into my tibia, getting my hair pulled and taking a shot to the kidneys in jiu-jitsu last night, the only thing that really hurts this morning is my wrist. And I don’t know from what. Probably arnis work. I stopped by a barbecue hosted by one [...]