I'm going to be in Boston Mon-Thurs and was hoping for some recommendations on bars, clubs, places to see bands, etc. Anyone help a brutha out?

And much to my chagrin, I'm also in charge of organizing a "team" event with some co-workers on Tuesday. Should I just take them to Faneuil Hall? They're kind of a mix between cool guys and super squares.

Bukowski's

TT the Bear's aka TT's

Middle East

Great Scott

Fenway Park/Red Sox

There's some decent bars/restaurants around Fenway.

Redbones BBQ

Thanks for this, Shiv. Very cool of you.

Also, the North End is right near Faneuil Hall if you want good Italian food.

There's a new Wagamama that opened a few months ago at Faneuil, otherwise I can't really recommend anything around there (although Shiv's right about the North End). Boston Beer Works is my current favorite microbrew place, which is on Canal St. in North Station. They have your predictable brewpub/American selection of food, but the beer's off the charts good and it's not too difficult to accomodate larger groups. Bukowski's has better food and a crazy selection of beer, but can sometimes be a bit packed - I don't expect you'd have trouble earlier in the week though, esp. with the kids gone for the summer.

Weather forecast is looking interesting for the week, but at least the temperature shouldn't be too, too bad. All Star break for most of your stay, so no Sox games.

i concur with shiv's selcetion--bukowski is one of my favorite places in the city. charlie's kitchen in harvard sq. is good to go to with friends and has the best jukebox around, imho.

as for non bar/pub fare there's plenty non-getting-drunk options, too (though i'm all for getting pissed):

lunch at the new deck at the other side cafe on the other side (oddly enough) of newbury st. from urban outfitters

beehive is a new jazz club in the south end

duck tours are cheezy but really fun and you learn a lot about the city

if you're looking for a good (and mid-to-high-prices) dinner check out the south end. pm me for specifics if you're interested. . . there's a couple of new places.

maybe check out paprika or hot fuzz at the somerville theater where they just started serving beer for movie-goers

and definitly check out the philip-lorca dicorcia retrospecive at the new boston institute for contemporary art--a beautiful building if nothing else

. . . and there's plenty more where that came from if you want to direct me. again, pm, if you want. or i could just show you my new bike.

edit: and yeah, go to wagamama if you can make it then stroll through the north end and get a canoli or something--the new wagamama is on my shortlist of things to get to

I can't go against anything that Shiv mentions, but do note that the Middle East and TT's are in Cambridge. Two great places to see a band. Bukowskis is a lot of fun as well (both the Boston and Cambridge locals).

If you are into a variety of beers, check out the Publik House. There are a lot of bars on Boylston St. Some are trendy (Vox) while others have a fun, laid back atmosphere (Pour House).

There are some good bars around Fenway, including the aforementioned Boston Beer Works. Also, Avalon right across the street from Fenway, but their schedule next week isn't too appealing (Dolores O'Reardon on Monday, The Fixx and Psychedelic Furs on Tuesday). Paradise Rock Club has Maximo Park and the Oohlas on Wednesday. TT's schedule (http://pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?B ... e=07/09/07) and the Middle East's schedule (http://pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?B ... e=07/10/07)

You can also visit the Bell in Hand, the country's oldest, continuously operating tavern (opened in 1795).

oh dude, publik house. good call!

Was at Bukowski's last Fri, great time, great beers

If you want a chill, cool bar check out Lucky's in South Boston, probably Thurs

Agreed, Publick House is a great place for good eats and beer snobbery

for music, a quick check shows that Maximo Park playing Wed, Deerhunter and the Besnard Lakes Thurs

For food, make sure you get some seafood, but there are a lot of other good spots. Addis Red Sea in South End has great Ethiopian, not too expensive. Atasca in Cambridge has phenomenal Portuguese. Breakfast, be sure to check out Neighborhood Restaurant in Somerville if you have wheels, awesome breakfast under vine-covered rood on the patio.

Finally, for the team event, probably do Faneuil just because it is easy. I would take them to Ned Devine's, which is a good mix that will appeal to a bunch of demo's

Damn. I guess that's all tidy'd up. If you need recommendations for Worcester (ie, "stay away from it"), just let me know. I know a lot of different ways to drive away from it.

Having hosted the Boston stop of my 2004 FT WORLD TOUR, Charlie's Kitchen gets thumbs-up from me for a ton of great reasons, but foremost among these are the killer LOBSTER ROLLS for which I have pined ever since.

Charlie's was also the location of the one and only official Boston CMJ gathering. We all had dinner there and then went to see the Walkmen at TT's. This was probably 2002.

And, now that I think about it, I think I first met HaqDiesel there too.

I really like hanging out there, but there burgers pale in comparison to the nearby Bartley's.

Thanks, you guys. Sounds like Bukowskis for sure and I'm going to try and get to that Maximo Park show too.

if you're still looking for something tonight, djdan, may i recommend the fujiya & miyagi show tonight at middle east. my stupendously talented friends project jenny, project jan are opening for them.

Thanks, Katie. I was there. Your friends' band was entertaining.

I wish I could say the same for Fujiya & Miyagi. I really like their record but there is no point in seeing them "live." That was pre-recorded all the way with live vocals over layed down tracks. That would be fine if they didn't pretend to play guitar and bass. I had to leave after a while. If I wanted to hear the CD, I would have listened to it on my ipod. I felt like I was the only one, but when I pay money to see a band play live, you know, I'd like to see a band play live.

Nontheless, thanks for taking the time to recommend a band. Boston Obs rule.

I can't stand F&M...I am all set with any band that chants their name over and over in one of their songs that is not a hip hop artist

You should've gone next door to TT's and seen Marnie Stern w/ Zach Hill on drums. I would've gone but I'm b r o k e.

I think I'm coming to Boston in a few weeks. Perhaps we can congregate.

cool. i'm around.

Yeah I'm trying to plan a visit home around Bloor's trip out here. And for the record, I *cannot* picture him out here. For some reason, I feel like he'll spontaneously combust on the plane as it crosses the Mason-Dixon. I have nothing to base that on, but well there we are.

I've been to Boston before (6-7 years ago) and had a wonderful time; I'm not an animal, I'm a human.

I think as we get older, you're turning into a Colonel Sanders-esque character in my head, utterly incapable of functioning off the plantation without a full retinue of staffers. Again, I have absolutely no idea why I think that way - I know better.

I gotta admit, its a fine fantasy.

Looks like August 2-5 for me to go back to WI.

Bishop Allen is playing here August 17th, might be good.

rar, sorry f&m sucked live. i'm not huge on the cd, actually hadn't seen em live. as for pjpj, if anything else (stupid, psychedlic, hipster, etc.) they are, in fact, entertaining. how'd you like middle east?