In 1978, Alicia Bridges immortalized late night rump-shaking with one catchy lyric: “I love the night life, I got to boogie on the disco round.” Obviously, she must not have boogied much in Boston.
Last time I checked, Avalon often has bands perform while the sun is still out, just so they can force out the scenesters by 10 p.m. and transform the place into a trance-infused dance club that shuts down at 2 a.m. anyway.
I took note of this crisis when a group of friends-of-friends came up from New York and declared Boston dull due to its lack of late-night activities.
And the politicians have taken note. Two city councilors, Paul Scapicchio of the North End and John Tobin of West Roxbury, are kicking around the idea of keeping hotel bars open until 4 a.m. to discourage raucous parties. In a similar vein, The Boston Globe reported that a leather-clad motorcycle enthusiast named Kevin McCrea is running for city council under the premise of putting the “party back in party politics.” On the top of the 38-year-old self-made millionaire’s to-do list: awakening Boston’s night life. So, if it’s obvious to locals and out-of-towners, why not open up a few late night establishments?
Extending bars’ and clubs’ hours would help draw drunken parties away from the Mecca for drunken parties: Mission Hill. Residents constantly gripe about loud parties, so why wouldn’t they support bars and clubs drawing the crowds away? Later hours would decrease drinking on campus, and would be regulated by proper ID rules, as is the norm around the country.
People are going to drink. Since there is no late-night option, we have wild parties on Mission Hill and people traveling to Cambridge and Brighton and Allston to get their fix. They’re out there, and will continue to be, one way or another. Opening a place closer to home would most likely be safer.
No wonder those friends-of-friends from New York City were appalled. They are used to “the city that never sleeps.” They come to party and find out that Boston is a city that gets a mandatory eight-hour beauty sleep that is forced upon its residents.
“Not everyone’s bedtime is 1 o’clock,” City Councilor John Tobin told The Boston Globe. He’s right, and many of us love the night life. It would serve the city best to find one.
– Glenn Yoder is a middler journalism major and a member of The News staff.
