Johnny’s List of Quirky Boston Events: 04/08/06
Hi everyone,
My computer died, but I should have a new one in a week or two.
I always go straight to the crazy in this blog. Candidate One this week is the Boston Poetry Slam Championships, April 5 and 12, 8pm-late in Cambridge, at the Cantab Lounge at 738 Mass Ave. I have to confess it always seemed too arty for me. I’d show up and not “get itâ€? and leave in the certain knowledge that the dirty unwashed masses were me. This was wrong. In fact, you really need to check this group out. The ‘readers’ stand up and act out their verse as though putting on a one-act play. There’s a lot of emotion, smoke and fire, nouns and verbs flying all over. It’s a regular Wednesday event going until midnight or even later, but this is their big competition of the year. So go. www.slamnews.com
Candidate Two is Tomb, Wed-Sun weekly near Fenway, in Boston. Have you heard of Tomb? OK, but do you know what it is? It’s like stepping onto a movie set to play Indiana Jones. Cast in the role of a famous archaeologist, you get trapped in an ancient Egyptian tomb and solve puzzles and explore to escape. With special effects and moving walls, it’s the closest thing to Disneyworld anywhere near Boston. It’s not too scary for kids, and your friendly guide will get you past any anxiety about brain teasers. Tomb is best done in groups, so that you can tell your friend, “you go first!â€?186 Brookline Ave, Boston. Wed & Thu 11am -11pm. Fri & Sat 11am-midnight. Sunday 11am-8pm. Call ahead to reserve a spot. www.5-wits.com
Third and possibly the strangest candidate is You, Singing Karaoke, in Private, daily at the Do Re Me Music Studios in Allston. Let’s face it. A lot of us are shy about singing drunkenly in front of total strangers. There are cameras around and it might get in the way of your future race for the Senate. What about private karaoke, like in the film Lost in Translation? Check it out in Allston, Mon-Thu 6pm-1am, Fri-Sun 4pm-1am, at 442 Cambridge Street in Allston. For those wildly lacking inhibitions, the Milky Way Lounge & Lanes in Jamaica Plain has a live band karaoke, so you get to be a real rock star, Tuesdays at 10pm, at 403 Centre Street in JP.
Finally, and this is too weird to omit, the Beatles are back, appearing as Get Back! The Cast of Beatlemania, April 8 in Somerville, at the Somerville Theatre. www.somervilletheatreonline.com
Finally finally, did you know that many communities have free tennis courts and basketball courts, swimming pools, etc.? Check your community to see. I know that Brookline and Cambridge between them have like 20 or more.