As many of you know, I’m a photographer and content creator that focuses on music/event and nightlife. Here’s a situation I’ll occasionally deal with. Picture this, you spot me covering a music event at a nightclub. Could be Bijou, could be The Grand, could even be Caveau. Someone comes up to me and I’m having a conversation with them mid-show, I ask them if they’re enjoying it and they tell me they’re from out of town. Occasionally they tell me they’re from New York, and of course the dreaded question arrives….
Them: “What time does the event end?”
Me: “2AM”
Them: “That’s early. Anything to do afterwards?”
Me: “Honestly, not really unless you end up finding out about an afterhours spot.”
Them: “Wait, does all of Boston close at 2AM?”
Me: “Yup.” proceeds to shrug
Them: “Well, that sucks.”
As time goes on, you quickly learn how limiting the nightlife scene is in Boston. The 2AM curfew is extremely upsetting to younger crowds and tourists looking to dance and enjoy their night out, the little diversity that exists when it comes to entertainment between venues, and the policies that need to change to effectively provide businesses a greater chance to succeed.
While on the topic of policy changes, let’s begin with the elephant in the room. That 2AM curfew is absolutely awkward. In comparison to New York, Miami, Vegas, New Orleans, to name a few; Boston is one of the major cities in the U.S. that has the earliest curfew. Extending last call to even 3AM or 4AM, even in designated areas around the city like Seaport, Chinatown, Theater district, and West/North End could help the scene flourish. Not only that, but it can assist in de-congesting traffic since many locations and events let out at the exact 2AM end time. Additionally with this change, it can boost employment in the hospitality and entertainment industries. Patrons will also not feel rushed to check out other spots in any given night, because 11PM in reality, is when things pick up for most music venues and you have until 2AM to check out any other similar venues if you feel like hopping around the city.
With hopping around the city, improving and extending the public transportation hours is a must. Imagine being a college student and you want a night out. Let’s say you want to check out The Grand in Seaport for example because your favorite act is performing. You get ready and you make plans on meeting up with your friends there. You need to pay for the Uber/Lyft, you need to pay the door fee, and then you need to pay for the drinks as well, and just like everywhere else those drinks will be quite expensive, and lastly don’t forget about the ride home, hell, maybe another set of friends are at a different venue, so now you need to do the same song and dance all over again. Extending the MBTA’s operating hours can help alleviate the pain point of transportation alone. Having the T run at least until 3 or 4 AM can provide ample time for patrons and even those working in nightlife a cost-effective way to get home, though we don’t need to limit it to only the MBTA, the city could even have a bus program. With this in place, it can provide a safe way to get home and cut down on any drunk driving incidents.
Lastly, “Happy Hour” should make a resurgence back in Boston, period. Having this come into fruition can help decision-making and make it more appealing for potential patrons on whether they should go out for the night; thus driving up sales and revenue for local businesses. It creates a cost -effective way for people to socialize and unwind after work on Thursdays or Fridays, or any day of the week for that matter. Having happy hour also drives more competition between restaurants and other businesses in providing the best discounts or specials that the public would want. This would even assist during the slow periods of the year (looking at January for example) to boost revenue and stay afloat. It’s simply a win for the Boston public and its tourists and will jumpstart any night to a full swing.
Personally, there’s a lot of room for growth when it comes to the nightlife scene. Over the last few years, there have been a great number of businesses popping up here and there with unique concepts and instagrammable vibes; Caveau being a good example of the latter and Puttshack, SPIN, and F1 Arcade being a solid example of the former. I’m hopeful that the internal politics in the city will figure itself out. It’s puritan roots unfortunately should be let go so it can unshackle what the city can truly offer. Boston is the main destination of New England with rich history, incredible sports teams, an amazing culinary scene, a leader in higher education and a home to fantastic technology and pharmaceutical companies. Not only can we work hard, Boston needs to show that it can party harder.