The night owl
ALEXA GEOVANOS, 21, (above and top) recently graduated from Simmons College in Boston with a bachelor's degree in English. Currently working part time at Harvard Business School and doing freelance research for a Harvard professor, she describes herself as ''an avid clubber, social animal, and intelligent person."
''I'd like to correct a common misconception about clubbers. We're not all druggies and partiers. I'm in the top 5 percent of my class and have three jobs.
''Boston is able to draw really good DJs, like Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, and Paul Van Dyke. They don't live in Boston, but the Lyons group (which owns a number of Boston nightspots) is able to attract them. Avalon no question is the best club to see a music show or a DJ because it's so small.
''Pravda on Boylston Street has long lines. I like the interior, there's usually good music, live DJs, and I enjoy going there. What I don't like is the poor 'line time/quality time' ratio, and the inevitable stare down from men and ladies alike upon entering the club. Sophia's on Boylston is good for salsa. Kings is not really a club, but it is very cool. They play great music there, and people hang out. The pizza burger is great.
''There's a really cool club in Somerville that just opened about six months ago called Toast. It's very unpretentious and is actually underground. It has a cool, cavelike interior, and it's very laid back. There's one huge room for people to dance in, and they play really good house music.
''Still, the limited scope of the Boston scene creates an environment in which it's possible for mediocre clubs to succeed simply because people have nowhere else to go. I'm not saying this to diminish the successes of the clubs of Boston. An industry that caters to a young, trendy crowd is surely volatile, perhaps even more so in Boston, where clubs generally market to students only to watch them graduate and leave. Then the clubs get to start all over again with a new class.
''Tequila Rain on Lansdowne has wet T-shirt contests. You can quote me as never going to Tequila Rain. That's just kind of a hardcore college party. Everyone just gets bombed, and they play cheesy Top 40-type music.
''I go to New York about once a month. In Boston there are certain places that just have a complete monopoly on the scene. In New York there are so many different places to go. You can be down in the Village, you can go uptown, you can go to the meatpacking district -- all in one night. If there's a huge line someplace, you can go somewhere else.
''In Boston, I think there are two types of people who go to clubs. There are the people who go because they're into music. I think I fall into that category. Then there are people who say: 'What should we do? Let's go to a club.' Actually, there's another group, the hardcore ravers. I think the whole ecstasy phase has passed now, but there are definitely pockets of people who go crazy, take a lot of drugs, drink, and get rowdy.
''It's unfortunate that the clubs are only open till 2 a.m. So where do you go? You can go to some sketchy apartment or you can go to Rise. . . . It's the only after-hours club in Boston. They don't serve alcoholic beverages. Rise opens at 1 a.m. and closes at 6:30. The atmosphere is almost like a house.
''Chinatown is good for after hours, too. A lot of places are open till 4 a.m. They don't serve booze, but they serve food. Nearby, there's definitely a scene at News and South Street Diner. News is one of those places where everyone looks at what you're wearing and who you're with and what kind of bag you have.
''Is Boston hip? I do love Boston, and I don't want to trash the city I live in, but because so many young people live here, lots of students who have never lived in a city before, there's a very young, rowdy population living out their college experience. That can get very aggravating. At places like Colgate or Cornell, the partying and social life is situated on campus. For college students here, Boston is their club. Sometimes when you go to the clubs, you feel it's their fraternity party.
''The smoking ban is great, and I don't believe it has hurt business. It's lovely to be able to leave a club without my hair smelling like an ashtray and a burn hole in my favorite T-shirt. Now Boston just needs to lift the 2 a.m. ban." 