Hot shots

Scenes and party goers snapped at venues and events around town. All photos by Erik Jacobs.

  • Rise & Fall Party
  • When: Nov. 19
  • Venue: Enormous Room
  • The scene: And the wall, came crumblin' down. Rise & Fall, the traveling art and DJ event marking the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, stopped by Enormous Room on a recent night. Party goers checked out digital art from around the world covering the themes of "bringing down walls" or "breaking down barriers" while DJ Ipek Ipekcioglu spun Middle Eastern sounds and Berlin electro.
Rise & Fall
  • LUPEC Tiki Bash

  • LUPEC Tiki Bash
  • When: Nov. 14
  • Venue: Villa Victoria
  • The scene: The women of LUPEC created a 1950s tiki lounge, complete with rum punches, burlesque, Island Creek oysters, and canapes at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. Uke Springsteen was there, as were the Boston Derby Dames, who skated around with treats from Taza Chocolate. Proceeds from the retro fete will benefit On the Rise.
  • Xmortis

  • Horror Hotel
  • When: Oct. 9
  • Venue: T.T. the Bear's
  • The scene: Like Christmas, Halloween seems to creep up earlier and earlier each year. J. Cannibal joined resident DJ Chris Ewen for a recent night of goth, industrial, spook rock, and horrorpunk music. Black Cat Burlesque performed and on-theme costumes — go-go ghoul, scream queen, or monster — were encouraged. A hair-raising time was had by all.
  • Ordnance at the Armory

  • Ordnance

  • When: Sept. 27
  • Venue: Center for the Arts / Armory
  • The scene: Artists Edgey (New York), Mono No Aware (Germany), and Xanopticon (Pittsburgh) performed sets during Ordnance at the Armory, a multimedia dance night that incorporated DJs, drummers, and video artists who played a mix of industrial, breakcore, and IDM (intellectual dance music).
  • Boston Derby Dames

  • Roller Derby

  • When: Sept. 19
  • Venue: Shriners Auditorium
  • The scene: Skaters and fans gathered for a Boston Derby Dames Double Header, a night packed with two bouts of roller derby action. It was a raucous night of jamming and blocking, with two hard-fought games. (Photos by Aram Boghosian)

    Editor's Note: This gallery contains some language meant for mature audiences.
  • 'The Donkey Show'

  • 'The Donkey Show'
  • When: Sept. 5
  • Venue: OBERON at A.R.T.
  • The scene: Shakespeare is either a.) rolling over in his grave, or b.) wishing he could boogie with the crowd at this participatory show, inspired by "A Midsummer Night's Dream." People line up around the block to get into the American Repertory Theatre's second performance space — once inside, they dance alongside the glitzy actors to 70s classics like "We are Family" and "Car Wash."
  • Spelling Bee Night

  • Spelling Bee Night
  • When: Sept. 1
  • Venue: Highland Kitchen
  • The scene: Could you spell clinquant or malaxage? Or define them? Might want to brush up on the Merriam-Webster before hitting this weekly bee in Somerville. Nicole Pierce and Victor Tiernan of local dance theater company Egoart are the hosts — hang in there long enough and you might score a g-i-f-t certificate to Highland Kitchen.
  • Squirt Gun Battle

  • Water Gun Battle
  • When: August 22
  • Venue: Esplanade
  • The scene: Close to 450 lovers, fighters, and soldiers stormed the Esplanade, aka the battlefield, over the weekend for the second annual Revolutionary Water Gun Battle organized by Banditos Misteriosos. There wasn't a dry eye (or leg, or chest, or foot) in the group after the squirt guns fired and the water balloons flew. Our forefathers must be so proud.
  • Elvis Memorial Party

  • Elvis Celebration
  • When: August 16
  • Venue: Dick's Last Resort
  • The scene: Elvis Presley passed on to the great Graceland in the sky 32 years ago — but the spirit of the King was alive and well at the recent Hunk-A-Hunk-A Elvis Memorial Party at Dick's Last Resort. Hound dogs, jailbirds, and devils in disguise danced to music from Dana Z, competed in a jelly donut-eating contest, and drank Blue Hawaiians.
  • Tango by Moonlight

  • Tango by Moonlight
  • When: August 8
  • Venue: Weeks Footbridge
  • The scene: Clear skies? Check. Good music? Check. Scads of people of all ages dancing together? Check. That was the scene for August's Tango by Moonlight event on the Charles River. Some hot steppers took lessons; others just swayed to the beat. It was truly a taste of Argentina in Cambridge — a little vacation in our own backyard, if you will.