Hot shots

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

  • Party Cruise
  • When: July 30
  • Venue: MV Provincetown II
  • The scene: Hundreds of people crowded the decks of the MV Provincetown II for Boston Event Guide's Summer Party Cruise. Bands played on the lower and middle levels of the ship while scenesters danced, mingled, and got airbrush tattoos (no, really). Our intrepid photographer braved the boat for three hours of music and merriment.
  • Soular Sundays

  • Soular Sundays
  • When: July 5
  • Venue: Milky Way Lounge
  • The scene: Laugh first, dance later. That's what we always say. Comics Scotty Lombardo and Mia were up first at Soular Sunday, a variety show of sorts at the Milky Way's new location. Then there was live music from Lee Wilson, Troy Durden, and Steve Lanza, and a soul set by DJ Nomadik rounded out the night.
  • Beantown Breakdown

  • Boston Breakdown
  • When: June 28
  • Venue: Artists for Humanity
  • The scene: Dancers spun, popped, windmilled, and froze at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter in South Boston this weekend. DJs Act One and Shame spun hip-hop and mashups as individual breakers and teams competed in dance battles for prizes. The event was all ages — and all ages danced up a storm. We don't recommend trying these moves at home.
  • Latin Music Fest

  • Latin Music Fest
  • When: June 14
  • Venue: The Fireplace
  • The scene: Feeling hot, hot, hot? Washington Square restaurant The Fireplace hosted this 12-hour celebration of Latin bands and dancing. Guests munched on vegetable Cubans and grilled chicken tacos and sipped honey caiprinhas under a tent in the eatery's back parking lot, while Karina Stone's Quartet played spicy dance numbers.
  • Bastille Day at the Liberty Hotel

  • Bastille Day
  • When: July 14
  • Venue: The Liberty Hotel
  • The scene: How appropriate that the French Consulate and French Library decided to celebrate Bastille Day — the French national holiday celebrating liberté, égalité, and fraternité — at the Liberty Hotel. Hundreds of Francophiles took over the multi-level lobby of the jail-cum-hotel for dancing, drinking, and noshing. There was even a Marie Antoinette sighting(!).
  • Elektra's Revenge

  • Elektra's Revenge
  • When: June 10
  • Venue: Wonder Bar
  • The scene: Female DJs took over the downstairs of Allston hotspot Wonder Bar on a recent Wednesday night. DJs Opisthocoma, Squigglecat, Jenova Complex, and Shivar spun drums & bass, goth, and electronic music until the wee hours. It wasn't exactly a "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"-type of crowd.
  • Air Guitar Championships

  • Air Guitar Contest
  • When: May 27
  • Venue: The Paradise
  • The scene: We've all been moved to wildly strum the air and make contorted faces when Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" comes on the radio. Of course, we lack any sort of musical skill and smartly sat out of the national Air Guitar Championships at the Paradise. Contestants were judged on technical merit, showmanship, and even "airness."
  • Anime Boston

  • Anime Boston
  • When: May 22-24
  • Venue: Hynes Convention Center
  • The scene: Hundreds of costumed and wigged people descended on the Hynes Convention Center over the weekend. No, Halloween didn't come early this year. It was just Anime Boston — the largest anime fest in the Northeast. Fanboys and girls enjoyed a masquerade ball and performances and learned how to sew for cosplay ("costumed roleplaying," that is).
  • 'Gossip Girl' Finale Party

  • 'School's Out' Party
  • When: May 18
  • Venue: Mantra
  • The scene: "Gossip Girl" devotees hoofed it to Mantra to watch the show's season finale and sip themed Svedka vodka cocktails, including the saucy "Frenemies Forever" and "Future Ex." Fans were encouraged to wear school uniforms, headbands, ascots, and crested blazers as they watched Chuck and Blair's nasty antics. Cheers to guilty pleasures.
  • Hearthrob vs. Thunderdome

  • DJ Battle
  • When: May 2
  • Venue: Puma City
  • The scene: According to their MySpace pages, Hearthob is for "Junkies and freaks," and Thunderdome is "a movement." Does that mean the DJ night that brought the two dance parties together at Puma City was for freaks who like to move? Throngs of party goers found out this weekend at the temporary event space on Boston's waterfront.
  • Comic Con

  • Comic Con
  • When: April 4&5
  • Venue: Back Bay Events Center
  • The scene: "Dark Knight" devotees and "Fantastic Four" fan boys — most in costume — filled the Back Bay Events Center over the weekend for Boston Comic Con. Venerable illustrators and comic creators like Mike Allred, Whilce Portacio, Dick Ayers chatted with fans and gave advice to aspiring comic writing hopefuls.