Go for the drinks, stay for the (near) celebs

Historically, there's been a dearth of celebrities in the Boston nightlife scene. No Lindsay Lohans or Paris Hiltons cavorting on Lansdowne Street. Your likeliest brush with boldfacers has been, say, running into Ben Affleck at a Southie bar when he's home to visit mom, or seeing Tom Brady grin for the cameras at a charity bash.

But in the past several months, thanks to ambitious bar promoters -- with ambitious budgets -- celebs and near-celebs have been flocking to local clubs, where they breeze past velvet ropes and throngs of eager fans.

In a practice borrowed from nightlife meccas such as Miami, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, the famous are getting paid big bucks for brief and well-publicized appearances at Boston hot spots. All they have to do is fly in and sit at a VIP table for a cocktail or two.

This Sunday for instance, "Entourage" star Kevin Dillon will make a stop at the Marina Bay club WaterWorks for a party called "We Love Drama," thrown by promoters with Big Night Entertainment. With a Big website, of course, at welovedrama.com. The actor will pocket about $20,000 to show up and mingle with fans.

And last week, Pete Wentz appeared at Gypsy Bar after his band Fall Out Boy played the Tweeter Center. The emo frontman, made up in his trademark eyeliner, stopped in for a brief visit with fans in the VIP lounge. No word on what he was paid, but he drew a mob of clubbers who paid a $10 cover -- and went home able to say they partied with the rocker.

"We made eye contact," said 21-year-old Keri Freeman of Lowell, who drove in to see Wentz just a few months after she and pal Michelle Losh, 22, trekked to Gypsy Bar for Kevin Federline's appearance in April.

Randy Greenstein, a promoter with Big Night, said Boston clubs have stepped up celebrity cameos because shelling out for the rich and famous means bigger bucks in the long run. Sure, stars charge thousands of dollars to come out and schmooze, but having K-Fed or Drama visit your club can make it a nightlife destination for months.

Over the past few weeks, Big Night has brought celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton to Mansion in the Alley and pop singer Fergie to Rain. The "Glamorous" diva was nice enough to drop her party appearance rate from $60,000 to about $20,000, since she was already in town for KISS 108's summer concert.

"It brands your night. It brands your club," Greenstein said.

"The bigger clubs -- it's harder and harder to get people to go out. Boston is celebrity-starved anyway. To bring in Hollywood types or celebrity types, it's what you have to do to get 21- to 29-year-old girls to your establishment."

Gypsy Bar's Julie Salickram said that's precisely why her venue now books celebs on an almost monthly basis.

"People need more of a draw to come out these days," she said. "There's so much entertainment at home."

And once you get a few celebs to your club, others follow. According to Salickram, because of recent visits to Gypsy Bar by DJ AM, Robert Iler (A.J. on "The Sopranos"), and Tommy Lee, agents are now coming to her instead of the other way around.

But not every celebrity is attainable .

Big Night may have snagged Dillon for WaterWorks, but the other "Entourage" guys were out of reach. Adrian Grenier is too busy to pin down. Kevin Connolly, who plays Eric, is too expensive. And ironically, according to Greenstein, Jerry Ferrara, who plays the nightlife-obsessed sidekick Turtle, just can't be bought.

"Turtle doesn't do parties."