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Categories: Restaurants, Bars, Karaoke [Edit]
Neighborhood: East CambridgeLechmere (Green)
Tue-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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We karaoked the shit outta this place.
Being a huge karaoke fan, I had to try this place out. It's certainly a dive, but I would say it's less of a dive than my previous karaoke spot in Columbus, OH. They have usual dive bar beers on tap, so we ended up getting pitchers of Sam Adam's all night. This place has a lot of recognized regulars, but what I like about it is that it doesn't make you feel out of place. Great place to sing your heart out without getting criticism!
The food is not good. Eat someplace else before you get here. The beer is not good. Their PBR actually tastes noticeably worse than all other PBR. And it is pretty much the best thing on the menu. The karaoke is, honestly, not good either most of the time. But it's a whole lot of fun.
This place is a dive. When you enter you walk into a smallish barroom with a circular bar, a couple tables and a golden tee machine. The place is ugly. Like, real ugly. Keep walking, hang a right and you find yourself in a way bigger, way uglier room. It reminds me of a mess-hall from a summer camp movie. Long tables, round tables, hightops, booths. Cheap chairs. Ugly. Bathrooms? Tiny and sketchy. Service? Well-meaning and friendly, but often very slow.
All that being said, this place can give you a really good time for almost nothing. There's no cover, and the karoake (thurs-sat nights 9pm to midnight i think?) is better than a lot of entertainment you'd have to pay for. If you don't sing? Eh, neither do I. But i love hanging out, watching, listening, cheering when somebody is good or at least very enthusiastic. If you do sing? Awesome. Do it up. Try something other than Total Eclipse of the Heart though. Occasionally somebody will get up there and be really awesome, but mostly people are just having a drunken good time. Share in the good times. Enjoy it. if you want to sing, get your name in as quickly as possible, because if you're slow you might not get a chance.
One caveat: this place succeeds or fails based on the crowd. Usually karaoke nights are packed and rowdy, but sometimes it just never takes off, and then you're just in a dive bar with crap beer and sense of bitter dissappointment.
Anyway. 4 stars. Give it a chance. Expect only karaoke and bad beer, don't eat the food, don't fear the locals, bring some pals and have at it.
Tried this place out last weekend. There was a good karaoke crowd already there around 10pm. We signed up but we never got around to sing by 12:30am when we had to leave to catch the T. The crowd was supportive and the karaoke acts were all entertaining in their own way.
We shared two pitchers and ordered some nachos (they were find, but a little small). All and all - it's a decent dive bar and close to the Lechmere T-stop.
I gotta be honest. I don't know Karaoke from Adam, and Karaoke doesn't know me. So I have no clue how many stars to give this place. It's highly divey, and the clientele doesn't spend a lot of time primping in front of the mirror before coming here, that's for sure.
Come here with a group, and if you want to sing, sign up early. If you don't, sit back and enjoy - the crowd here is highly mixed... Frank Sinatra through Linkin Park mixed. I would have given it an extra star for the impromptu conga line, but I woke up the next day with two big bruises on my legs from bumping into chairs, so 3 stars it remains.
And for what it's worth, the fries took a long time to come, but everyone agreed they tasted like the best f-ing fries we've ever had. Then again, we were hungry.
This place can be a little shady. Kj is ok. Doesnt really keep any sense of order w the singers. Lots of big groups come here. So party hard, lots of drunk people. Decent, wouldnt go outta my way to go there.
NOTE: This review is for the karoake only!
So, I lived near here for 2 years. I walked past Courtside every day. It looks sketchy. It looks unappealing. I thought it looked so red neck that I was sure to get stabbed whilst there. Or at least accosted by a drunk red neck. I was mostly right. Not about the stabbing, but about the red necks. But what I was wrong about was that there is a karaoke crowd full of young professionals and a few middle aged people that have a grand time here.
I've been to karaoke at Razzy's, at Maluken, and I like Courtside the best. First off, the room out back is huge. Plenty of space. We reserved a huge table since there was close to 20 of us. The fact that they reserved a table is great.
The karaoke area is roomy enough too and there are TV in the back of the room so you too can sing along! The karoake DJ man was having a good time and although it seemed like some regulars got to go up a little too often, he did have a lot of requests to sift through. I put in 3 songs, and after about 3 hours I only got to go up once.
What makes this a 4 star review is the selection. Selection of songs that is. The selection of food is your standard greasy chicken fingers food that will make you can ten pounds of fat in your middle section. But the songs, however are a whole nother story. Razzy's has an awful selection. Some fun ones, but more random ones that you don't want to sing. Courtside has almost every imaginable song. My song choices? Gonna Make U Sweat by C&C Music Factory, Shoop by Salt N Pepa, and Thong Song by Sisqo. Heck, they even have songs by Betty Grable or some 1940's actress that I can't remember.
The patrons picked your standard songs, which was a bit maddening because you could pick almost anything. If I have to hear Sweet Caroline one more time, I will choke somebody. It played 3 times while I was there. Get over it people!
The waitresses look like customers, so you have to seek them out and memorize what they look like. But they do their best to keep your beer replenished.
At midnight whilst waiting for my ride, there were drunk red necks outside, but hey, that's all part of the charm of Courtside.
Divey good fun for all the (drunken) family.
Should they clean their beer taps?
Yup.
Is the pizza only slightly better than edible?
Well... yeah.
Is the help always helpful?
Maybe not.
But it does just enough right to make it a functional, fun dive. The waitress has never ignored me quite enough to get me angry, the dusty beer lines take a back seat to how cheap a pitcher can be. And after several of said pitchers, who the hell CARES that the pizza isn't terrific? The Karaoke is fun, the crowd is supportive and I even have friends who refuse to sing but still like going. Maybe your girlfriend wants to go out to karaoke and you'd rather give Rush Limbaugh a sponge bath than miss the Pats pre-season game? Guess what? IT'S ON. So is the Red Sox game! So all at it once it's a sports dive AND a singing dive!
I truly pity those that can't fine fun here. You should start a support group. You can sit around and roll your eyes and try to trace back to the exact instance you lost the "Having a Good Time" section of your brain.
I'm in like but hardly in love with all that is Courtside. I came with a large group and we were all seated together at a table long enough which was fabulous (you don't always luck out like that, especially when said large group is also rambunctious, which we indeed were), but to get the attention of our server was difficult - so much that many had to just retrieve their drinks and food in the other room. And the drinks weren't exactly great tasting, but it's not like anyone had high expectations with that given the surroundings.
All that aside, what was upsetting was that so many people put in their names early on and still did not get to sing - and it was a good few hours for some (including yours truly) to get to sing even once, while others sang two - even three - times (and pretty badly.) It's unfortunate, because if you have an outing for a karaoke night, it helps if everyone who wants to participate can. After four hours, in my opinion, it should be organized and run well enough that everyone gets a shot that really wants it. So it goes.
Fun times, but more because of the company and the mere fact that it's a karaoke night in a dive bar. Would happily up the rating if the other stuff works itself somehow.
This place is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to go out in Cambridge. I am past the point in my life where I want to be crammed into a sweaty, tiny room with a bunch of striped-shirt wearing collar-poppers to spend my entire weeks paycheck on a round of beers. Actually come to think of it I never was AT that point in my life! When I want to go out I need to start at a friendly, low key place where I can meet some friends, maybe sing a little bit, get some cheap beers and have a laugh. Courtside covers all my bases and then some. I've actually made some friends just by going to this place and drinking beers. That's not something that really happens in Boston and really makes this place stand out. It's not fancy and the folks that go there aren't fancy, and I hope it stays like that forever! ALSO, Randall and the rest of the crew do a great job. Some reviews mentioned that they may not be super snappy sometimes because they are talking to other customers. I think their friendliness and earnest conversation abilities are actually another one of the charming things about the Courtside. This is a neighborhood divebar -- expect people here to be neighborly. Go get a beer and make a friend!
While I can't up a star just yet, I can honestly say that this time I actually remember going to the Courtside!!!
But this time I wasn't drunk.... *sad face*. This is due to the fact that I saw our server once in the entire time I was here. It took me awhile to flag her down and eventually put in an order for Mozzarella Stix, Zucchini Stix, and 2 drinks. Which took awhile to get our drinks, but I'm okay with that since there is a large crowd up in there. But... that was the last I saw of her... So off to the bar instead I go for my second round of drinks instead. I would have probably had more drinks if she came around more often, but their lost, not mine.
While the table seating is nice for a large group, I just honestly didn't feel that it is set up properly for karaoke. We need dance space man! And instead of long table set up, why not do cluster set up instead? So that people can at least get in and out of their seats? Just some suggestions... I felt it was really hard for me to talk to someone on the other end of the table without getting up and moving every time. And I'm sure one side was getting left out of the group vs. the other side. You know what I'm sayin'?
Now normally I would knock down a star because of said server and said table settings, but... BUT.... there are 2 saving graces here that keep Courtside to a 4 star.
1. Their Mozzarella Stix & Zucchini Stix are the bomb diggity!!! They were seriously larger than i though and for the price was a great deal. $6.95 for a plateful of mozz stix is amazing. And the Zucchini Stix were cut to a nice size, most places make them too skinny, but these were perfect. You can actually taste the zucchini as oppose to just batter.
2. The amazingly sweet door man with the barcode t-shirt!!!! Every time he held the door for us, even when we were just going outside, which he didn't have to do. He was super polite to everyone even during capacity, but making sure we were all set when we went out for cigarette breaks.
All I remember about this place is getting pulled in by some random stranger because the door guy… Read more »
If you've given the Courtside less than 4 stars, then you're clearly missing the point. The courtside is a DIVE. It's SUPPOSED to be a DIVE. And it is absolutely one of the best DIVES in the metro-boston area.
Why? This place isn't trying to be a dive. It just is. The employee's are nearly B-List celebrities in certain circles (mine anyway). You just can't create this type of environment even if you tried- it Just happens, and when it does, you accept it, embrace it, and yes, laugh at it and enjoy.
How can you not like a bar who's theme is primarily based on old handmedown furniture, ropelights, 80's karaoke, guitar hero, and craigslisted TV's?
Is the food good? NO! It's freakin horrible! (except the waffle fries).
Are their fine cocktails end high end vodka drinks? NO! order a pitcher of PBR and SHUT UP.
Are the bathrooms clean and the barroom well kept? Hell NO! Don't Touch anything, and enjoy!
I really feel that it's impossible to not leave the courtside with a smile on your ace, or a fond (if not inappropriate) memory of you're recent patronage.
Bottom line, you either love this type of place or hate it. If you hate it, stop complaining and please retire to your Beacon Hill parlor room or back with your staunchly nantucket red clad bretheren in Hyannisport.
Thank-you.
One of my favorite places in the city, though I was a little turned off at first since it looks a little scary from the outside. But - spend a few minutes here on a thusday, friday or saturday night, you'll soon realize how much fun this place is. Great Karaoke (best in the city IMO), and cheap pitchers. Those two alone give it 5 stars.
Eat dinner before you get here though, don't get the pizza (you'll be sorry the next day).
I just passed this place on the 69 bus and remembered my night there a few weeks back...
I went on a first date type thing here with my friend Katie and two dudes. We're not awkward people so it wasn't bad. Beers were pretty cheap, I bought a few pitchers for our group.
Karaoke was fun at first, but then all of a sudden it was like all of East Cambridge wanted to sing REALLY badly. And let's not forget that karaoke is for making an ass out of yourself--why do people try to take themselves seriously at karaoke? However much fun you have, please remember that if you are tone deaf, you should NOT sing "My Way." Not only is this piece of music the most over-sung karaoke song besides that song about the horse and cherry trees and crap, but I'm surprised Frankie hasn't risen from the dead to slap a bitch or three thousand for butchering his stuff.
So...we got drunk and public urination was involved. It was definitely one of the best date stories I have collected to date.
If you can tolerate it, try Courtside and see what you think. I'm not making any promises and at least you can get wasted for cheap, then pee in a bush by Cambridgeside Galleria. (I hope you think of that every time you walk by that mall now.)
I like the idea of Courtside and its karaoke, but I kind of wish the execution was a little bit more effective.
On the bar end, this is a great divey-type bar. You're basically getting what you expect from a divey bar: video games, regulars, pitchers of beer, etc. The prices aren't too bad, and the overall atmospehre is geared towards enjoyment. Service was okay, though a little spotty, understandable though considering how many people we had, and how many people were at the establishment, period.
On the karaoke side, it was fun but there were moments that were kind of irking. I understand that as a karaoke DJ, it has to be tough to be sure that as many people get up on stage as possible, and that you can't please everyone considering how many people are there. That being said, there wasn't really a reason for why the DJ, during a crowded night, needed to do his own number. I understand he wants to play to the audience, but I didn't really find that necessary.
Still, it's a nice karaoke setup. The list is huge, much better than Maluken's. They don't have the immediate download capabilities of Club Cafe, or an easy-to-navigate system like Limelight, but they make up for it with the huge, alphabetized list of oodles upon oodles of songs.
And overall, it's a decent place. I didn't get to try any food, but it seemed like people enjoyed that part when they finally got it. It's definitely a place I'd try again, for karaoke or otherwise.
Okay so I am a fan of dive bars in general... but this one got an extra star for the door guy who also works for a cell phone company (ye we had chats). There was a creepfest dude talking to me all close and the bouncer let me go over and stand next to him so the guy would leave me alone. He DID hold the door every time, and didnt have that "im a bad ass bouncer" attitude about him, which is a refreshing change in this city.
The whiskey ginger I first got tasted AWFUL, but then i asked for a specific whiskey and it got better. The karaoke room is nice... almost like picnic table type set up. Pretty good sound system in there too. They should stay open til 2 and they should do karaoke right up until close.. thats why people are there... all in all... a solid experience. I would do it again, but probably not unless I was with a big group.
The bar? Nothing special, it's a typical dive bar. Plays top 40 while showing Red Sox games.
The kareoke, on the other hand, is what makes the place special. Very large room with lots of tables, good for groups. The moderator/DJ/KJ/whatever keeps the in-between songs time to a minimum, which is great. And it gets packed with a large number of requests very quickly - get yours in by 9, 9:30 if you expect to sing. Decent food, pitchers of PBR for I think $9 (usually don't drink it, but a sam summer first kind of helps it taste better I guess!), reasonable food prices. Needs room for people to move around a bit, but overall not bad.
Best Math Ever!
4 Soco & lime's + 1 Corona = $20
I am going to start this off by saying I am not into karaoke. I actually try my best to avoid it. I… Read more »
Love it.
The townies, the bartenders, the owner, everything. Awesome.
Sure the food isn't all that but after a few beers it's pretty fine and the prices are just right. This is an awesome institution and I hope it's here forever.
I was awkwardly stumbling around Cambridge Ave after getting booted out of The Garment District, and my friend and I were starving. I'm not familiar with the area, so I used common sense to find us a good place to eat: If a place was empty or the people looked miserable, we kept walking. And we almost kept walking right by Courtside when I saw a large, cheerful-looking group go into the shady, almost hidden front entrance. I literally had to grab my friend by the shoulders and push her through the door, but in we went, not knowing at all what we were getting into.
My first thoughts were something like "S@#$, I've led us into a goddamn karaoke bar." Normally I would've tried to light myself on fire, but after a few Stellas and some much needed Zucchini Sticks, I actually had a blast.
The food is bar food. I don't understand how some people walk into places like Courtside and get all fussy about their food. Grab a sandwich, and put it in your mouth. Add fries if you're feeling feisty, and enjoy life. My friend got the most amazing burger with mushrooms and bacon (do NOT come here if you're a vegetarian, you will starve). They have all the usual beer on tap.
But the karaoke. Wow. This place is truly special. There were mostly groups of ten or more surrounding the podium at all times, and the singers were serious about their singing, but not in a creepy or embarrassing way. Some were really terrible singers. Some were obviously professionals. I heard everything from the usual 80s hits to Bollywood and everything in between. And no matter how bad you were, the crowd was completely supportive and genuine. I found that to be really, really cool.
My friend and I spent the night cheering on total strangers and singing along and having an awesome time. That's what happens when you take a chance on a new place: maybe you'll hate it, but what if you don't? I still don't enjoy karaoke in the least, but I would love to come back here and cheer on people who do!
I guess I need to start this off by saying we usually karaoke at Razzy's. Why? Pitchers are $8 instead of $12. That being said, Courtside was not at all crowded on a Saturday night for our large party to attend, and they do take credit cards. All good things.
The downsides of our karaoke going experience? The atmosphere feels even weirder than Razzy's, in the sense that it looks like a restaurant that was once successful and is now haggard looking and unkempt. The lamps are made out of little baskets from Nantucket. There's polka dotted pink vinyl table cloths. The table lay out is strange. The bathroom was water soaked and dusty at the same.....at least I hope that was water. It just felt weird. I would feel okay ordering food at Razzy's because it's clear that it's clean, where as I can't really say the same for this place. The bathrooms are always spotless at Razzy's, where as I felt like I was going to get a disease in the Courtside bathroom. Is it fair to compare the two? When it's in relation to the standards that I want out of karaoke bar experiences, I think it is.
The crowd was a random mix of East Cambridge townies, many of who clearly come out for karaoke here a lot. Lots of rough, rough performances. One plus? Unlike Razzy's, they do have screens through out with the lyrics for people who want to sing along. Also, the Courtside has a more extensive songbook, which could be a good thing, but here it just is a bad thing because people were picking HORRIBLE songs. Ones that had 12 measures of instrumental music in the middle of the song. And duets were done as not duets. AWKWARD! The MC looks like he may or may not live in a van, but he did a relatively good job. That being said, he didn't really have the stage presence of a karaoke master.
The service was very pleasant and the waitress kept all of our tabs in line, which could have been messy since we had a number open at our table. That aspect of the experience was really good.
Would I come here again? I wouldn't actively seek it out, but we had a nice time venturing out to East Cambridge and I'd come out only in a large group if Razzy's was full. I'd also suggest eating before....this place wouldn't be a joint to EVER eat at.
It's a dive bar...it ain't pretty people and isn't supposed to be. I don't ever go to the 'bar' here only the karaoke...which is A-Mazing. You get a good mix of youngin's looking to do some karaoke but you also get a couple of locals mixed in...the old guy doing Sinatra...the crazy bouncer 'Mark the Shark' who always sings a different little ditty and the karaoke man himself opens with the same damn song every time...but I'm always too drunk to remember what it is. *wink* a little trick...get there early...before nine and if you want to sing more than one song, use different names. The karaoke man won't pick the same person twice so everyone gets the chance to go. You can karaoke here Thursday, Friday or Saturday. It's love......
Do us all a favor...if you are reading these reviews and don't like dive bars, or sketchy looking locals, or if you intend to drink wine or martinis...DON'T GO!! It's not that kind of place. You'll thank me and I'll be happy not to see you on Friday :).
Look I love a place only lit with christmas lights just as much as the next person, and I used to think it was cute that the bouncer gets up and does karaoke (skill level aside). But after making many (maybe too many) visits there for karaoke nights, with different groups of people, it's initial charm is beginning to ware on me. It is right up the street from my house, so it is convenient for me, but that is really the only reason I would go back there. It is a great place for cheap drinks and a fun night, but that is about it.
I had a surreal, yet fun time here one Friday evening last fall. A group consisting of me, my husband and about 8 friends arrived at 10PM, already drunk. That was probably a good thing. I'm not sure I'd have as much fun if I was sober.
When we arrived we were greeted at the door by a man and a woman. They were friendly and funny . . . I wish I could remember their names, but I was drunk. The woman was tipsy herself, and kept coming up to me all night and rambling on about some stuff I couldn't understand. But she was enthusiastic, so I went along with it, and just nodded my head and smiled a lot. I also couldn't hear too well with the music and rowdy crowd (mostly from my table).
Anyhoo -- they have Sam Adams beer, which is what we drank, and very cheap but good bar pizza. I think we ordered some other stuff, but I can't really remember, since I was drunk at the time...
The karaoke is very popular here, and for good reason. The guy who runs it has a good selection of songs to choose from, and he is REALLY into it. So much so that he did a song himself, and ended with him kneeling on the floor. I wish I could remember what song he sang...
Unfortunately because the list was so long of people who wanted to perform none of us got to get up and sing. That was a major bummer.
So, I'm going to have to make a point of coming back here again - Yelpers, hello?
Cheap beer? Check!
Big screen TV with cheesy graphics for every song (animated wolf for Hungry Like the Wolf!) Check!
Room for all your friends? Check!
Lots of local color, including running into your landlord who bought you your first round? Check!
Turning the last song into a spontaneous dance party? Check!
Get there early as it gets crowded and the DJ makes sure everyone gets one (and usually not more than that) song, that way nobody bogarts the mic. This is a really rad place to get down and dirty with all of your friends.
Ghetto-fabulous, trashy, divey, friendly, and unpretentious.
The karaoke guy, Raymond, went out of his way to call people in order and not give special treatment (even to the regulars), and he was so nice about it no one cared.
We came to late to sing, but we watched the others ranging from very good to SOOOO -COMPLETELY-OFF-THE-HOOK-HORRIBLE that is was AWESOME. (Um.. unless that woman has Asperger's and Epillepsy, and then, um, I'm sorry for mocking you.)
Look, Courtside and I aren't Besties or anything, but I popped in with friends on whim this time, and had a good time, and would do it again.
When you have the itch to sing, this is the place to go on Thurs, Fri or Sat night. If someone were to look up "dive bar" in the dictionary, The Courtside is probably what you'd see as the definition.
Everytime I go, there is the most random & eclectic mix of students, young professionals & locals. If you're not there to sing, the performances throughout the night are definitely entertainment enough, but the people-watching potential is also off-the-charts as well.
Whiskey Park or the Foundation Lounge this place is not, but there aren't many other places that offer as much as this East Cambridge gem.
Courtside is, in a word, amazing.
This has been the official post-kickball bar for two seasons running and it has never let us down. From their ridiculously cheap pitcher+pizza deals to the high school athletic banquet-style seating in the karaoke room to the awesome karaoke stylings of the townies and fellow kickball junkies, Courtside is like a second home.
I recommend bringing a big group of friends with a high propensity for getting drunk and silly and doing just that.
Things I would not recommend: eating their food while you are still sober, trying to launch an actual singing career from their karaoke nights.
Updates are due when your first review was not on karaoke night. This place is a whole new world full of interesting creatures on karaoke night.
In fact on my first trip here (weeknight), I never even ventured into the karaoke room and had no idea what an odd place it would be. Not sure if it was the fake plastic plants hanging from the drop ceiling, the picnic tables stolen from Camp Wanacoochie, or the layout that just drew dudes to go try to pee in the kitchen..... it was all amazing, interesting, fascinating.
And no, I did not participate in the singing activities (if that's what you call karaoke). My singing is isolated to the shower and drunk nights with my ipod (you will thank me for that, trust me - unless you're my neighbor). And I have to admit that while it was interesting, I likely would make my next trip here on a non-Karaoke night - but I LOVE that this stuff exists - it makes our city some much more interesting.
And for those of you that have this NEED, terribly urging NEED, to sing that damn Journey tune that I tried to leave behind with all my other Jr High School memories - yeah, the songmeister has that and then some.
Don't make the mistake by coming here and thinking it's Courtside Seafood - because it ain't -… Read more »
Good, neighborhood crowd. Everyone seems to know each other.
It's nice that the karaoke and the rest of the bar are split up, so one can enjoy some peace and quiet but also go in the other room to sing a song or two.
My friend wanted to sing Zombie (by the Cranberries) but was told it was too slow. She was flat out rejected. Kinda a bummer. Otherwise, this dive-of-a-bar was a-ok.
If you're trying to get drunk and eat good on short money, there's a stool for you at the Courtside. Whether it's trivia Tuesday, Guitar Hero on Wednesday, karaoke on Friday, or just a night out with your boys on Saturday, this is the spot for a real good time. My friend and I met up with a couple ladies on Friday night and the place was bumpin.
We put down a couple pitchers and shot a few rounds of Golden Tee while the girls threw some jams up on the jukebox. I'm not tryin to brag but I shot 3 under over 9 holes, whatever. The karaoke list was a mile long so we didn't get to go up, but to be fair we showed up pretty late. It was all good though. We had a great time watching some real drunk guy slaughter Texas Flood. Stevie Ray Vaughn was turning in his grave for sure. If you get there early enough there's a pretty wide range of music and the DJ is real cool.
The bartenders are even cooler, especially Randall who takes good care of us every time we head out there. He's the tall handsome fella you wish you were as good as at Guitar Hero. This bar has all the makings of a place you want to be a regular at so get down there and check it out on any night of the week. There's always fun, cheap, and awesome activities going on so get there early, make sure you're not driving, and don't forget to take care of your bartenders. They'll be workin hard to take care of you!
I just played Guitar Hero here for three hours. My left arm is starting to go numb so I'll try and keep this short.
I fucking love this place.
They've taken care of me since I moved out here, from the free WI-FI (some of the regulars still call us the laptop kids) to the affordable food and booze deals. I know they're there should I need them.
The regulars are a colorful bunch from around the hood and always have something fun to talk about. Where this bar excels however is the bartenders. Eileen is kick-ass and Randall rocks the hell out of Guitar Hero. These two have taken care of me and made me feel so at home I can't wait to go back.
This is my neighborhood bar. Come and you may see me kicking some Guitar Hero ass. You will not however see me singing. Karaoke is not my gig. If it's yours apparently this is the shiz (they've won bar of the year several years running) so you'll enjoy it.
And with that the arm is done.
I love me some karaoke and Courtside is a great place to get your sing on. The song selection is enormous. The crowd is generous and polite. The people who sing aren't snobs trying to relive their glory days of Varsity High School Choir. It's awesome....drunk people who can't sing get a microphone and every right to shout so loud their throat hurts for the next week.
HOWEVER...come Courtside. You're a dive bar. Dive. Bar. Dirty, trashy dive bars should not, let me repeat...SHOULD NOT charge $14 for a pitcher of Bud Lt. And if said dive bar chooses to sell pitchers for shitty beer for $14, perhaps they should tell their tables that are downing crappy pitchers of overpriced beer like water just how much it's going to hurt at the end of the night. 5 pitchers of beer for $85 after tip? Bad form, Courtside, Bad form indeed.
You broke my heart Courtside. I even bit the bullet and took a cab to get to you....for what? A shitty rendition of Rehab and a creepy karaoke DJ?
But -- I did have a fun time and it seemed like everyone else there did too. Just do yourself a favor and 1) get your songs in earlier and 2) come in with a pretty good buzz going already.
Let me start off by saying I am NOT a "bar person." I usually hate them: noisy, crowded, sweaty, smell like cheap beer, leave you with pounding headaches from the loudness.
But I like Courtside.
It's a dive bar that has lots of room, plus Guitar Hero on a big screen, TVs for the sports nuts, and, of course, karaoke. My favorite is the $16.95 for a pitcher of PBR and a large cheese pizza. Mmm...tastes like ski resort pizza (the once-frozen kind).
Most importantly, I could actually *hear* what my friends were saying. No one had to shout to be heard, and conversation never missed a beat. \
I'm glad my kickball league comes here after games on Wednesday nights!
I would totally give this place 5 stars but it's nearly impossible to sing your song on account of the VERY MUCH SO regulars that hog up the mike time with their incessant singing.
Outside of Courtside is usually a ridiculous time. I've seen girls literally get picked up and nearly pile-driven [pile-drove?] into the sidewalk. The doorguy Mark is usually entertaining. We went out to smoke and started talking about Batman to continue some earlier conversation and this chubby guy slides in next to us showing off his two cell phones. TWO! And he starts showing us this photo album he has inside his jacket pocket of him dressed up as Batman, like this comes up in conversation a lot. I liked how his costume even had the fake abs and Val Kilmer Bat-tits on it even though fake Batman was a pretty hefty fella. Then he gave me a flyer for his appearance at free comic book day. He's at Comicazzi from like 12-4 in case you're interested.
Once again, why do girls insist on singing karaoke in groups? It's a sign of weakness! We recently went here and had a table right up front and watched Sally Swingtits sing "Livin' on a Prayer," three watercooler office bimbos singing "Don't Stop Belivin'," some blonde thuggy pretty girl singing "The Humpty Dance" [surprisingly VERY good too], Johnny Leatherjacket singing "Rebel Yell," another [possibly the same?] watercooler office bimbos singing some song in Spanish, etc, etc... mostly typical karaoke songs.
The only way you can get up there is if you have a birthday or "have" a birthday. I was able to be the last song of the night singing "Punk Rock Girl" to a crowd of maybe five.
And then somehow we managed to walk home in a matter of ONE HOUR. Sucks.
So the inside looks like Chuck E Cheese, I bought PBR there in pitchers, and the waitress was pretty cranky...
BUT I was there on karoake night and there was the equivalent of a Korean Elvis so I'm going to give it three stars.
Here's the thing, we started off friends...
Last Saturday, I sauntered, hiked, and moseyed my way to Courtside with my friend, as we were desperate to karaoke. After what seemed like an eternity(more like 20 minutes), we arrived at our destination: white trash karaoke heaven.
The bouncer, a washed up nasty dude missing some teeth, stood at the entrance to the pearly gates and okayed our IDs. We quickly surmised that the karaoke room was in back, and voila, there it was: a series of long, plastic table-cloth coated picnic tables with a karaoke set up at the front. We had arrived! And then, we found a free pitcher of beer at the table. I confidently strode to the waiters' station and grabbed two glasses. Commence song selection and card filling out.
It was cool, but it was all pretend....
I was called up moments after dropping my card, only to be told my song selection might skip because the track was iffy. No prob, I'd pick a back up song. Lame, however, because this is the only place I have found thus far with MY song.
Made my way back to our location, where I bumped into a woman sitting cross-legged at a table. The dude with her seemed ticked the collision happened, but the two of us apologized amicably. Unfortunately, I had to share my name to move on. Anywhoo...
Yeah, yeah...
We sat through kiss, toto(surprisingly not bad), r.e.m(surprisingly good), the weather girls, and some other eclectic selections. Our free beers were consumed.
Sadly, my name wasn't called.
Since you been gone...
A tom collins that tasted like a cross between lemonade and pee later, and, yup, still no chance for allison to wow the world. Soooo, we took off and embarked on a Cambridge street pub crawl. Quite the social experiment, really.
And all you'd ever hear me say, is how I wanna be with you...
As for you, Courtside-I'm-Going-to-Blow-You-Off Karaoke Place, I may return to get my revenge and finally sing Since U Been Gone.
...guess you never felt that way
I love the Courtside. You may not love it, but I love it. So I'm going to write a big long review to tell you why I love it, and then you can decide if these things are the reasons you will love it with me, or be lame and hate it (without me).
The Courtside is pretty damn unpretentious. It's split into two areas, with the smaller including the main entrance, the bar, and the restrooms, and the larger being the main seating area (and is where the karaoke and/or trivia happens). The decor is standard local bar-ish and slightly worn.
The staff is friendly and quirky, my personal favorite character being the door man who is known as Mark the Shark when he gets up on the karaoke microphone. He's great, and knows more about music than you do. Really.
The food is cheap, and you're pretty much getting what you're paying for. Drinks are cheap too, and if you're like me you're pretty excited that they serve PBR in a pitcher. There's no better accompaniment to karaoke than a cheap pizza and a cheap pitcher of beer.
The atmosphere is friendly, which I like because nobody is there on the weekends to prove that they're cool by being scornful of the karaoke singers. Everyone is there because they LIKE karaoke, and even bad singers get a reasonable round of applause just for being brave enough to get up on the mic.
The karaoke sound system isn't anything special, but does the job just fine. The only flaw in their set up is that they often have the reverb cranked up so high that the sound gets a little muddy, but that's a boon to bad singers and not more than a minor annoyance to good ones, so no big deal.
The KJ (that's lingo for Karaoke Jockey, for those of you not in the know) does a good job of getting first time singers in pretty quickly, and other than that sticks to the original order of singers, so if you get there late on a busy night you'll probably only get to sing once. I like this system though, keeps things fair for everyone.
The best thing about the Courtside's karaoke nights is their song book. They have the biggest, most comprehensive song list I've ever seen. Sure there are a few holes in it, but short of having access to the full itunes catalog in karaoke form you're not going to do much better than these guys do. It's impressive.
My only complaint is that they shut things down pretty early (well, that and they're kind of far from where I live). Wish they stayed open 'till 1:30 like the downtown bars.
Also, I'm not totally sure but I think they have a lesbian night now and then. Whether that's official, unofficial, planned or unplanned I don't know. Or maybe there's just a crew that lives nearby and likes the bar. Whatever it is, when my presence has coincided with this group, the good-times-o-meter has invariably nudged up a notch or two.
MMmmok, you guys . . . ok, no - shut *up* dude! . . . Ok, I'm totally gonna sing now, ready? Ready, ok . . . I wanna . . shhhhh!! . . . I wanna dedicate this shhhhong to the Courtside, for bein' the most effffffin' awesome bar in . . . America . . . I love you guys! Waitress lady . . . you're like my mom, lady - I love you! Birthday table - I love you guys too! You and the doorman . . . he's the man! Doorman -- you're the man! This song is for you! Seriously . . . oh my god, try the fried zucchini sticks, they're wicked good . . . or else i'm just wicked drunk . . . but whatever . . . karaoke DJ guy -- I love you! Thanks for finally gettin' to my song . . . ok, ok, I know its late . . . here I go . . . Ok, here I go . . .
"Just a small town giiiirl! Livin' in a looooonely woooorld . . . she took the midnight train gooooin' anywheeere! . . .Dooon't stoop beeelivin! Hold on ttoooooo that feeeelin . . .yaaaa! Streeetlights! Peeeople, whoooa-oh-ooooohhhh!"
I love karaoke. No, you don't understand--I LOVE karaoke. My most favorite birthday party ever involved it (and ice-cold Schlitz and Xanadu . . . but that's neither here nor there).
Still, it's not like I organize my social calendar around it or anything--I'm not one of those people who know which bars have the best karaoke on which nights--so when I do get to go, I like to make it count.
This is where the Courtside comes in: their book is the best I've ever seen. If there's something you want to sing, they probably have it. You can expand your repertoire! And I can usually get two songs in, so that makes me happy. Throw in some pitchers and colorful locals (obligatory shout-out to Mark the Shark!), and it's like my own personal Xanadu.
And the reason why my friends have to listen to me suggest it as our destination *every single time* I drink more than three beers.
P.S. Last I checked, you could indulge your superstar fantasies on Thursdays, Fridays, AND Saturdays at the Courtside.
Cheap drinks, good service. Bad food. This place is great on a Thursday night for karaoke. Go here with a big group and get drunk. Good times.
Daily Appetizer & Entree…
Watertown, MA
Holiday Pies
Neighborhood: Kendall Square/MIT
Neighborhood: East Cambridge
Category: Karaoke
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Karaoke
Boston, MA
Category: Karaoke
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Karaoke
Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain
Category: Music Venues
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