After a very successful run in Provincetown this summer, 5 to 9 comes to Boston for 4 shows only! September 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th at MACHINE. It’s the family-friendly tell-all of three of Trump’s secretaries and how they get even with the petulant president. You can purchase tickets at the link below.
This week I’m featuring an endearing photo of one of America’s best 20th century authors, Truman Capote, in a rare shot with his longtime partner, Jack Dunphy. The photo was taken shortly after WWII in Rome, 1949 – a year after they met. The second photo shows the modest headstone where the two men remain buried in Southampton, NY.
I dedicate this weekly post, featuring vintage gay photographs, to the men and women who lived in a more critical time where being true to yourself and loving who you want wasn’t always an option and came at a great price. Do you have a photo you would like to share? Email me at bosguymail@gmail.com.
In case you missed it, a new (and very cool) park officially opened in the South End this past weekend. Located under the I-93 overpass by the Ink Block, it shows how creatively the city is thinking and how space once unused and unsafe can be transformed.
I first wrote about the park called Underground at the Ink Block or Underground Ink for short in August in this post. Since then, finishing work was done and street artists from all over the United States including Los Angeles, Miami, New York City and Boston were invited to come and bring life to the concrete ramp walls that define this urban park. The developers behind the neighboring Ink Block, National Development, will manage the new park.
Below are photos that I took while enjoying the opening party on Saturday afternoon. When you get a chance I’d recommend you check it out. You can also like the park’s Facebook Page to learn more about upcoming events.
It is now the afternoon on Wednesday and for those of you who work Monday – Friday you have safely made it through 50% of the work week. How excited are you for Friday afternoon?
This week on Instagram I’m featuring an account of a handsome French personal trainer and model who’s account is filled with so many beautiful photos it is a bit distracting.
The professional photos which are highly stylized may not be for everyone, but I enjoy the quality of the images and the eye-candy factor and thought you may as well. The account is already quite popular with nearly 225,000 followers so perhaps you already follow this piece of man candy.
Follow him on Instagram here, instagram.com/killian___.
Do you like this weekly post? Check out previously featured IG accounts here.
Hopefully the caption below inspires you to share a caption or two of your own. Bonus points to anyone who can make me laugh.
Eat your veggies
Earlier this month I shared a post about some of the great plays and musicals local theater production companies have rolled out for the start of their 2017/2018 line up. There are also a number of shows that will be coming to the area that don’t have big marketing budgets and you may not know about but might enjoy seeing. Check out one or more of these shows.
18th Boston Comedy Festival runs from Wednesday, September 20 – Sunday, September 24 at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square.
John Kelly – Time No Line At The Oberon for one show only, Thursday, September 21st. Kelly’s solo show is a non-linear narrative about his life and work in the East Village in the 1980’s; he touches upon gender performance, the AIDS epidemic, the culture wars, LGBT and queer history, gentrification. Tickets start at $25.
5 to 9 which played at the Art House in Ptown this summer comes to The Ramrod on Thursday, September 21 thru Sunday, September 24. If you didn’t see this spoof on the 1980 hit, grab tickets to see Ryan Landry, Varla Jean Merman and Kiki Samko update this story with their evil boss, Donald Trump.
Home At Emerson’s Paramount Center runs from September 27 – October 1 HOME combines illusion, live music, home-spun engineering and an inventive use of audience interaction to compose an experience that asks, where is home? If it is not a place, what is home?
David Sedaris is back in town on Wednesday, October 18 to talk about his latest book, Theft by Finding, when the Celebrity Series brings him back to Boston’s Symphony Hall.
This past weekend I was reading a brief article on Instinct Magazine’s website which said a survey of 5,000 LGBT British people told The Stonewall Organization that more than 50% of gay men are uncomfortable with holding their significant other’s hand when in public. Moreover, the organization reported that 20% of respondents had been the victim of a hate crime in the past year. Perhaps the most disturbing finding was that more than 80% of victims said they did not contact the police afterwards.
Perhaps all those signs exclaiming “Love is Love” should come with an asterisk indicating that loving your partner comes with an inherent risk and therefore isn’t really welcome. We all have friends who have faced violence or been subjected to it ourselves so this isn’t exactly a surprise even if it is disheartening to read.
While these results are based on a survey of LGBT British men, I think the findings would be mirrored here in the US with different parts of the country showing more or less hesitation to share public displays of affection. You can download the full report here: LGBT in Britain – Hate Crime & Discrimination.
Before the summer becomes too much of a distant memory, I wanted to share this photo of my friend Dennis. The photo was snapped in Provincetown this past August during Carnival when the theme was Gods & Goddesses.
For as long as I’ve had this blog I’ve paid tribute to my friend, Graham Berkeley, who was on the United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of New York’s World Trade Center at 9:03 AM on September 11, 2001.
If Graham were alive today he would be 53 years old rather than 30-something I knew. At this point, more time has passed since his untimely death than the duration of our friendship, but tragedies have a a way of cementing in time the memories of those taken from us and so is the case with Graham so each September my mind inevitably turns to a friend who’s memory remains with me despite not seeing or speaking to him for nearly two decades.
There is a lot happening throughout the week but this weekend has a lot of events you’ll want to check out including American Field Pop Up at the Design Center, the 31st South End Open Studios and the 28th Annual Boston Freedom Rally which takes over the Boston Common.
If you want to get out and dance this weekend there is plenty as well with the monthly gay party in Somerville on Tuesday, BRASH, up in Salem is the LGBTQ Happy Hour (North Shore) that runs late, on Friday there is the monthly dance party in JP, Boyfriends (feat. music of Rihanna) and a HUGE block party at Paradise in Cambridge with Saga Saturdays.
Boston 1945 – 2015 Book Release Party join me at our friend’s book release party from 6-8PM on Monday at Cathedral Station in Boston
Drag Bingo is every Monday starting at 7PM free to play at Club Cafe in Boston
Queens Dinner is an uplifting twist to a girl’s night out as we “transition into our best selves” with a workshop led by guest speaker, Life Coach Clara Angelina Diaz, entertainment and food at Darryl’s Corner & Kitchen 6-9PM in Boston
Taco Tuesday is a fun way to socialize and eat on the cheap in the South End; first come, first serve – hosted every Tuesday at Tremont 647 in Boston
BRASH Weekly Queer Party is hosted every Tuesday with DJ Colby Drasher at Brass Union from 9PM – 1AM in Union Square, Somerville
Showtune Tuesday hosted by VJ Ryan Grow starts at 9PM every Tuesday at dbar in Dorchester
Karaoke Night starts at 10PM every Tuesday at Jacques in Boston
Geek Trivia is guaranteed fun and has lots of prizes (trivia starts at 8PM) hosted every Tuesday at Club Cafe in Boston
Mike Kelly Fundraiser is on Wednesday for his bid to become District 2 City Counselor from 8-9PM at the Trophy Room in Boston
ICA Boston every Thursday from 5PM – 9PM admission is free to the public
LGBTQ Happy Hour (North Shore) is Thursday at 6PM at Opus in Salem
Boys Night Out (Back to School Ed.) monthly men of color (and their friends) cocktail social is hosted by M3 and starts at 7:30PM at the Liquid Art House in the Back Bay
Trivia Night is at 8PM every Thursday at The Alley Bar in DTX Boston
Karaoke Thursdays is every Thursday at Machine with your hosts Rob Botelho and Emphysema Menthol 100s in Boston
Detention Thursdays! is hosted every Thursday starting at 9PM with shows at 10:30 & 11:45PM – No Cover – at EGO in Providence
Thump! Thursday is hosted every Thursday starting at 10PM at Peggy O’Neil’s in Dorchester
THE WEEKEND
Gay Men’s Camping Group will leave for Wompatuck State Park in Hingham to camp over the weekend
Queer Inclusive Climbing Klub (QuICK) Pizza night and climbing club at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville
Boston Freedom Rally is one of the nation’s largest and longest running cannabis events and runs through the entire weekend on the Boston Common in Boston
Boyfriends presents Rihanna is a fun monthly dance party hosted at the Milky Way Lounge on Friday in JP
Dueling Divas are back for the summer at Mainestreet every Friday night in Ogunquit
Twerk Fridays at is an 18+ night at Ego in Providence
SoWa Open Market SoWa Open Market is now open every Saturday and Sunday from 10AM – 4PM through the end of October in Boston
South End Open Studios take place this Saturday and Sunday rain or shine in more than 200 artist studios throughout the South End in Boston
American Field Pop Up is Saturday and Sunday from 11AM – 6PM at the Innovation & Design Building in the Seaport, Boston
Dueling Divas are back for the summer at Mainestreet every Saturday night in Ogunquit
Saga Saturdays Block Party Boston’s biggest gay dance party on Saturday at Paradise heads outdoors for a massive block party in Cambridge
LGBT Kickball Boston America’s Finest Kickball League kicks off on Sunday at 8AM at Joe Moakley Field in Dorchester
Back 2 Basics Tea Dance never has a cover and always has great music from 70s 80s & 90s, starting at 5PM no cover every Sunday at Club Cafe in Boston
Pajama Party is a weekly dance party hosted every Sunday starting at 10PM at Machine in Boston
Hot Mess Sundays at Candibar in the Theater District is every Sunday starting at 10PM in Boston
Send me information about your upcoming programs and events in my blog’s comment section or message me the details on Facebook.
Located less than a five minute walk from the heart of Davis Square, Spoke Wine Bar first opened in 2013 but closed in 2016 before reopening under new management this spring with Eric Frier (Toro, Coppa, Ribelle) and Daniel Rodriguez (Uni, Clio) in the kitchen.
The restaurant serves “New American small plates”, and when I visited in August the menu was divided into three categories small, cold and hot with prices ranging from $5 – $23. My friend and I opted to sit at the bar which runs nearly the entire length of the restaurant and we were served by a friendly bartender who’s name unfortunately I never caught otherwise I’d be sure to give him a shout out for the excellent service we received.
We ordered four plates: one small, one cold and two hot plates to share, starting with smoked butter bean dip with sourdough bread ($8, shown above left) and the burrata served on a kohlrabi pesto with green strawberries and hazelnut ($15, shown above right). The smoked bean dip was really delicious with the thickly sliced sourdough but the burrata plate was disappointing. When we cut into the cheese it failed to ooze into the bowl and neither of us enjoyed the flavor of the cabbage-pesto. To our server’s credit when he realized we didn’t care for the plate he immediately took it back and offered to deduct it from our tab.
Fortunately, our two hot plates were very satisfying, starting with the quinoa risotto ($16) shown above with summer vegetables and a ricotta salata. I was really surprised by how much I liked this plate and think the creative combination of flavors and complementing textures made this an excellent choice. Following the risotto the striped bass ($23) with mushrooms, kholrabi and big, leafy mustard greens, which added a dramatic pop of color along with flavor was another personal favorite.
Although we were both satisfied after the three plates we dined on we were easily influenced to take a look at their dessert menu and quickly selected the rum crémeux ($10). It seems like crémeux are on many restaurant dessert menus, but for those unfamiliar with the name, think of a dense, creamy mousse almost the consistency of a pudding. This chocolate dessert was a decadent end to a delicious dinner and despite being small, was a great plate to share.
I really enjoyed my dinner at Spoke Winebar. The staff was friendly and more than competent, the menu was very creative and the space comfortable and pleasing to visit. Even though one of the plates wasn’t to our liking, I feel like I need to give bonus points to the staff for the way they responded. When a restaurant takes risks by combining different ingredients and flavors you have to respect the kitchen’s creativity. If we had a similar reaction to several plates, my opinion would probably change but everything else was so pleasing it is hard to fault the restaurant, considering how creative their entire menu is.
I wish the new ownership much success at Spoke Wine Bar and if you were to find yourself in Davis Square would certainly recommend this as an option. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday).
BosGuy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars, Awesome.
Spoke Wine Bar
89 Holland Street (Davis Square)
(508) 718-9463
Enjoy your morning cup of joe (or whatever you may want to call him).
Click on this week’s comic strip to enlarge
ADAM & ANDY is set in the fictional New England town of Woodfield, CT. You can learn more about this strip by visiting, adamandandy.com.
BosGuy 
