Manray is now closed at this location. I will update it when the new location opens.
Website: ManrayClub.Com
I have been a regular at Man Ray since 1995, and while things change, things always remain the same. Man Ray is one of the longest running alternative clubs in Boston. Actually, it's in Cambridge, meaning that you can still smoke there as of August 2003. I have gone consistently on Wednesdays and Fridays, occasionally dropping in on a Saturday.
Drinks can be expensive. The best deal are the frozen margaritas served up in the front room.
Manray has three rooms. The Cage is the largest room, often with performances. The Front Room usually features another DJ, and has a sunken dance floor. A third room serves as a lounge, with velvet couches and another bar. However, people also hang out downstairs by the coatcheck and bathrooms.
Fridays are people-packed and pricy, and the dress code is rigorous. I've seen many people turned away at the door. Saturdays are also quite busy, but because it isn't a fetish night, the dress code is looser and there is a more laidback vibe. Wednesdays are something of a casual night for local goths, a time to catch up with friends rather than Friday's "See and Be Scene".
If alternative is your thing, I can highly recommend Manray.
Days of the Week at Manray
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - Closed
Wednesday - Crypt. Goth/Industrial. Cheap.
Thursday - Award-winning Gay Night.
Friday - Rotating Goth and Fetish Nights
Saturday - Transmission - New Wave.
Where is it?Manray is a dark brown/black building with an entrance on Brookline Street. This is the same street as the Middle East and T.T. the Bears. Manray is a block from Massachusetts Avenue, where Hi-Fi pizza is on the corner. Hi-Fi is a great place for an after-club snack and will be packed with clubgoers.
Parking There is parking in several city lots behind Mass Ave on both sides, and more reliably (but for a price) in the Green Street Garage only two blocks from Manray.