Nostalgia is defined as a sentimental feeling towards something in the past, but there are no rules about how far in the past something has to be before you are allowed to get nostalgic about it.
On Tuesday, April 1, The Paradise Lounge, the intimate listening room/bar/restaurant nestled within the Paradise Rock Club complex on Commonwealth Avenue, went dark for the last time. While we wish this was just some April Fool's joke we didn't get, the unfunny truth is that Boston has lost another venue for live music.
The Paradise Lounge wasn't large, and – especially in recent months – it wasn't pretty, but it had a certain gravitas born of the list of talented people that have stood and performed on that greasy, beer-stained, carpeted stage.
Boston's burlesque revival found a home at The Paradise Lounge a number of years ago when The Burlesque Revival Association brought some shows there. More recently, they've been one of Boston's burlesque stages, hosting The Boston Babydolls on a monthly basis.
The Lounge is a relative newcomer to the 'Dise scene, the baby sibling to the larger Paradise Rock Club just down the hall. The smaller space quickly earned credibility (and tour stop desirability among artists) by becoming part of Paradise lore. Audiences past have gathered for the Pogues, the Police, U2, and everyone's favorite ugly rockers, the Ramones in the main space. If you were a Boston musician on your way up (or down), you played at The Paradise. The J. Geils Band (and all of Peter Wolf's projects) played at The Paradise, so did The Cars, 'til Tuesday, The Dresden Dolls, Tracy Chapman, Jim's Big Ego, and pretty much every Boston musician of note for the past twenty-five years has played within the Commonwealth Avenue building at least once. Many of today's up and comers have turned to the Paradise Lounge on their journey up the ladder of the Boston scene.
The Lounge was part of the recent Paradise sale to Lir and McGann's Pub owner Joe Dunne, and venue staff said Dunne has plans to renovate the kitchen and front room to convert it into yet another Irishoid bar.
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