Worst. Bar. Ever. Â My friends and I came here and they denied us at the door for NO reason and slammed the door in our faces. Â We asked the gentleman at the door why we were not allowed in and he said he would check with his manager. Â We assumed this was okay because frankly he seemed like he had a very low IQ so he clearly must have misunderstood his directive. Â When the equally intellectually challenged manager came over, he also denied us without being able to provide an explanation. Â We had called 10 minutes prior to ask if they were open, and they said yes for at least another hour, so when we cabbed over there and were then denied we were obviously upset. Â They were extremely rude to us and shut the door in our faces while clearly the bar was 1/2 full of patrons. Â I wish I could give this place 0 stars since we were not even able to experience it. Â We headed over to Atwood Tavern and the manager there was so sweet to us and told us that he actually used to work at Courtside and its basically the worst ever... they are super rude to everyone, really unclean (ewwww), and just a really bad work environment in general. Â We had a blast at Atwood Tavern though, would definitely recommend heading there instead of this dump.
Review Source:This is the closest bar to my apartment, and I do everything I can to avoid coming here. The best thing Courtside has going for it is NFL Sunday Ticket and they very kindly orchestrate the TVs for out-of-market fans there to ensure each group is able to watch their game of choice. They also offer free wi-fi, frequently used by the fantasy football obsessed on Sundays. That's where my positives end.
The tap lines are dirty, mixed drinks weak, vinyl tablecloths sticky. Karaoke is the main attraction, but good luck getting a chance to sing unless you're well known to the karaoke MC - otherwise you're more likely to spend 3 hours drinking crappy beer waiting for your turn that never comes. The food is truly abysmal, even with the lowest of expectations. Don't slap a single microwaved slice of American cheese over some stale chips and call it nachos. It's just offensive.
I love a good neighborhood dive bar, but Courtside is all dive, no good.
This damn place. It's concept is good, but the karaoke is run so terribly. Our waitress in the karaoke room was terrible and a wicked bitch. I never understood bitchy waitresses whose living depends on their tips. The karaoke lady did a really terrible job. I brought up a song when before the karaoke had even started at 9. I got to sing at about 10:15. Then I had 2 other up, but only got to sing that one time. That was annoying, not to mention the regulars singing repeatedly. Â While she's on the mic saying "Brain.... where is Brian? .... Brian?? Â Â Â Â Brian???" I could have sang my song. Â We wasted probably 30 minutes of the night of her asking that.
In summary, the bathrooms are disgusting, the karaoke is run terribly, the waitress is a bitch. They're lucky they are the only place around like it or else they wouldnt be in business.
This place is The BEST. Â Karaoke (Thurs - Sun only I think) in what looks like your uncle's living room, SUPER cheap drinks, big buck hunter, friendly townies... Â I always have a blast whenever I come here.
Warning: you will probably not have said blast unless you get completely, totally, inebriated. Â And then go to the Kong after.
Courtside reminds me of Cleveland, my hometown. The night was memorable thanks to the cheap pitchers of PBR, neon beer signs, working-class people, and the conga line that snaked through the bar during Mike the Bouncer's rendition of "Jump in Line" by Harry Belafonte. Mike was my favorite. When we entered, he made us feel welcome. It is hard to find a nice bouncer, particularly in Boston. And, he wore a fanny pack.
At first, I was a bit uncomfortable; there where many experienced regulars at the mike and they all seemed to have a regular song. I worried that we wouldn't get our turn to sing. However, at 11pm the DJ implemented a rule: one new singer followed by one veteran. Suddenly, it felt much friendlier.
I liked the variety of old-school songs. I was wooed by two male bfs singing Boys to Men and a guy  (clearly from MIT) rocking-out to Talking Heads. Fun music. Lots of laughs.  While Courtside doesn't have much control over which songs its patrons choose to sing, it does provide a fun atmosphere where almost anything goes.
Great dive bar.
Well...this is definitely a dive bar. My friends dropped me off on their way to another bar, and basically looked at me like they were dropping me off in the middle of Camden, New Jersey. They pretty much dropped me off and peeled off, leaving behind the smell of burning tires and the "Good luck not getting shot" sentiment.
Ok, it doesn't look like the classiest place on the outside. Or inside, really. But it's one of those places you bring your friends when there are just too many to fit into any other venu.
It's old-school karaoke at its best, complete with plastic table covers and a doorman who's super-friendly and also reminds me of my grandfather. Everyone who comes here for karaoke is nothing less than crazy enthusiastic, so you have definitely come here to to get (and give!) a good show.
As long as you have a big, fun group with you, this place isn't bad for a casual karaoke night out. Just don't wear your nice shoes. Lest they come out with 15 types of beer on the bottom:)
This is some serious karaoke.
Came here last Thursday night with friends. Â I love love love karaoke but it's hard finding people in this town that will even come watch me sing let alone grab the mic themselves. Â So when my one buddy's birthday came last Thursday and he wanted to go out, I suggested karaoke as a joke and he was all for it! Â
Turns out that Thursday night at Courtside is BSSC night and there were maybe 30 people from various kickball teams. Â Which is good and bad - good because there's a huge crowd singing and dancing along, bad because it means that in 3 hours I got to sing only one song. Â
Also, if you're going out to East Cambridge by Lechmere for karaoke, clearly everyone else will be just as serious about it as you. Â Why the hell else would you ever find yourself in East Cambridge? Â My one friend even remarked as we drove down Cambridge St looking for the place, "We're running out of street here, you might drive into the river..."
Yes, the place is a total dive and in the middle of nowhere. Â But cheap pitchers of PBR combined with lively and talented karaoke make this a win in my book. Â I'm just going to have to get here a little earlier in the night next time to maybe get 2 songs in!
WHY is this place so popular?
I'm a person who tends to see the best in everyone but there's really not much good for me to play up about Courtside.
Perhaps it would help if I'd actually gotten to sing while there. Instead, I was left with an impression of a ramshackle, depressing hole-in-the-wall that doesn't smell all that great, with disgusting food and no good beers on tap, where the karaoke DJ ignores your song request for hours on end so she can play multiple requests by her "regulars." Eff that.
Yet somehow this place is frequented by hipsters. Lots and lots of them. Just as ants gathered around a spot on the sidewalk indicate the presence of something sweet, usually a crowd of girls in Urkel-style glasses and guys with beards and tucked-in plaid shirts is an indicator of a place I'd like. Guys, you failed me this time.
I was really confused when I first walked into this place, because I didn't realize that the door to Courtside is actually a porthole to the shitty dive bar in Western Pennsylvania that I go to in when I'm home for Festivus.
If you judge this place using criteria of whether or not it's an aesthetically pleasing place to have a tasty meal, then it gets 0 stars. If you judge it based on criteria of "is this a fun place to go after your social dodgeball team game to drink several pitchers of cheap beer and sing drunken karaoke?" then it gets 3 stars. Something about my math doesn't seem right.
Why should you go to Courtside?
They have a crane game filled with dildos and porn DVDs
The chairs and booths are barely held together by duct tape
They have an ample karaoke library
The ridiculous "regulars" who frequent the bar
It's not overly cheap for a dive, but you'll have a damn good time. Â The regulars also tend to monopolize the machine, so I would recommend choosing a good song so that you get picked, or hound the guy running it. Just don't go here expecting to pick up pretty college girls or anything like that....one of the guys "singing" had piss all over the front of his khakis.
I'm supposed to be drawn to places like Courtside. Ye old school interior lined with townies and young bucks trying to get a nut, a massive dining room that puts the karaoke stage front and center.
But the appeal sticks to a like, and not a like like - just a like.
As a karaoke bar, it absolutely shines. Quick cycling, jovially hosted and surprisingly talent-laden, the mic never cools and the songs selected just burst with energy, an infectious beckoning for audience participation.
The food, on the polar converse, is just plain abysmal. Chicken tenders resemble dried up shoe leather, and everyone else fought through their dish. Andy B: "This slyders are NOT GOOD." Yes, he yelled. Yes, it was documented. Keely S: "I am not feeling this burger. It's pretty bad." And after a sample nibble of each, I sat beside them in the school of hard culinary knocs.
Five dollar wells and the promise of that sweet VIP treatment BSSC kickballers get will warrant a future visit, but I'm gonna start pairing taunts with a pocket energy bar or something to hold me over.
So much fabulousness has already been written about Courtside, but I'm a-gonna add in my two cents anyway.
I have been frequenting the Courtside as a result of their kickball sponsorship for years. Not that I, personally, care about or for the free pitcher of beer. Â That's not the reason we keep coming back. Neither is the food, the service or the cheap vinyl table cloths that have probably been around since sixties. Â
We come back because of the karaoke, which is terribly-fabulous in that watching a train wreck sort of way. We come back because at the beginning of the nite when you're sober you can play the game where you look around the room and "I spy" decorations for every holiday that appear to be permanent features in the rafters. We come back because even when everyone feels like they've underestimated their personal portion of the tab we always somehow wind up with extra cash.
We come back because there's always that same guy sitting at the bar trying in earnest to sell us boot leg dvd's out of a frightening black duffel bag; because we having running bets about how long the bartender with the handle-bar moustache is going to keep on waxing, and because it can be fun to spend fifteen minutes at the end of the nite going table to table trying to figure out who parked you in in the teeny-tiny back lot...
Actually, when I put it that way it ends up sounding sort of like a version of hell. Except for how much fun everyone is having. Including me.
Everything was fine except the guy running the karaoke machine. Â I put in a slip to sing a song and ended up waiting.... and waiting... and waiting... til people started singing about two to three rounds already. Â When I approached him... now he's acting like he remember. Â
Oh well... you lost a customer.
And if you do sing... the guy on the machine sings it with you to ruin the moment.
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.
I'm in like but hardly in love with all that is Courtside. Â 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. Â 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.) Â It's unfortunate, because if you have an outing for a karaoke night, it helps if everyone who wants to participate can. Â After four hours, in my opinion, it should be organized and run well enough that everyone gets a shot that really wants it. Â 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. Â Would happily up the rating if the other stuff works itself somehow.
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? Â 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'? Â
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.
I guess I need to start this off by saying we usually karaoke at Razzy's. Â Why? Â Pitchers are $8 instead of $12. Â 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. Â All good things. Â
The downsides of our karaoke going experience? Â 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. Â The lamps are made out of little baskets from Nantucket. Â There's polka dotted pink vinyl table cloths. Â The table lay out is strange. Â The bathroom was water soaked and dusty at the same.....at least I hope that was water. Â It just felt weird. Â 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. Â The bathrooms are always spotless at Razzy's, where as I felt like I was going to get a disease in the Courtside bathroom. Â Is it fair to compare the two? Â 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. Â Lots of rough, rough performances. Â One plus? Â Unlike Razzy's, they do have screens through out with the lyrics for people who want to sing along. Â 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. Â Ones that had 12 measures of instrumental music in the middle of the song. Â And duets were done as not duets. Â AWKWARD! Â 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. Â That aspect of the experience was really good.
Would I come here again? Â 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. Â 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. Â I don't ever go to the 'bar' here only the karaoke...which is A-Mazing. Â 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. Â *wink* a little trick...get there early...before nine and if you want to sing more than one song, use different names. Â The karaoke man won't pick the same person twice so everyone gets the chance to go. Â You can karaoke here Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Â 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!! Â It's not that kind of place. Â You'll thank me and I'll be happy not to see you on Friday :).
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. Â 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. Â
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.
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. Â (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.
I love me some karaoke and Courtside is a great place to get your sing on. Â The song selection is enormous. Â The crowd is generous and polite. Â 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. Â You're a dive bar. Â Dive. Â Bar. Â Dirty, trashy dive bars should not, let me repeat...SHOULD NOT charge $14 for a pitcher of Bud Lt. Â 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. Â 5 pitchers of beer for $85 after tip? Â 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? Â A shitty rendition of Rehab and a creepy karaoke DJ? Â
But -- I did have a fun time and it seemed like everyone else there did too. Â 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 just played Guitar Hero here for three hours. Â My left arm is starting to go numb so I'll try and keep this short.
I fucking love this place. Â
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. Â I know they're there should I need them. Â
The regulars are a colorful bunch from around the hood and always have something fun to talk about. Â Where this bar excels however is the bartenders. Â Eileen is kick-ass and Randall rocks the hell out of Guitar Hero. Â These two have taken care of me and made me feel so at home I can't wait to go back. Â
This is my neighborhood bar. Â Come and you may see me kicking some Guitar Hero ass. Â You will not however see me singing. Â Karaoke is not my gig. Â If it's yours apparently this is the shiz (they've won bar of the year several years running) so you'll enjoy it. Â
And with that the arm is done.
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 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.
I love the Courtside. Â You may not love it, but I love it. Â 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. Â 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). Â The decor is standard local bar-ish and slightly worn. Â
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. Â He's great, and knows more about music than you do. Â Really.
The food is cheap, and you're pretty much getting what you're paying for. Â Drinks are cheap too, and if you're like me you're pretty excited that they serve PBR in a pitcher. Â 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. Â 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. Â
The karaoke sound system isn't anything special, but does the job just fine. Â 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. Â
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. Â I like this system though, keeps things fair for everyone.
The best thing about the Courtside's karaoke nights is their song book. Â They have the biggest, most comprehensive song list I've ever seen. Â 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. Â 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). Â Wish they stayed open 'till 1:30 like the downtown bars. Â
Also, I'm not totally sure but I think they have a lesbian night now and then. Â Whether that's official, unofficial, planned or unplanned I don't know. Â Or maybe there's just a crew that lives nearby and likes the bar. Â 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! Â Thanks for finally gettin' to my song . . . ok, ok, I know its late . . . here I go . . Â . Ok, here I go . . .
"Just a small town giiiirl! Livin' in a looooonely woooorld . . . she took the midnight train gooooin' anywheeere! . Â . .Dooon't stoop beeelivin! Hold on ttoooooo that feeeelin . . .yaaaa! Streeetlights! Peeeople, whoooa-oh-ooooohhhh!"
Groundrules:
1) Don't eat the food (I caught a cook not washing her hands after the bathroom -- plus it's not that good anyway).
2) Don't expect to get drunk without paying a pretty price (everything is watered down -- hardcore).
3) Don't expect to get a lot of songs in unless you show up really, really early.
4) Don't expect to be serenaded (some of these people are BAD like you wouldn't believe).
That said -- they've got an amazing song selection, and as long as you realize that the only attraction here is the karaoke -- go for it.
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.
OK, here's the thing you have to understand about the courtside - it is 2 bars. Â It is a sketchy-ass home to all local alcoholics and it is a quasi-trendy karaoke bar for pretend hipsters. Â It walks a fine line, and it does it well.
I love this bar -I really do. Â I love it for brunch or an afternoon/early evening cocktail with locals and I love it when it's crowded on weekends. Â Hipsters just can't take themselves as seriously as they would like to when there is a 65 year old woman with a mullet drinking whiskey and "singing" Michael Jackson songs.
People get disappointed with this bar because they either think that the locals have sold out to the karaoke MAN or that the karaoke scene is ruined by the local scum but what I am here to tell you is that you have to love BOTH. Â It's like when people ask if you like the early Beatles or the late Beatles and I always have the same reply- if you only like one, you don't *really* like the Beatles.
That being said, things to note:
-tis true, the order of singing is pretty commy and sometimes sucks
-some of the people are very talentless, but it is even MORE fun to cheer for them
-the food is not awesome, but it's mediocre and cheap, and hey, if you're drunk and already there...
-the waitresses sometimes ignore you. then you should go to the bar, get a drink and let your waitress see you drinking it, as to shame her into being more attentive.
-if you are drinking a mixed drink, they will get STIFF by the end of the night (which i enjoy)
-be prepared to get drunk, no matter if it's for afternoon beers or weekend karaoke, it is absolutely imperative.
Whenever I step into the Courtside, I am instantly taken back to the bars around my neighborhood back home in Lowell. You know the ones, with the same people sitting in the same seat. Christmas lights scattered about the walls, so as to not give off too much light so everyone looks mildly attractive. Because lets face it, if there was normal lighting, no one would get any. Cheap drinks and dinners ($13 for a large pizza and a pitcher of Pabsts) and less than happy wait staff, who could think of a thousand things they would rather do than serve pitchers of cheap beer to drunken 20 somethings.
The main attraction to this place is the karaoke. When at the Courtside, its instantly obvious that everyone is wasted. I'm not talking drunk I'm talking WASTED. So you can be quite sure that towards the end of the night karaoke is very popular.
Now I'm not putting my nose up to the Courtside. I love the fact that everyone here is just trying to have a good time and relax. Have a couple of beers maybe sing some Meat Loaf and call in a night.
The only reason I come here is because its the kickball league bar and they play mad games of flip cup.
Its dirty and not in that hole in the wall bar type of way either. Â I'm not a big fan of karaoke - there are definately some regulars, to each their own.
And avoid the food. The pizza is nothing like pizza and my friend found mold in her sour cream once. Gross!
Where else can you play keno, do a shot with a lawyer and watch fruitful "transactions" between the locals take place all night? Â All this with Karaoke Thurs -Sunday...........hell, I'm partying like a rock star!
Sounds cool, huh?
The last time I went there for a drink, I stepped out front. Here is the convo I heard;
Guy#1: "How could you do this? Dude she is my wife"
Guy#2: "You don't even know the half of it, she..."
Guy#1 "DON'T you insult her, she is fu**in awesome...she's my everything...look at her, how could you"... (apparently they were talking about the girl standing there with them-she looked like she was in a coma)
Guy #2 cut him off..."Sal, Sal, Sal......Brinks is callin...how much do you want??"
Guy #1 "Oh sh**, whatever he's got....tell him to go to Lechmere"
Guy#1 (Waited till the phone convo ended than proceeded) "Well I don't know, I don't know.....we'll just have to wait for the court date to see the results."
Girl in coma like state slurs: " I'm think I'm gonna wear my black shirt from Dots" Â
In reality it is a cheap dive bar near Lechmere trying their damnedest to be a cool establishment.
Yeah they may have a nice lit up sign outside and cool promotion posters with bands all on the side of the building, colorful bricks, some cool murals, two huge rooms, and always a group of people smoking butts in the front  when you walk buy.
Don't be fooled by the outside. If you are pretentious or are looking for $12 martinis-go elsewhere. This place is the kind you go to scare your friend from the 'burbs or only  for three other reasons:
1. Convenience Â
2. cheap beer
3. Keno/Karaoke
This place has the potential to be awesome....but the locals have overtaken the joint ......so for now they can just post pictures  on their website that probably represent the crowd once or twice a month. You ain't foolin me though ;)
DAYTIME: when I lose in court I come here to drink my sorrows away with the other older dudes. It depressing. everyone in there feels like they just got their ass raped by some nasty prick. I do not know how the bartenders keep from hanging themselves.
NIGHTTIME: a bunch or weird young professionals take over the bar and do karaoke. bad karaoke. they crowd the place, and I feel like I am back in high school.
over all it still has cheap drinks, yummy munching food, and true bartenders who know everything.
I have only visited this place once but didn't care for it.  It's a dive bar but  not in a good way.  I arrived a little after 10:00pm on a Saturday night, hoping to do a little karaoke but soon learned A LOT of people had already put in requests for songs and I wouldn't get to sing until at least 12:30/1:00am or not at all.  It was very crowded and I didn't get the chance to look at a regular karaoke book but it did appear that there were a great deal of songs available. Â
The karaoke, I must say, was pretty awful. Â It didn't seem like people were there to sing well or perform, just to sound bad and try to be funny. Â But alas, I only stayed for a few songs and there may have been good people singing that night. Â I have been to MUCH better places for karaoke but you have to get pretty far out of Boston for them. Â For example The Glenview in Chelmsford and Tiki Lau in Westford. Â
Additionally, it took about fifteen minutes to get any attention from the bartender despite there only being a few people at the bar. Â I did get the sense that the place was pretty understaffed though and the bartender did apologize for the delay. Â
I think there is a real need for more karaoke in Cambridge, especially on the weekends. Â It's pretty obvious when a place it packed that much by 10:00pm on a Saturday night. Â
PROS: Cheap drinks, huge karaoke selection.
CONS: Very long wait for karaoke, understaffed, and people sing bad karaoke.
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