Limelight Stage and Studios

02/21/2008 Posted by mrmullin

Even though my girlfriend dragged me in, I did up having fun, as did everyone there it seemed. I've never seen such a diverse mix at a Boston night spot: bachelorettes, college students, club-types and plenty of thirty-something professionals like myself. The space is really nice and the karaoke host was fantastic. Although we don't generally frequent places with a cover; $10 seemed more than reasonable for a night of entertainment. Two warnings though: they do not carry Sam Adams, which might possibly be breaking a MA law or two, also latecomers to our party didn't get seats.

02/06/2008 Posted by caseyg0112

I've visited Limelight for two birthday celebrations which were both fun. I thought it would be a good spot for a corporate party but for some reason could not find any reviews on here or yelp for that type of event. They sent me a really extensive list of businesses that had booked (Mayor Menino had his holiday party at a karaoke place?), but I wanted some first hand feedback - so here I go. To start with areas for improvement, I did have trouble reaching a live person and when I did get information thought the pricing was on the high end. However, the event was a huge success which is why I am writing this recommendation. We had 50 people in the "Stage" with the highest level of appetizer buffet and open bar. People I never would have imagined getting up and singing actually did. The karaoke was a great icebreaker and got people having lots of fun. Although I didn't get up there myself, watching my colleagues rock out was hilarious. The event got rave reviews across the board and two weeks later, people are still talking about it.

Pros: energetic host, diverse song choice

Cons: limited drink menu

11/26/2007 Posted by adam78

Went here for a 30th birthday party and had nothing but problems from the minute we walked in. We reserved the large room by the stage and after we got settled we tried to sing - but of the three microphones, 2 didn't work at all and the other kept cutting in and out plus if you moved the monitor in the middle of the room to choose a song it would lose power. Staff came in 3 times to fix it but never got it quite right and we were stuck with 1 barely working microphone and a monitor that we had to baby all night. Also the set up in this room is pretty bad because if you face the TV to read the words when you sing you have to have your back to the rest of the people in the room. Kinda hard to get in to it when you can't see anyone else. The worst part though was the manager's reaction when we tried to tell her about all the problems we had - despite her personally coming in to fix the technical issues she kept telling us that it wasn't a big deal and we should have moved if we didn't like it. When we asked for a refund for the time the equipment didn't work she started saying that we were already getting an hour free (we used their buy 2 hours, get 1 free promotion). Eventually after 30+ minutes of negotiations she ended up giving us 1/2 hour off our bill but only after saying she "never wanted to see us or our friends in there again". Then she literally wouldn't let us leave until we left a cash tip for the waitress (which we were going to do anyways) - she actually stood over us until we collected money from everyone in our party for a tip! Besides all that there was no one else in the club (maybe 10 people around the main stage) and the atmosphere was pretty stale (on a Sat. night). There's better karoke places around. ps - there is a reason they give away the free shots of "sake" (if you give them your email address)... its awful! don't bother with any drinks actually, they only serve well drinks and they're pretty watered down

Pros: large song selection, lots of private rooms

Cons: equipment didn't work, room set up is bad, drinks are watered down, management is bad

11/16/2007 Posted by missionimpossible3275

I'm a pretty easy-going guy and have never wasted the energy writing an online review no matter how good or bad the experience. I'm taking an Oprah moment to share my story with the masses because the girlfriend was giving me sh-t about about what she read on here. Luckily I figured with all the awards and whatnot, this place was legit and we went ahead with plans to make complete fools of ourselves...which we most certainly did! We had a blast and didn't have any issues with the waitresses or emcee. Everyone seemed extremely friendly, which makes me think Susie Q might not have been on her best behavior. I mean if having young people and empty beer bottles scares you away from a nightspot, it's possible Boston is not the town for you. Perhaps I'm ignorant of the kareoke scene - admittedly I don't exactly make the rounds HOWEVER in our party of 20+ there were some "experienced" kareoke singers and I know the consensus was limelight is the biggest, hippest, most high tech kareoke set-up we'd seen.

Pros: lots of 80s jams, lots of bachelorettes

Cons: no beer on draft

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

11/11/2007 Posted by suzyqs

The staff was really unfriendly. The DJ gave me a really horriable attitude and ignored a question I had. Besides this the DJ was really bad, constantly looking at his own reflection, and slurring his words. The place was really dirty. The floor looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months, and the tables were littered with beer bottles; causeing a hazard if there was a fight. Alcohol and fighting can sometimes go together, and buisness's should take percausions with this. The equipment was faulty and not working. The drinks were overpriced and the cover was too much for what they had going on in the club. The website was misleading giving information of a bigger space with a varity of drinks to choose from. In reality the place was small and they didn't even have a full bar. The only good thing about the place was that it had a good varity of songs, which is where the one star comes into play. The crowd was young with more college age rich drunk kids, not as diverse as I wanted, but it was an experience. One that I would never do again, and would advise people to save there money and go to a place thats cleaner with nicer staff, and equipment that actually works.

Pros: good selection of music

Cons: faulty equipment, bad DJ, dirty place, horrible/non existant service, misleading website, overpriced

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful

05/02/2007 Posted by maria3278

I'm in three weddings this summer, and was nervous about making the decision for the bachelorette party. A few online searches brought me to Limelite's site and I decided to take a risk (I hadn't been before and the other bridesmaids hadn't either). It was the best time, so I'd highly recommend for a memorable girls night out. I think the private room is worth paying more because it's more fun to rock out when you don't have strangers watching. We had so much fun I told the maid of honors at the other weddings I'm in because I want an excuse to go back!

Pros: current songs

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

09/21/2006 Posted by socialbutterfly77

I've been in Boston for 3 years and felt like I had done everything worth doing. However I just visited limelight club on the recommendation of a friend and was shocked I hadn't come across it earlier. So if you like karaoke - it's an absolute must, but even if you are like me and can take singing only in small doses, I think it's definitely worth a visit. I've been to karaoke many times before, but I found this experience different because it was 'japanese' style karaoke. We had a room to ourselves which was awesome. Strangers singing badly = annoying... your friends singing badly = hilarious!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

08/12/2006 Posted by hey_dixie_chick

limelight got me into the studios, which i guess is big in ny, but never saw here. i do the club once in awhile but now that there is the option to sing with a cover band, that is my favorite. i'd highly recommend especially for a special event like a birthday. we told the host it was my friends 25th and they got her on stage and made a big deal and gave her cake too!

Pros: live band, rooms

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

07/24/2006 Posted by joy2g

I went there this past Sat night with my boyfriend and I sang a couple of songs. It was so much fun. I got to really sing, not just goof off. The crowd is nice and loud. The hosts are great and you got to sing as many times you possibly can! I'll back again. Definite plus for Limelight!

Pros: Lots of songs, crowd, price

Cons: Too bad it closes at 1AM

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

06/23/2006 Posted by thesehipsdontlie

I can't be the only one who has always secretly fantasized abt being a rock star... so I need to spread the word about this 'live band' kareoke. I pretty much stumbled upon it last week (maybe its every wk? dunno). Instead of singing over the kareoke music, you get to sing with a full cover band. The lights were blinding and with music blaring and these guys rockin out behind me I got such a rush. Very cool ! I'll be back for sure.

Pros: "uniqueness"

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful