Phraseology 101: ‘to paint the town red’ means to go out, drink and celebrate, to engage in a riotous spree. The expression refers to the kind of reckless behavior that results in blood being spilt.
There are several suggestions as to the origin of this idiom: one of them goes back to Marquis of Waterford, a notorious hooligan, who ran riot in the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray in 1837, painting the town’s toll bar and several buildings red.
I used to paint the town beige.