December 17, 2009

Hot spots for cool tunes
Your guide to the local music scene
By Michael Witthaus music@hippopress.com

In some establishments, music stands front and center most every night of the week; for others it’s just one element among many that make up the room’s personality. From pleasant piano to mind-numbing metal, there’s something for every musical taste throughout the region. You just need to know where to look.

The beat goes on, mostly
Economic woes turn down the volume a bit

Many forces are shrinking the number of live music options. Solo performers work where bands used to play. Places close, while others cut nights from their schedule to try and stay in business.

Some factors make no sense at all. Mike Huot of the popular barbecue spot Auburn Pits in Auburn once routinely offered live entertainment — until he received a letter from music publisher ASCAP demanding royalty payments for the songs performed there. Now he’s cut back on live music and won’t advertise when he hires a band, wanting to avoid scrutiny.

“I’m not paying them a dime. They say music soothes the savage beast. If you can’t give a couple of kids a break to come in and play for a lousy 50, 75 bucks and maybe a beer, a drink and a sandwich just to get their feet wet … what is so wrong about that?” Huot said.

Other concerns are more prosaic and revolve around simple survival in uncertain times. Sometimes, that happens at music’s expense.

The Capitol City carries on
In Concord, the economic domino effect has taken a toll: venues are spending less on live music, making it harder to attract out-of-town bands, which have high travel costs. The result: a tightening circle of local musicians moving between a dwindling number of bars and restaurants.

Hosted jam sessions, solo performers, open-microphone nights (musicians jokingly call them “open rehearsals”) and — shudder — karaoke fill the void. When that won’t work, DJs are brought in. Todd Tousley opened Penuche’s Ale House in Keene 20 years ago and now operates three other establishments — in Concord, Nashua and Manchester.

“My advice to musicians is: learn a bunch of upbeat dance tunes. Because it’s always about getting girls up to dance, that gets people in the room, and that makes the bar owner happy,” said Tousley, who not only books live music but has played guitar and sung with the cover band Fat Tuesday for 17 years, performing all over the state.

Tousley has seen these changes before.

“It’s cyclical,” he said over and over. Still, Penuche’s continues to hire bands in each of its locations except Nashua (“the room’s the wrong shape for live music”). Some of Tousley’s personal favorites are Lichen, who cover the Grateful Dead, Alli Beaudry and Manchuka.

Manchester sings a (somewhat) happier tune
The live music scene in the Queen City is relatively healthy. Chandler’s and Boynton’s Taproom are recent additions to the downtown, while Shaskeen, Black Brimmer and Strange Brew continue to offer live entertainment many, if not all, nights of the week.

The rest present live music mostly on Fridays and Saturday nights, when cover bands stick to familiar favorites.  Tore Down House, Mama Kicks, Soundtrack to Monday and Best Not Broken are some of the bands keeping the dance floors full and the rooms lively. 

Jam sessions are ubiquitous. The Wan-Tu Blues Band has a strong franchise, hosting three of them every week. Most recently they moved the session held for years at the private Manchester East Side Club to Fratello’s in the Millyard. Wan-Tu also runs blues jams at Johnny Bad’s on Thursdays, and a very popular Sunday gathering at the Village Trestle in Goffstown.

Three other Manchester clubs also offer regular blues jams — Moe Joe’s (Wednesdays, hosted by Catfish Howl), Strange Brew (Sundays and every other Tuesday with the Strange Brew All Stars) and 900 Degrees (Sundays with singer Francine Calo).

Open-microphone nights provide a way to offer live music with lower overhead. Club owners pay one performer, run the sound and wait for the stage to fill up with players. It’s not a panacea, and the strategy can backfire.  Madeline Shields of Mad Bob’s Saloon in Manchester said she dropped open-mike night after “four people showed up — and they didn’t drink.” On the other hand, Shields is more willing than most to take a chance on original talent.

The down economy compels rather than discourages Shields to be creative in this way. 

“We usually have cover bands,” she said. “But because it’s slow, I’m open to those playing originals.”

Shields, who bought the Lincoln Street establishment three years ago after managing the bar for 10 years, remembers when Mad Bob’s offered nothing but original music. 

In the Gate City, proximity is key
Nashua benefits from a compact downtown, with most of the clubs, bars and restaurants on Main Street within walking distance of one another. Proximity helps the Gate City in another way. Since it’s a quick drive from Boston, there’s a healthy influx of Bay State bands playing music-friendly rooms like Peddler’s Daughter, Fody’s Tavern, Stella Blu and others. 

Some places have cut back or eliminated live music. Martha’s Exchange ended a long tradition of booking bands recently, switching to an all-DJ entertainment. Michael Timothy’s used to feature multiple nights of jazz; it currently offers musical accompaniment for Sunday brunch but has otherwise eliminated live entertainment.

A couple of towns away in Milford, though, the Pasta Loft welcomes national acts like the English Beat, while Shenanigans tried and then scrapped DJ entertainment recently. Shenanigans manager Lorrie Knoll said she prefers live entertainment. 

“Quality musicians, a different class of people,” Knoll said. “We still do karaoke and there’s nothing wrong with the DJ music, but we can bring all kinds of different formats when we bring in live bands” — mostly covers, but occasionally the whole weekend is given over to local, original talent.

The recently opened Studio 99 has quickly become a downtown Nashua mainstay, drawing out-of-town audiences to hear unique performers like the Honey Dewdrops and local singer-songwriter Amy Petty, in a music-centric, listening room setting. The Black Orchid Grille combines an upscale menu with original talent on Fridays and Saturdays, including Karen Grenier and Gary Lopez.

Even the Amber Room, normally devoted to DJ dance music, got into the act recently, when ’90s rockers Days of the New did a one-off show at the club.

Ryan Dutton of Nashua Garden is excited about the original talent appearing in that restaurant/bar, a place that became so crowded during the recent Holiday Stroll that a songwriter scheduled to play there couldn’t get in the front door. Dutton gushed about 3 Dub Mice, a Boston-area band that he hopes to have back after an early December performance was cancelled. 

“They have such creative minds,” he said. “They’re Phish with dub styling.” 

After New Year’s, the lounge at the Holiday Inn plans to drop Thursday night live music and cut back on Saturday nights. “I’ve been here 22 years, booking music for 8 or 9 years, and this is the quietest I’ve ever seen it. There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but this is the most down I’ve ever seen,” said manager Karen Lavoie.

Henderson’s Pickin’ Parlor, 179 Raymond Road in Candia, 483-5001, offers two open jam sessions in the back room of Joe Henderson’s musical instrument store in Candia. Henderson has run the informal gatherings there for the past three years. 

Here, it’s all about the music; Henderson sells no food and allows no alcohol. Mondays are devoted to rock and roll, while Thursdays are all acoustic. He said the evenings are well attended.

“We’ve had 30 people in here at one time with steels and stuff, really good banjos,” Henderson said, adding that he tried to cater to an older crowd.

“We used to let younger kids come, but they got rambunctious and scared the people next door with their spikes and hair,” he said. “We had to go with grownups after that.”

View from inside
A promoter, performer and club owner talk about their takes on the music scene

The promoter: Dave Southward
Dave Southward is from I’m Thirsty Entertainment, a company that has booked shows at Rocko’s in Manchester and other area clubs for the past three years.

How frequently do you book shows, and what other rooms besides Rocko’s do you book them in? 
I book shows every weekend, every Friday or Saturday. Sometimes I’ll book a Tuesday, Thursday or a Monday night. It just depends if there’s a decent tour coming around. The only other venue that I book at right now is Alpine Grove in Hollis, N.H.

How do things seem now relative to when you started out?
We started out and there was a lot of competition and basically you’re coming in as a promoter. No one wants to deal with promoters; it’s a very tough industry to get into, especially to make contacts. Now that I’m doing this, I have respect from people and it’s easier. Lots of people go to Rocko’s just to see the shows that we put on there — it’s been a lot of hard work.

What’s your background musically? How did you get into this?
I’ve always played instruments, and three years ago I was unemployed. I was on the computer looking at shows and I called a band and said, “Hey, I can help you book shows.” I started off renting a hall, and it just went from there. I had no industry experience at all.

How do the bands you book break out across the genre spectrum?
Hardcore metal is popular but I do everything — metal, rock, I do a lot of local bands too — whatever the kids want to play.

What are some of the better local bands in your opinion?
Some of the good local bands that we work with are Armor for the Broken; another is Ballast. We also work with Spies Like Us. These are young bands that I see going somewhere in the future.

How would you classify them regarding style?
Christian, emo metal, hardcore — all in that category. A lot of the bands call themselves Christian — they sing a lot about their faith and still play the hardcore music.

That’s similar to what goes on at Ground Zero.
Correct. I mean Ground Zero [in Suncook] is an awesome place and I definitely support what Christian [Skinner, owner/operator of Ground Zero] does. The only difference between me and him is that I allow bands to basically say whatever they want. It’s a form of expression that I’m not going to limit anybody.

He’s had to cut bands off the lineup for that reason. He looks over their lyrics and if it’s nihilistic or the message is wrong  —
That’s his prerogative — he can do that. At Rocko’s we believe in giving everybody a chance no matter what it is. I mean there are some limits. If your lyrics are about degrading women or Satanic, I definitely won’t book you.

The Owner: Todd Tousley
Todd Tousley is the owner Penuche’s Ale House, which has locations in Concord, Keene, Manchester and Nashua.

You probably have a pretty unique perspective on the music scene in the area in that you have venues in Concord, Manchester and Nashua —
And I play in a band! I’m in a band called Fat Tuesday out of Keene and we play in the area. We used to play all those places — Black Brimmer, Martha’s, Peddler’s Daughter. As we got older, we wanted to keep closer to home. Martha’s used to have a good scene.

How do you think the scene has changed? 
I bought Penuche’s in 1990. The scene is cyclical; I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s always like this in the bar business — you have four to five years where there are great bands everywhere, lots of people out singing, dancing, and then four to five years with no place to go. It’s up and down.

Where do you see things now?
When business is bad, you may stop doing bands or do less than before or get less expensive bands. In the old days I paid $250 [to] $300 for any band; now bands want [more] and bar owners are saying no, or getting local, which is a smaller pool, not as many good bands.

In Concord, local bands move from bar to bar —
Yeah, if you’re in Boston, you’re not going to travel to be paid 300 bucks … if you only pull from one area there’s going to be a couple of good bands and a handful of so-so, but if you pull your talent from a 100-mile radius — you can whittle that down to 12 really great bands instead of two good ones and 10 OK, for example.

Penuche’s in Nashua isn’t doing live music? 
My bar is not really set up for live music. There’s lots of nooks and crannies, with no place to set up, no place to dance. I think hiring bands is a losing proposition overall  — because the premise of hiring bands from a business owner’s perspective — say you have a Friday night and you take in $500 in sales and you hire a band at four hundred bucks. You better take in $900 that night or you’ll end up where you were before.

Well, there are economic models like pay to play, where bands lease the room and use their street team to sell tickets, which Milly’s and Rocko’s use.
If you hire a band for three to four hundred dollars, they should bring in at least that or they’re not worth hiring. If there is a really good local band, every time you hire them your sales double. It’s worth it to hire that band. Jamantics is that kind of band, Manchuka is another and Lichen is another. If you could find your best bands and rotate them out every week, you’d be golden. But the problem is that bands are coming and going, and starting out something new. So I have a rotation of two great bands and I have to fill the holes with two lesser bands that don’t draw a crowd. I might say next year I’ll have five great bands, and we’ll rotate them out and everything is right — maybe that will happen…

You’re in a band that’s been together for 17 years, so you know that chemistry doesn’t come easy –
There are so many different variables. You need a room that people flock to, and it needs to be a good band too. One without the other doesn’t work.

Do you have any words of wisdom as a guy who runs bars in four major cities in New Hampshire?
My advice to bands is (a) cover bands — learn a bunch of upbeat dance tunes because it’s always about getting girls up to dance. It gets people in the room, and makes the bar owner happy; (b) play song to song to song and be energetic, and play the RIGHT songs back to back with high energy; (c) find the room that rocks and chase the fun room. The Brimmer for five years might be a fun room … if it fades — find the next bar that’s hopping.  Chase where the fun is. To bar owners: if you can get a band and they bring a great crowd and it’s fun, great. If not, don’t hire bands.   

The Performer: Tom Dixon
Tom Dixon of the Tom Dixon Band is a country rock singer who regularly performs at venues throughout the area. He says the music scene is getting healthier, and he believes there’s strength in numbers.

Some bands are having hard times, but you’re gigging everywhere! What’s your secret?
I really feel the scene is coming back and it seems to be hopping more than it has in a long time. The economy hurt a lot of the scene and we lost clubs in all of this — we lost clubs in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, but it seems the clubs here that have survived are really pushing, and it seems that a lot more people are coming out to have a beer and watch a show now.

I’m looking down your list of engagements … you do the Linda’s (in Hudson) acoustic thing on Sundays, and you have a special event coming up at Slammers, and then there’s the Midnight Rodeo at the Yard, a relatively new club. How is that doing?
I think they are doing very well. They are very smart in their marketing, doing a lot of advertising with WOKQ radio [a country station]. They get involved with promotions. Just like any other company with the economy the way it is, the one that’s going to get the business is the one that throws out the promotion. It’s another reason besides coming out to see a band, have a drink. There’s something going on all the time and those are the ones that seem to score. Not all of them, though; there’s still Slammers and City Sports Grille who may not always have some type of fun promotion going on but we’re still packing them in.

How do you manage the tension between being an original artist and being in places where you need to play familiar music?
Both are my passions but we like to do the acoustic thing once in a while. As much as a band showcases talent, we are allowed to take more liberties with an acoustic show. It’s a duo in a more intimate setting. It’s just a little looser feeling to the show … we joke around and have a good time.

Give me a couple of examples of what you’ve seen that make you feel the scene is coming to life again.
Linda’s [Sports Bar] in Hudson. We have a good crowd and it’s a great place, smaller, more intimate. But in the last month it’s exploded … there’s a huge crowd! Nowhere to stand — it’s become like THAT. And I think people are looking to find a way to have a good time instead of sitting around and worrying about the economy. 

Chandler’s is a relatively new place. How’s their contribution to the scene?
I like Chandler’s. It’s definitely a start-up club. We’ve got a following, and we went there and I noticed people that we didn’t see anywhere else. It’s right down Elm Street, with a great menu of food. A lot of people might not come see us if there’s no food, so Chandler’s is really good. When we played on Dec. 5, they had a function going on, and everyone was hanging out there. People can’t afford to have parties themselves, so they’re bringing the party to the club — lately, everybody’s celebrating a birthday.

What's your favorite song?
Where to go when you’re in the mood for country, a jam session or a chance to see the next big thing

Looking to relax with some jazz or pump it up with some high-energy rock? Here’s where to go for all kinds of music. Have a favorite place not mentioned here? Let us know at music@hippopress.com. Look for weekly listings of live shows in the Music this Week and stories and more in the Hippo Nite section.

Open mikes
• Burgundy’s Billiards 35 Manchester St. in Derry, 437-6600. The Pop Farmers host an open mike on Sundays.

• Fratello’s 155 Dow St. in Manchester, 624-2022. There is a Thursday jazz open session with the Ferdinando Argenti Trio. This is one of the few open mikes that’s not about blues, rock or acoustic music.

• Green Martini 6 Pleasant St. in Concord, 223-6672. Steve Naylor hosts open mikes on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

• Milly’s Tavern 500 Commercial St. in Manchester, 625-4444. Milly’s holds an open mike on Tuesdays, hosted by Johnny Keys, who also works as a cook at Milly’s. It’s 90 percent acoustic, with lots of regulars.

• Pasta Loft 241 Union Square in Milford, 672-2270. There is an open mike every other Wednesday with Morgan Pete and Ryan Bossi.

• Penuche’s Ale House 6 Pleasant St. in Concord, 228-9833. Steve Naylor hosts an open mike on Sundays.

• Red Blazer 72 Manchester St. in Concord, 224-4101. Open mike on Mondays with Randy Arrant & Matt Langley.

• Shenanigans 586 Nashua St. in Milford, 672-2060. An open mike on Tuesdays and Thursdays is hosted by the Shenanigans House Band.

• Slammer’s 547 Donald St. in Bedford, 668-2120. Open mike on Thursday nights.

• Whippersnappers 44 Nashua Road # 13 in Londonderry, 434-2660. There is an open mike on Mondays with Gardner Berry of Mama Kicks & Four Sticks, though it’s more of a jam session than a traditional open mike.

Jam sessions
What’s the difference between an open-mike night and a jam? Open-mike nights are typically hosted by one musician, who yields the stage to the brave souls who’ve signed up for two or three song segments of 15 minutes or so. For jam sessions, a band stays onstage throughout the proceedings, with side players joining in at the discretion of the hosts.

• Fratello’s 155 Dow St. in Manchester, 624-2022. A blues jam takes place every Tuesday night with the Wan-Tu Blues Band, which has moved here from their long-time home at Manchester’s East Side Club.

• Henderson’s Pickin’ Parlor 179 Raymond Road in Candia, 483-5001. Rock jam session on Mondays, acoustic jam session Thursdays.

• Johnny Bad’s 542 Elm St. in Manchester, 222-9191. There is a blues jam Thursday nights with the always-busy Wan-Tu Blues Band.

• 900 Degrees 50 Dow St. in Manchester, 641-0900. Francine Calo holds a blues jam on Sundays.

• Moe Joe’s Tavern 2175 Candia Road in Manchester, 668-0131. Blues jam every Wednesday night, hosted by the Catfish Howl band, which has a new CD called Midnight Mojo.

• Strange Brew Tavern 88 Market St. in Manchester, 666-4292. There’s a blues jam every Sunday, and every other Tuesday the Strange Brew All-Star Trio hosts a blues jam.

• Studio 99 115 Main St. (3rd floor) in Nashua, 562–5179. Amy Conley hosts the “Eclectic/Acoustic Jam” at Studio 99 on the second Wednesday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m. Requested performer donation is $5.

• Tupelo Music Hall 2 Young Road in Londonderry, 437-5100. Open-mike night on Mondays.

• Village Trestle 25 Main St. in Goffstown, 497-8230. There is a Sunday blues jam with the Wan-Tu Blues Band.

Jazz
• C.R. Sparks 18 Kilton Road in Bedford, 647-7275. They hold jazz Thursdays, which will resume in January.

• Estabrook Grill 57 Palm St. in Nashua, 943-5035. A jazz trio performs every Wednesday.

• Hermanos 11 Hills Ave. in Concord, 224-5669. Jazz and acoustic music most nights — solo, duo or trio.

• Hilton Garden Inn 101 S. Commercial St. in Manchester, 669-2222. Jazz on Friday and Saturdays.

• Mint Bistro 1105 Elm St. in Manchester, 625-6468. This relatively new upscale restaurant offers jazz every Friday night with the duo Two for Dinner.

• Red Blazer 72 Manchester St. in Concord, 224-4101. Acoustic or jazz Friday nights, often with Matt Langley, who also hosts open-mike nights.

• Unwine’d 865 Second St. in Manchester, 625-9463. Jazz with Craig Fahey on the piano, solo or with guests every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; Chad LaMarsh plays solo on Thursdays.

A little bit country …
• Circle 9 Ranch Windymere Drive in Epsom, 736-9656. Country shows every Saturday.

• City Sports Grille & Stadium Ten Pin 216 Maple St. in Manchester, 625-9656. Rock and country, with an emphasis on the former.

• Chandler’s Grille & Bar 1181 Elm St. in Manchester, 836-5115. Many well-known country artists mixed with rock cover bands.

• Linda’s Sport Bar 2B Burnham Road in Hudson, 886-0792. Tom Dixon plays acoustic most Sundays.

• Yard Midnight Rodeo 1211 S. Mammoth Road in Manchester, 623-3545. The closest thing to a pure country room.

A bit of everything
• The Amber Room, 53 High St. in Nashua, 881-9060, www.theamberroomnightlife.com. Look for DJs as well as occasional performances by live bands.

• Barley House 132 N. Main St. in Concord, 228-6363. Mix of local bands, with Irish music on Tuesdays.

• Derryfield Country Club 625 Mammoth Road in Manchester, 623-2880. Originals like Conniption Fits and Josh Logan mix with cover bands — Grinning Lizards, Mama Kicks, etc. In the summer, some days feature music on the deck and in the lounge.

• Fody’s Tavern 9 Clinton St. in Nashua, 577-9015. Mix of live bands and solo performers (Chad LaMarsh, Josh Logan) Wednesday through Saturday.

• Fratello’s 155 Dow St. in Manchester, 624-2022. Mix of easy music on Fridays and Saturdays, with solo performers like Michelle Cummings, John Chouinard, Marc Apostolides and Paul Luff

• Gate City Pub 56 Canal St. in Nashua, 598-8256. Mix of bands Friday and Saturday nights.

• Green Martini 6 Pleasant St. in Concord, 223-6672. Original music on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Jewell & The Beanstalk 793 Somerville St. in Manchester, 624-3709. Shows featuring acoustic, folk and other acts about once a month.

• Makris 354 Sheep Davis Road in Concord, 225-7665. Mix of cover and original bands on Fridays and Saturdays, with a regular Sunday solo show from Alan Roux.

• Penuche’s Ale House 6 Pleasant St. in Concord, 228-9833. Local bands like Jamantics, Blue Light Rain and the rootsy Shady Rill Band play Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays

• Shenanigans 586 Nashua St. in Milford, 672-2060. Mix of bands, mostly cover, but often a whole weekend is given over to young, original talent.

• Stella Blu 70 E. Pearl St. in Nashua, 578-5557. Mix of jazz, blues and rock Thursday, Friday and Saturday in an elegant small plate setting.

• Strange Brew Tavern 88 Market St. in Manchester, 666-4292. Mix of bands most every night of the week. Musicians like the flexible sets, where originals and familiar songs commingle. Lisa Marie & the All Shook Up, Les Moore and  B.J. Magoon are frequent performers.

Mostly cover bands
• The Black Brimmer 1087 Elm St. in Manchester, 669-5523. Offers live music most weeks Wednesday through Saturday.

• Burgundy’s Billiards 35 Manchester St. in Derry, 437-6600. Bands on Saturdays.

• Chandler’s Grille & Bar 1181 Elm St. in Manchester, 836-5115. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Chen Yang Li 520 South St. in Bow, 228-8508. Bands on weekends.

• City Sports Grille & Stadium Ten Pin 216 Maple St. in Manchester, 625-9656. Bands on weekends.

• Grifffings Side Trax 99 Route 13 in Brookline, 673-3244. Bands on Fridays.

• Haluwa Lounge Nashua Mall, exit 6 off Everett Turnpike in Nashua, 883-6662. Bands on Fridays and Saturday (same band both nights).

• Jillian’s Billiard Club 50 Philippe Cote Drive in Manchester, 626-7636. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Johnny Bad’s 542 Elm St. in Manchester, 222-9191. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Johnny’s Pizzeria 35 Lowell Road in Hudson, 880-7087. Fridays and Saturdays with bands like Project Mess.

• Loudon Road Restaurant and Pit Road Lounge 388 Loudon Road in Concord, 226-0533. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Moe Joe’s Tavern 2175 Candia Road in Manchester 668-0131. Bands on Fridays.

• Murphy’s Taproom 494 Elm St. in Manchester, 644-3535. Bands on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

• Pasta Loft 241 Union Square in Milford, 672-2270. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays; occasionally, a national act visits, such as the recent show with the English Beat.

• Peddler’s Daughter 48 Main St. Nashua, 880-8686. Bands on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; Irish music with Revels Glen on Wednesdays.

• Penuche’s Grill 96 Hanover St. in Manchester, 626-9830. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Shaskeen 909 Elm St. in Manchester, 625-0246. Bands most nights.

• Sky Lounge 522 Amherst St. in Nashua, 882-6026. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Slade’s Food & Spirits 4 W. Hollis St. in Nashua, 886-1334. Bands on Saturdays.

• Slammer’s 547 Donald St. in Bedford, 668-2120. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Steve-N-James Tavern 187 Rockingham Road in Derry, 434-0600. Bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Whippersnappers 44 Nashua Road #13 in Londonderry, 434-2660. Bands on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

High decibel — twice the rock
• Mad Bob’s Saloon 342 Lincoln St. in Manchester, 669-3049. Live bands play regularly here on Fridays and Saturdays, with infrequent Sunday benefits. Mostly covers, but they buck the trend with original bands more often than most.

• Milly’s Tavern 500 Commercial St. in Manchester, 625-4444. All original bands Thursday through Saturday, with emo, goth and subgenre metal (death, melodic, thrash, etc.) dominating.

• Rocko’s Bar & Grill 253 Wilson St. in Manchester, 626-5866. This is where the heavy stuff lives, courtesy of I’m Thirsty Entertainment, which books the room and aims for a younger crowd with metal, edgy pop and the occasional Christian hardcore band (yes, they exist).

Listening Rooms — here and there
• Deb’s House Concerts in Chesham, 827-2905, www.acousticmusic.com/Chesham. Occasional shows by well-known and rising talent from the folk music world in the intimate surroundings of a country living room. Directions are only given with ticket purchase.

• Dover Brick House 2 Orchard St. in Dover, 749-3838. Home to many CD release parties, and a few big names (Jeffrey Gaines, Rustic Overtones) pass through as well.

• Ground Zero 48 Allenstown Road in Allenstown, www.groundzzzero.com. All-ages club, featuring lots of heavy metal, emo and other youthful fare in a substance-free setting.

• New England Revival Coffee House (NERCH) 60 Bailey Ave. in Manchester, 625-9550. Songs of faith sung by talented Christian artists, across the spectrum of musical styles.

• Simple Gifts Coffee House 58 Lowell St. in Nashua, www.uunashua.org/simplegi. Occasional folk music series at the Nashua Unitarian Church.

• Sad Cafe 148 Plaistow Road in Plaistow, 382-8893. Youth-oriented no-alcohol club with multi-band shows Fridays and Saturdays.

• Stone Church 5 Granite St. in Newmarket, 292-3546. Many big names in the pop, Americana and blues world come to this Seacoast room.

• Studio 99 115 Main St. (third floor) in Nashua, 562–5179. Showcasing singer-songwriters, roots and Americana.

• Tupelo Music Hall 2 Young Road in Londonderry, 437-5100, www.tupelohall.com. A music fan’s dream, with great sound, intimate seating, top-shelf national talent and a BYOB policy.

Occasional music
• Auburn Pitts 167 Rockingham Road in Auburn, 622-6564. Rock and cover bands, call venue for information about upcoming shows.

• Alpine Grove 19 S. Depot Road in Hollis, 882-9051. Multi-band metal show coming up in January.

• Boynton’s Taproom 155 Dow St. in Manchester, 623-7778. Singers follow the comedians on many Fridays, and the Push Stars’ Chris Trapper is booked for Feb. 6.