For the record

Author: Emily Temple

Ah, the return to Middlebury. Some of us have spent the summer living in big cities and are missing the nightlife choices that so recently overwhelmed us. Some of us have been home, or, say, in Boone, N.C., and are hoping to find something going on now that we've relocated. And some of us are first-years, who have no idea what's where and what the choices are. If you want to hear some good music, here are the places to go and people to see when you're sick of The Grille and the Mods. Consider it a favor.

This fall is an unusually promising one for our fair area, concert-wise. Old standby Higher Ground in South Burlington, a mere 45 minutes away, has rustled up an impressive lineup this season, including Aesop Rock, Andrew Bird, Stars, Marc Cohn, Hot Hot Heat (remember them?) and Blind Melon (remember them?). They're even bringing in the Easy Star All Stars, famed for their reggae cover of Dark Side of the Moon, start to finish. It's unusual that Higher Ground host so many acts I would even consider going to - generally, there are one or two good shows a season, but this fall they're all over it. Higher Ground also hosts non-concert events, like a live "Rocky Horror Show" performance on Halloween and numerous dress-up disco parties for the particularly brave.

Unlike Burlington, Montreal boasts a large number of hip venues, and I wholly recommend checking them all out - highlights are Le National, a gorgeous old red velvety theatre, The Metropolis, an ex-skating rink/disco/skin flick hall that now puts on some of the bigger shows in Montreal, and Club Soda, where you'll find a lot of local acts and some standout visitors too. My personal favorite, however, is La Sala Rossa, a barebones venue above a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on boul. St-Laurent. It's basically a dark room with a few scattered tables and chairs and a huge bar in the back. I saw The Hold Steady live there for the first time, with about 25 other people, and having Craig Finn sweat directly on me was nothing less than a holy experience. This fall, you can get that close to the Black Lips, Okkervill River, Beirut, Magnolia Electric Co., Man Man, Voxtrot, Sea Wolf and Menomena, just to name a few. And don't forget our other destinations, where you can catch the National, Spoon, Battles, the Weakerthans, Gogol Bordello, Do Make Say Think... the list goes on.

So, I know, I know, Canada is like, a whole other country, but for the kind of show you won't get anywhere else during the school year, barring hopping it to NYC, the two-and-a-half hour drive is totally worth it. Even when you have class in the morning, even when your paper isn't finished, even when you didn't sleep the night before, go. I've done it. It's worth it. Just bring more than one driver, and don't forget your passport.

With all that said and done, I do have one more suggestion. Go to shows at Middlebury. And I don't mean Regina Spektor, though by all means go see her too. I mean go see bands you've never heard of, random players who are coming through for Pub Night, the Gamut Room or a place to crash. Every Middlebury kid complains about there not being enough live music on campus, but when some unknown band shows up, they end up playing for 20 kids, because nobody else seems to care or notice. Last year one of the best shows I saw was this completely random group called Aphrodesia, an afro-funk band dressed up in fishnets and red leather, who completely blew about 15 of us away in a mostly dead McCullough Social Space. I had never heard of them before, nor will I probably again, but I will remember that night.