By Jesse Cataldo

Living in such close proximity to the hustle and bustle of New York City, it’s often easy to forget about Long Island. Although concerts on Long Island don’t approach the scope and breadth of those in Manhattan, it would be unfortunate to assume that this means there’s nothing to see. There are dozens of bars and clubs scattered throughout Nassau, Queens, Kings and Suffolk counties. As a whole, Long Island operates on a less concentrated scale than Manhattan, with fewer venues spread out over a larger area.

Although the distance between venues on Long Island is generally greater, getting from one place to another is much easier. Most venues in Queens, Brooklyn or Nassau can be reached within 30 minutes, without the tolls, parking hassles and subway fees that accompany the trip into the city. For those without cars, the Long Island Rail Road has several lines and frequent stops, enough to insure arrival within a few miles of any location. The Hempstead Bus Terminal is located between Jackson and Columbia streets, a little more than a mile from campus, and acts as the major hub for the area, servicing most major roads in the county. The New York City Transit System is even more intricate, with a large system of buses and subway stops at every few corners

The Downtown, a local bar and venue in Farmingdale, hosts a mix of local and well-known bands. Located at 190 Main Street, the club is a crucial stop for many bands signed to smaller labels, and often sells out days before an event.

Apart from these, most of the venues in Nassau are small clubs and bars which rarely have live music. One of these is Image, located directly across from the Coliseum on Hempstead Turnpike. The bar is a hole in the wall and lacking a proper stage. Image serves as a bar alone on most occasions, but acts as a place for local bands to play their first shows on weekend afternoons.

The best approach to finding shows in the area is to pay attention to the local scene. Bands often play at local churches and community centers, such as the Ethical Humanist Building on Old Country Road in Westbury. Our Lady of Victory, a Catholic church in nearby Floral Park, sporadically hosts shows and holds an annual punk and ska concert every June.

Queens is similar in construction to Nassau; although the area is more urban than its neighbor to the east, it is mostly made up of residential areas. The few venues here are usually small bars and clubs not dedicated completely to music. These include the Red Zone, a tiny bar on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village which hosts local bands. Suffolk suffers from the same problems as Nassau and Queens, and usually requires a much longer drive. For those willing to make the trip, Sports Plus, a large indoor sports and gaming facility in Riverhead, hosts shows from time to time in its large upstairs ballroom. These shows are the only local opportunities for Suffolk’s large teenage population and for this reason are extremely crowded and swell with the 14 to 16 crowd.

Brooklyn has a larger and more vital music scene than the rest of the island. Williamsburg, a hub of the indie scene and a haven of hipster culture, is a hotbed for shows. The wide, empty streets on the west side near the East River allow for ample parking and cheap real estate. Volume, a large club recently converted from a warehouse and Southpaw, a smaller bar, are both fixtures of the area. Possibly the best venue in Brooklyn, is the North Six, located on the street of the same name.

Tricia Amore, a freshman who regularly attends shows there describes it as a place that is “small and intimate, and you actually can sit down and eat.” Besides the notable addition of bleachers, North Six is one of the only venues which will allow you to bring your own food and drinks inside. This allows for a relaxing evening, granting concert goers the freedom of affordable food and comfortable seating rather than the usual cramped standing room and $4 bottles of water.

No matter where you go, from right down the street to Williamsburg, there are many inexpensive, convenient and good concerts to choose.

Image, right across from the Nassau Collesium, features local bands during the weekend afternoons. (Paul Palazzolo/The Chronicle)