afterHours

Northeastern does a decent job of attracting B+ level acts to this small venue (As Tall As Lions, for example). However, I strongly suspect the sound system was just slapped together by a disinterested contractor, not a sound/​music/​acoustic expert. The two banks of PA speakers are on either side of the stage, pointing away from the center at a wide angle. If you stand in front of the stage (as every band asks fans to do) you can’t hear any vocals or keys or whatever else gets sent through the PA. They don’t usually bother to mic amps, so the levels are up the bands (scary!).
The soundboard is run by students who pretty much plug stuff in and then dick around on their smartphones for a few hours while the show goes on. So the sound is usually not good. They NU has no real incentive to fix this problem. They overpay bands, so they come play for tiny crowds that can’t hear anything.
There is a small starbucks in the venue, also staffed by disinterested students.
The plus side of this place is you get to see semi-​famous acts up close and personal. There’s no backstage for acts to hide. If you want to be a creeper and ambush/​hug your favorite sweaty, flannel-​clad indie singer, this might be your best bet.
Overall: Meh. Go to a real venue if you have the option.

Northeastern really did the whole «club inside the college so students don’t have to leave campus to see cool stuff» thing better than pretty much everyone else. Mad props where they are due.
After HOURS is a small section of the Curry Student Center in the middle of NEU’s campus. During the day, it’s a starbucks and a study space. That’s cool. It’s nice — lots of chair, big screen TVs, good venting. From 8 pm to midnight Monday through Thursday, the space has cool events and musical acts, and Friday and Saturday it’s open 9 pm to 2 am.
The staff at after HOURS manages to get some pretty good, although distinctly under the radar talent — they’ve had Rhymefest, Matt Nathanson, and a bunch of local groups here. I saw the band Averi, before the broke up, jam in this place. The performance space is small enough that the setting is really intimate. I like my performers to actually sweat on me, so after HOURS makes that happen pretty solidly.
Here’s why this place is cool:
1. It’s small and intimate, which makes the concerts more intense.
2. It’s free, yo.
3. It is often full of young and attractive college students.
There are only a few downsides, but they aren’t small: you can’t get in unless you have an NEU ID yourself, or have a friend who does. You’ll still get in for free if a friend brings you, but each NEU student can only rope in one other guest (technically). In reality, they only check when the musical act is expected to actually bring in a lot of people. If the place is half dead, they probably won’t check you.
Also, this being a part of a college campus, don’t expect to find alcohol here. The music/​performers are the reason to come. If you need to get sloshed, do it beforehand, although you’ll look really stupid with the crowd that this place gathers if you do. It isn’t big enough for you to get «lost in the crowd» if you’re blasted.