Lansdowne Street

In Boston. How to get there: take the Red Line to Park Street and switch to the Green Line. Take either the B, C or D line (i.e. any Green Line train but the Heath Street E line) to Kenmore. Exit and you'll be on Commonwealth Avenue, near some rundown shops and across from a Gap (on your right). Follow the street to Brookline Avenue, around the corner, passing by a McDonald's and a BankBoston. Continue forward over a bridge and highway I-90, where Fenway Park looms in the distance. Cross the bridge and go past a Gold's gym; the next street is Landsdowne, on your left.

Avalon

262-2424

15 Landsdowne St.

Newly remodeled! Avalon is a concert club (They Might Be Giants, the Beta Band, Cheap Trick, Guided By Voices, and Edwin McCain have played there) and a dance club all rolled into one. Visiting DJs spin occasionally on Fridays and Saturdays. The new Avalon is chic beige and streamlined architecture, with backlit alcohol glowing by the bar. Sadly, its infamous second-story bar that was perfect for scoping the floor for hotties is now located on the first floor. But fear not; Avalon is still home to excellent dance music and glamorous patrons. Wear black or the hippest clubbing attire and you can't go wrong.

Axis

262-2437

13 Lansdowne St.

The sound is good, the space is wide and the lights blink and flash, but Axis ultimately exudes the air of a dive, an image which, to be fair, must be intentional. It's dank with low ceilings, rendering it perfect for the hardcore fans of the cutting-edge acts shipped here from Europe and Japan. Many of dance music's big names played here while they were still perched before the edge of Rolling Stone stardom. Good shows, unfortunately, aren't always listed. Look for flyers (try Boston Beat Imports on Newbury St.), or call. Abercrombie and Fitch types won't fit in.

Bill's Bar

421-9678