BARRYMORES MUSIC HALL
323 Bank St. (between Gilmour & O'Connor)
Legendary Ottawa music venue with an official capacity of 420. Sound can be tough to navigate but the system is certainly adequate and there have been stellar moments. Historically door staff have a bad reputation but recently that has softened. This place has recently really gone down the shitter with no sign of it improving I think mostly due to new ownership. Home of the infamous Aloha Room (downstairs), a stylee small lounge that has DJs every night of the week, which also incidentally has lost it's charm also and is no longer open on early week nights. (UPDATE: Barrymore's is now one sad puppet, they haven't had an even halfway decent show in there for ages!)

THE BLACK SHEEP INN
753 Riverside Dr. / Wakefield Que.
Just a half hour drive from Ottawa, These folks do great shows aplenty however most lean towards the weekends. Capacity is about 150 with plenty of other lounging room and a great front deck overlooking the Gatineau River. In-house sound that is always pretty killer. Friendly staff, Usually holding some good Quebec micro-brews on tap, and the bottled necessities. Paul will play you a great variety of tunage if he gets behind the decks, between and post show.
http://www.theblacksheepinn.com

THE DOMINION TAVERN
33 York St. (next toZaphods)
Host of some of the best yet infrequent shows in Ottawa over many years now. In fact it was Birdman Sound presentations that put the Dom on the map as a great venue for worthy underground RAWK bands. Capacity is 150, they have tons of great beer choices and the staff are all pretty awesome and generally laid back. When there aren't shows, there are two pool tables, and their patio is very popular.

ELMDALE HOUSE TAVERN
1084 Wellington

IRENE'S PUB
885 Bank St. (just south of Fifth Ave.)
Great little spot in the Glebe hosting live music most weekends. Capacity is about 140? but sightlines and circulation is limited when packed out. Excellent selection of beers, especially on tap. They have a small but adequate sound system in-house. Pretty fine Pub-Grub too.

KAFFE 1870
715 Riverside Drive, Wakefield Québec - 819-459-3943.
Owned Mark Michaud, Jeff Hardill(of Fiftymen) and Leigh Irvine since November 1, 2008. The Kaffé is open from 11am to 1am every day, 354 days a year. Good food, good drinks and good times await you. Every Wednesday Louis Rompré runs Open Stage, featuring rotating hosts and pulling largely from the enormous talent pool that exists in this area. Saturday nights we host live bands for $5, We regularly host other events, so keep your eye on the calendar. Every day you’ll find a welcoming atmosphere with fresh made meals, 10 beers on tap, good music, and friendly, good-lookin’ staff.

MAVERICKS
221 Rideau St.

NEW BAYOU
1077 Bank St.

THE RAINBOW BISTRO
76 Murray St.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX
27 York St. (next to the Dominion)