It's a school night! But it's still fun!

Mondays have been known as the notorious low of the typical college students week, a night where nothing exciting ever happens, and nothing had been done to remedy this dilemma, until now. The place to be on a Monday night is The Bardot, a mecca for established, as well as new and upcoming bands and performers to strut their stuff in an intimate venue.

It's A School Night!, the banners vehemently declare, does nothing to make people forget they have a week of school ahead. But what it does make them do is realize that weekdays can be just as fun as the weekend that just passed.

The Kopecky Family Band via The School Night Facebook

The Bardot is located in downtown Hollywood and is a low-key venue, with great ambiance. The many stairs, rooms, and archways make it feel like a hidden club from long ago. There is only a small stage, on which bands proceed to jam out on every Monday night.

Hanni El Khatib, an upcoming musician who can be compared to The Black Keys in his sound, performed at The Bardot recently, to kick off his tour promoting his new album. Along with Hanni El Khatib headlining, the two opening acts, Elizaveta and the Kopecky Family Band, were an unexpected surprise. The Bardot is skilled at booking artists that one would never think to listen to, such as Elizaveta, who is a pioneer in the genre of opera pop.

It's A School Night happens every Monday night, and is free with RSVP for 21+, while 18+ have a small cover fee. Next weeks headliner is the band Bleeding Knees Club, with support from Yuna and Clubfeet. Kicking Mondays off with a concert is the best way to make the school week better.

Portugal. The Man Perform Intimate Show in Long Beach

Photo by Lillian Fahey

For the price of one of Portugal. The Man's albums, fans got to experience an intimate concert at a local record store.

Saturday afternoon, the band Portugal. The Man, with it's strangely punctuated name, played a acoustic session at Fingerprints Music, a record store located in downtown Long Beach. The band, led by frontman John Gourley, played music from their new album, In The Mountain in the Cloud, along with some of their older songs. When they sang their song, People Say, which is from their fourth studio album, the whole crowd sang along to the catchy chorus.

Portugal. The Man, according to their official website, are a band originally from Wasilla, Alaska, that are based in Portland, Oregon. They have six studio albums to date, with In the Mountain in the Coud, being their most recent. After the show, the audience had the opportunity to get their albums signed by the band, along with the special edition poster that was handed out for free by Fingerprints.

Fingerprints Music, along with featuring a large selection of cds and vinyl close to Cal State Long Beach campus, also puts on shows quite frequently. The reasonable entrance fee into these, close, intimate concerts is to buy one album by the band you are seeing. Considering the fact that concerts can be quite expensive, especially for the poor college student, Fingerprints is the perfect place to get that concert feel without hurting your pocketbook.

Previous performances at Fingerprints have included Dengue Fever, Release The Sunbird, The Kooks, and many other great bands. The next performance is October 11, featuring the band, Two Guns.

Portugal. The Man performing So American at Fingerprints. Video by Lillian Fahey