By Chris Brook

After hosting events like VH1’s Best Week Ever party, jazz-funk band Soulive and December’s sold-out Hanson DVD screening, Northeastern’s on-campus entertainment venue afterHOURS is looking to continue providing food and fun through 2006.

“Historically we’ve stayed true to the mission of coming out of the gates really strong and hopefully making an impression or reminding people we exist by doing these really cool shows,” said Jacqueline Indrisano, the club’s manager of afterHOURS.

For the new year, afterHOURS plans to bring Triple Crown Records’ the Receiving End of Sirens to the intimate 273-capacity venue in February. The Boston-based band, which released its debut “Between the Heart and the Synapse” in April, has a sound that falls between post-hardcore and emo-rock.

Apollo Sunshine will follow that up with an appearance in February. The Boston-bred quartet, perhaps better known for their auburn beards than their neo-psychedelic indie rock, released their sophomore CD on SpinArt Records in September. They have been revered as a local favorite by Boston critics since their days at Berklee College of Music.

“Apollo Sunshine is gonna be huge,” Indrisano said. “They’re just ready to blow up. They’re going to be like our Gavin [DeGraw] moment, where we’re going to see them, they’re on the cusp of blowing up and then we’re not going to be able to afford them anymore.”

In March, afterHOURS will roll out its annual battle of the bands. While the Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association (MEISA) and the Council for University Programs (CUP) will decide the date to collect demos, the preliminaries will fall over two nights: March 15 and 16. The finals for the Battle of the Bands are set for April 1. Los Angeles hard rock band Sanction, which is in the process of recording its first EP, will act as guest judges and headline the evening of music.

Also set for the spring semester is a night of comedy put on by Northeastern humor publication, The Times New Roman on Feb. 1.

“[There are] a couple of surprises,” Indrisano said regarding the rest of afterHOURS’ schedule for 2006. “There are a handful of open dates until the end of the school year which means that students are really using this space.”

Rock shows in 2005 were particularly popular, especially for artists like alternative-country rocker Stephen Kellogg and former Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, Indrisano said.

Furthermore, dance parties hosted by WRBB DJs Alex Diaz, Bashie and D-Von have been successful, not only because they draw large crowds but because the events allow the students to hone their own skills, she said.

Additionally, events like Northeastern University Bisexual Lesbian and Gay Association’s drag shows, Hammered’s Bruce Campbell lecture (that’s the Bruce Campbell of “Evil Dead” fame), Latin American Student Association’s date auction and MEISA’s Thursday night Northeastern band nights were hits, Indrisano said.

Adam Tabas, a middler music industry major and the drummer for the Northeastern band Project 1.9, has seen the venue grow in leaps and bounds over his three years at the school.

“[afterHOURS] has given student bands like us opportunities to get ourselves out there,” he said. “They’ve put us on opening spots with big name artists that we can use to get further gigs and progress our careers.”

But the club, now in its fifth year, still has issues to address. When asked if alcohol would ever appear on afterHOURS’ menu, Indrisano said the concept has never been on her radar.

“I don’t know what the theory is out there because I’ve been too busy with staffing the kitchen and running the space,” she said. “But my job is to make sure I know what’s going on and make sure I’m booking as much of what the students want as we can with our budget and the dates we have.”

In the New Year, she hopes to fulfill two main goals, one of them being to spread the word that afterHOURS has a full menu of appetizers, desserts, coffee and more.

“I don’t know why kids are going to [Boston House of Pizza] when they can come down here and get a huge plate of breakfast food and waffle fries for cheap,” she said.

Indrisano said she also would like to see more “frequent fliers” or those who frequent the club no matter who’s playing.

“I want people to feel like this is their space and to come down here often