Great white rock has not often come from New York City and its surrounding boroughs, even though — or perhaps because — the music business is centered here. In the 1960s, there were the Young Rascals, who made it by playing the Barge, a socialite discotheque in the Hamptons, 60 miles east of Manhattan, at the Atlantic end of Long Island. And the Velvet Underground, of course, another bunch of Long Island brats, led by a kinky, skinny cutie named Lou Reed. Up north, in suburban Westchester, Leslie Weinstein and the Vagrants waited for the massive guitarist’s legend to catch up with his talents, so that he could become Leslie West and get rich and famous with Mountain.

Things have changed. There are now not two or three excellent local rock acts in the area, but a dozen. It is difficult to predict which of them will go all the way, who will be the new Velvets and Rascals, and who will remain beloved obscurities like the Vagrants, but you are definitely going to hear more about many of these bands in the coming months. Right now, New York is rock central, a pleasant experience for this jaded burg.