No-Dough NYE List for Cheapskates, Punks, and Poor-Ass Drunks
New Year's Eve is a holiday when everyone seems willing to get gouged: event prices rocket to high heaven while the Devil steals your wallet through a hole in the floor. But some of us prefer fiscal responsibility to go with our twelfth-month tippling (everything in moderation, folks!) and thus we seek out NYE events that won't blast a hole in our bank accounts. Perhaps even -- could it be? -- free New Year's Eve events. Yes! Unlike Bigfoot or an easy solution to the Middle East crisis, such things do indeed exist.
For example, electronic music fans in the lower Haight can catch DJ Lukeino and his Jungle Lounge crew spin "smoothed out" drum 'n' bass, dubstep, and hip-hop at Nickies. Bernal Heights residents know there's "never a cover" at blue-collar cornerstone bar Skip's, where ever-present regular Regi Harvey drops Hendrixian blues-rock guitar riffs with his Thunder Blue All-Stars band. Downtown at KoKo's Cocktails, DJ Senator Soul spins at a special Wednesday night version of his (normally on Mondays) "Black Gold" event, juicing up the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood with vintage soul, retro R&B, blues, rock'n'roll, and other vinyl-era nuggets that'll make you shuffle. If you prefer a raw dose of punk rock instead, head to Annie's Social Club, where a whole team of DJs (e.g., Scott Alcoholocaust) take turns playing punk, garage, metal, and essentially anything that kicks ass. Punks in the East Bay can get similar treatment at Acme Bar in Berkeley, as DJ Ox rocks the joint until midnight, when the Acme shows its class with a bubbly toast of the highest caliber: that's right, raise a glass of free PBR as you count down to 2009. Now that is glamour.
In any case, don't feel like you need to chain yourself to the kitchen stove tonight just because you're broke. Find a free event and head out for a celebratory midnight cocktail. Consider it a down payment on a better 2009. -- J. Graham
For example, electronic music fans in the lower Haight can catch DJ Lukeino and his Jungle Lounge crew spin "smoothed out" drum 'n' bass, dubstep, and hip-hop at Nickies. Bernal Heights residents know there's "never a cover" at blue-collar cornerstone bar Skip's, where ever-present regular Regi Harvey drops Hendrixian blues-rock guitar riffs with his Thunder Blue All-Stars band. Downtown at KoKo's Cocktails, DJ Senator Soul spins at a special Wednesday night version of his (normally on Mondays) "Black Gold" event, juicing up the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood with vintage soul, retro R&B, blues, rock'n'roll, and other vinyl-era nuggets that'll make you shuffle. If you prefer a raw dose of punk rock instead, head to Annie's Social Club, where a whole team of DJs (e.g., Scott Alcoholocaust) take turns playing punk, garage, metal, and essentially anything that kicks ass. Punks in the East Bay can get similar treatment at Acme Bar in Berkeley, as DJ Ox rocks the joint until midnight, when the Acme shows its class with a bubbly toast of the highest caliber: that's right, raise a glass of free PBR as you count down to 2009. Now that is glamour.
In any case, don't feel like you need to chain yourself to the kitchen stove tonight just because you're broke. Find a free event and head out for a celebratory midnight cocktail. Consider it a down payment on a better 2009. -- J. Graham
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