In my opinion, heading out to see a show is the best way to ring in the New Year. I generally feel like you really get your bang for your buck, and you don’t end up in some overcrowded bar with an unprecedented or undeserved cover. I’m going to be out of town for that night, but I am still interested in the parties that are going on around town. So, I decided to run down the shows that are going on in Nashville to help you ring in 2012. I know this list is not exhaustive, and let me know if you know of something that I missed.
Bassnectar is probably the biggest show that is going on New Years Eve. The show is happening at Bridgestone, and has prompted a plethora of pre- and post- parties. You know that it is the show of the night if you can span a bunch of other venues in town to set up parties to tag onto this event. It’s an electronic dubstep dance and light show that is sure to rattle the rafters with bass. While I doubt he will actually insist on bringing his own equipment, like he did when he received noise violations in excess of $100,000 while trying to produce the loudest show ever at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, you can still expect this thing to be a loud in your face experience. Tickets are sold out, but they are going on Craigslist starting at around $120 each.
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Moon Taxi with Apache Relay are playing at Exit/In on New Years Eve (and on 12/30 if you want to make it a full weekend celebration). You can check out a video clip of Moon Taxi’s 2009 NYE performance at Exit/In complete with light suits below. That looks like a fun way to spend your evening. You also get a bit of time with Apache Relay who are a great Nashville indie band that blew me away at this past year’s SoundLand festival. You can check out Apache Relay’s recent Daytrotter session here. Tickets are $20, and you can grab those here.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sHl62vYcQ?rel=0&w=420&h=315]
Bobby Bare Jr. and Rayland Baxter are playing at The Basement on New Years Eve. I haven’t spent enough years here to know if BBJr is an annual event at The Basement, but I know that I was supposed to be there last year. Tickets were purchased, but taxis did not comply. (If you must know, I ended up on a random party bus with some random but nice people that I met at 11:50, and was dropped off at a bar a long way from my original hotel. Two hours later, I checked into my second hotel of the night.) Anyway, I’ve talked about both BBJr and Rayland Baxter on this blog before. Tickets for this one are $15, and I can’t find them online… but, i just know you can get them at Grimeys. I’ve reattached the player below of BBJr. This is just the type of show that I would want to see on NYE (as evidenced by my attempt to do it last night).
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Here Come The Mummies are playing at the War Memorial Auditorium on New Years Eve. Are you a fan of funk music? If so, this is your bet for New Years. These wrapped up relics are actually some of the hottest players in the area. Rumor has it that a lot of these guys are actually highly acclaimed and awarded musicians that we all would know, but they are contractually bound not to perform outside of their existing contracts. So, if no one knows who they are, no one will care… who knows if this is true or not. But what you don’t have to think about is whether or not these guys will totally funk your world apart. Tickets for this are $40 ($150 for a “reserved table”), and you can grab those here. I’ve included a track below to give you an idea of what you are in for.
[bandcamp track=1047008234 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
Natural Child, Slammers, Cy Barkley, Slick, and Diarrhea Planet are playing a 5 band bill at the Zombie Shop event space. This is sure to be a wild show, and, according to their Facebook page, they will be offering free beer all night and free champagne at midnight for a mere $10 at the door. If you don’t like beer or champagne, feel free to bring whatever you might want to drink. These bands are a lot of loud rock and roll. If you wanna ring in the New Year with a garage rock played in a big ass garage, then this is definitely your plans. I’ve attached a Natural Child bandcamp player. You can check out some Cy Barkley and Diarrhea Planet at these links. I don’t have links for the others, but you’ll get an idea of what you are in store for.
[bandcamp album=3306629654 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
PUJOL, Mom & Dad, Ranch Ghost, Majestico, King Arthur are playing another monster bill at The End. PUJOL is one of Nashville’s escaping talents. He’s captured the attention of national eye with 2011 appearances at CMJ Festival, and they are getting ready to rock SXSW in 2012. He’s a guest contributor to the Nashville Cream. He’s the current rennaissance man of Nashville’s rock scene, and you better get out to see him before he is busy touring the world (ala his pals JEFF). Mom & Dad have a fuzzy pop sound that has been giving them more gigs around the Nashty lately. I’ve attached players below with Pujol’s 2011 7-inch and Mom & Dad’s Pieces/Parts below to have a listen. You can check out more about Ranch Ghost, Majestico, & King Arthur at those links back there. Tickets for this one are a mere $6 ($5 with a charitable canned food item), and you can grab those here.
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Guilty Pleasures are at Cannery Ballroom. If you are a fan of singing your lungs out to your favorite hits of the 80’s, then this is the best even in town for you. Given their massive catalogue of material, you are sure to have a night listening to a live jukebox of every hit you listened to on cassette tape back in the day. Tickets for this one are $50, but you can get a $10 discount by entering the access code of GUILTY2012 when you grab tickets at this link.
My So-Called Band at Mercy Lounge. If you are more a fan of thrashing around to your favorite CD’s of the 90’s, then MSCB would be the best bet for you. Tickets for this show were $25, and I’m not seeing any on the usual platforms for finding extras. But, you can head over to MSCB’s Facebook page to try to win some, if you want to roll the dice.
Whatever you choose to do in Nashville on New Years Eve, have fun, be safe, and get out to see some live music.
