At this time of year, it's a perennial question, one dating back at least as far as a pre-rock n' roll record by The Orioles: "What are you doing New Year's Eve?" It's the biggest party night of the year--the one no one wants to stay at home for--and the options for the evening's entertainment are so ridiculously overabundant that it can be easy to end up totally paralyzed by the sheer amount of activities to choose from. But have no fear, party people! We here at RVA Magazine sympathize with your plight, and have put together this helpful consumer guide to getting the most out of the last night of 2012!
Before we begin, though, we must remind everyone not to put yourselves in a dangerous situation. If you're going to be drinking, do not drive. Seasoned drunks call New Year's Eve "amateur night" for a reason--a lot of people who aren't normally out and about while intoxicated end up wasted and making a public menace of themselves on this night every year. Don't put yourself or anyone else at risk! Make advance plans for a designated driver, a place to stay, or a safe and sober ride home. Allen And Allen and Napoleon Taxi are teaming up to offer free rides home between 11 PM and 3 AM on New Year's Eve--click HERE for details. Other options, such as the To The Bottom And Back bus, are also available. Have fun, but be safe!
Now, when considering your options for a fun New Year's Eve, there are several directions you can go. If you're looking for an evening of fine dining and understated elegance, there are some excellent choices available. C'est le Vin Wine Bar, located at 15 N. 17th St, will present a holiday three-course prix fixe menu available for $60 per couple, followed by soulful musical entertainment from Samantha Hewlett Reed of Photosynthesizers. Midnight will be greeted by a complimentary champagne toast. For more information, click HERE.
The Tobacco Company Club & Restaurant, located at 1201 E. Cary St, will present multiple options on multiple floors, with complete dinner service available until 10:30 PM. Afterwards, the first floor bar area will feature a live performance from 7-piece RVA funk/rock band Proverbial, while the Tobacco Company Club area will feature DJ Frankie spinning sets of hip hop, dance, 80's Top40 and rock. Countdown and champagne toast will take place at midnight, after which the music will continue! Admission is $20 for the dance party, $25 for Proverbial's set in the bar, and VIP options are available. For more information, click HERE.
Photo by Todd Schall-Vess
If you're the sort of person for whom nothing will do on New Year's Eve but the traditional ball drop, there's always the option of heading up to Times Square in NYC--but unless you enjoy spending 20 hours on a bus during a 36 hour time period, we really can't recommend it. You don't have to stay home and watch the ghost of Dick Clark Ryan Seacrest, though--there are multiple ball-drop options available right here in RVA! Carytown's traditional New Year's Eve "ball rise" will be taking place as usual this year, though Cary Street will not be closed during the ceremony. Stop by just before midnight and watch the LED-light-covered ball rise from its perch on top of the Byrd Theatre. But don't stagger in front of any cars--ending the evening in MCV will not be a good way to ring in 2013. (Alternately, if you're driving around town between 11:30 PM and 12:15 AM, we recommend you avoid Cary St.)
For a bit of a different twist on the whole "ball drop" idea, check out the Richmond Triangle Players' one-act cabaret performance, "Ball Drop," featuring RTP's resident cabaret diva, Georgia Rogers Farmer, along with special guest star Chris Hester. This musical performance will help everyone ring in the new year with a bang! Two different performances will be taking place on New Year's Eve--one at 8 PM, and one at 10:30. The later performance is the more elaborate of the two, and comes with a bit of a higher price tag ($50 to the early show's $30), but also features more party favors and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight, so it all evens out. Tickets are available from rtriangle.org, and for more information, click HERE.
Or maybe the ball drop really isn't your thing. Perhaps you're looking for some serious high-class decadence. Does the idea of dressing up nice, getting tore up from the floor up at some super-fancy club, and having balloons, confetti, and actual dollar bills rain down upon you at the stroke of midnight sound appealing? Well then, we've got some options for you as well! Club Aurora's Black Hollywood Affair will feature all of what we mentioned, plus complimentary champagne toast at midnight, with music by DJ Skip and DJ Dollaz. Ladies get in for $5 if you arrive before 10:30, and the party will go until 3 AM, so you can rage even later than usual! Black attire is preferred but not required--but we know you have some black clothes, so don't show up in a bright yellow shirt and screw up the effect. Club Aurora is located at 401 E. Grace St--for more information on this event, click HERE.
For a different twist on the same high-class idea, check out Have A Nice Day Cafe's Night In Vegas New Year's Eve Bash, featuring music by DJ Shorty and DJ Lil Lou. This event also features a $2013 cash balloon drop at midnight, plus at Have A Nice Day Cafe, ladies arriving before 11 PM will get in FREE--but only if you're wearing high heels. Those things have always looked quite uncomfortable to me, but for free admission, I don't blame you for strapping on a pair. Have A Nice Day Cafe is located at 11 S. 18th St--for more information on this event, click HERE.
Off The Hookah and The Hat Factory are getting together to bring you what might be the most over-the-top crazy party happening in RVA on New Year's Eve (that we know about, at least). Taking place at 140 Virginia St, the location of both of these venues, this party will stretch across both clubs to encompass four rooms, six bars, and three DJs. Q94 will be in attendance, Against Grace will be kicking off the evening with a live performance at the Hat Factory, and there'll be go-go dancers, a cash balloon drop, $1 drinks (while supplies last), and a whole lot more going on at what promises to be a complete sensory overload of a party! Admission is $20 in advance, with tickets available by phone from both venues. For more info on this party, click HERE and/or HERE (a party so big it has two event pages featuring different information--who knew?).
Empire (727 W. Broad St.) also has some pretty crazy stuff going on--they'll be presenting a New Year's Evil party, featuring music, booze, door prizes, and some special "black crafted" beers on tap for the occasion. Plus, this is a blackout party, so at some point before midnight, the lights will go out, and the evening's festivities will continue entirely by candlelight! Should be fun, as long as you're not wearing anything too highly flammable. For more information, click HERE.
If you're the type of person for whom a night out just isn't complete without some great music, we've got some amazing stuff on tap for you as well. RVA's premiere jazz/funk/punk ensemble, No BS! Brass Band, will be taking over The Camel (1621 W. Broad St.) starting at 7 PM on New Year's Eve. Their special guests will be The Green Boys, a local roots/country ensemble led by brothers Ryan and Sean Green. The music will keep going all night, there'll be complimentary hors d'oeuvres and champagne, and you can expect the place to be jumping once the night gets well underway. Tickets are $20 in advance, and can be ordered at nobsnye.eventbrite.com. For more information, click HERE.
At The National (708 E. Broad St.), it'll be a night of that peculiar yet popular jam band/EDM hybrid known as livetronica--Papadosio and Dopapod will be on hand providing entrancing grooves and getting everyone into the right mood to enter 2013 on the peak of a glorious high--a natural high, that is. An dancing-induced euphoria. You know what I'm talking about. It'll be a great way to ring in the new year, with two national acts that we have the privilege of hosting here in RVA on this holiday evening. Tickets are $25 in advance, available from the National's box office, or by clicking HERE.
If you just want to dance with your friends without a band to concentrate on--and with no set breaks to interrupt the music--then you should definitely consider heading down to Balliceaux (203 N. Lombardy St). The funky tunes will be blasting nonstop, far into the night, courtesy of DJ Pari and Mr. Felty, collectively known as Soulpower! This veteran duo spins classic soul and funk on original vinyl, from the greatest hits of the golden age of 60s and 70s soul to lost treasures they've uncovered during their crate-digging missions to unearth the perfect tunes. Get on the good foot in the back room with Pari and Felty, or join their compatriot Mike Murphy of No Richmond, who'll be spinning classic 80s tunes in the front room all night. Whatever you want to dance to, you'll be sure to hear it at Balliceaux, and with admission set at only $3, it's a much more economical way to spend your New Year's Eve. Click HERE for more information.
Finally, if you just can't come up with the scratch to get in the door at any of these other parties--or, alternately, can't let the price of admission interfere with your beer budget--you can always head down to Strange Matter (929 W. Grace St.), where DJ Sean Lovelace and DJ BOB will be spinning tunes of all genres and descriptions all night. Admission is FREE, and you're guaranteed to run into some friends on Strange Matter's crowded dance floor, so feel free to bag all the fancy-dance parties and strut down to Grace St in the same jeans you've had on for three days now, to dance and drink in the familiar environs of a music venue that's been open under one name or another since almost 50 New Year's Eves ago!
I can't imagine we've covered everything that's happening on the last night of 2012 here in RVA--for all I know, another publication could run a party guide for the evening that's just as long and doesn't repeat a single event we've listed here. However, this should be more than enough to get you started--and if you're the sort of person who wouldn't enjoy any of the events on this list, we have to wonder if you don't just hate fun. Shrug off the end-of-the-year blues, and forget about any tired old "resolutions" for now--head out on the town and have fun! We'll see you out there.