Sweet, glorious live music: It's been good to you this year. Don't snub the stage on the last night of 2005. Gather round, my melody brethren; let us go forth and salute '06 the only way we know how: As a soul caught in a groove.
Chicago jam-band hero Mr. Blotto invites you to fill up on beats and bangers and mash at this legendary Irish drinking hole. Formed in 1991, the five-piece country-and-blues aficionados hit the big time by allowing fans to literally plug into their soundboard and spread the bootleg love. Sets in the past have been known to push well beyond two hours, like at the annual summer camping and music festival Blottopia: two days, six sets, 35+ songs. And it's the keyboardist's last gig, so make sure to bring a fueled up lighter.
Price tag: $20 in advance, $25 at door
VIP with booze: $50 in advance, $60 at door
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 10:30 p.m.
The boot: 2:30 a.m.
You'll find jazz and tasty vittles at this consistent venue for sweet live improvisation. Andy's "Jazz at Nine" regulars, Curtis Robinson's Quintet, bebop it up while you eat, continuing well on through the midnight balloon drop. Dinner comes extra, at $24-$44 depending on whether you fancy surf or turf.
Price tag: $35 table seating, $25 standing room (includes champagne and party favors)
Doors: 6:30 p.m.
Music: 8:30 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
The "Brawlroom" ditches the boxing gloves and tones it down a tad with the funkdified licks of Chicago's own children of eclectic blues/rock-fusion, Umphrey's McGee. Note: The ferocious acoustic fingerpicker Keller Williams might just steal the show as an opener. No champagne, no party favors, not even drink specials: good thing there's chillin' tunes.
Price tag: $60
Doors: 5 p.m.
Music: 6:30 p.m.
The boot: 1:30 a.m.
Roscoe Village's indie hang-out extraordinaire cooks up a three-course night of chamber pop. Fresh from the studio with a new album, the horn-driven local six-piece Canasta gets things going as the evening's hors d'oeuvre. The second course, Catfish Haven, dishes out howling acoustic tunes with a side of gritty rhythms. And the entree, Head of Femur, all rested up from its time on tour with Wilco, indulges your musical appetites with more than 15 musicians.
Price tag: $15 for each show
Doors/Music: 6 p.m. for the kiddies, 10 p.m. 21 and over
The boot: 3 a.m.
If you're looking for prizes with your party, head to this upscale "buppie" (black urban professional) jazz club. Aside from a raffle for a fur coat, each guest is promised a "special" prize. Shorty Mac (not the rapper) and his band play a little blues, jazz, R&B and even some old school tracks while an exotic dinner is served up. Bonus: a midnight balloon drop.
Price tag: $30 (includes party favors, champagne toast and dinner)
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 9 p.m.
The boot: 5 a.m.
You really can't go wrong in Wrigleyville, unless you're a South Sider (world champs, we know). The North Side fights back with "The Craziest Party Band in the Universe": Wedding Banned, a deranged, hilarious and surprisingly entertaining spin on the cheesy wedding band stereotype, covering all the regular party sing-alongs. Keeping with the reception theme, expect a buffet, top shelf liquor, a champagne toast and some rad '70s mustaches.
Price tag: $100 in advance, $125 at door
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Punk rock chaos with the New-York raised Tyrades should pique your interest, as will three stellar DJ sets from the men who brought us loud-rock reviews and hardcore porn in one magazine (Horizontal Action). Sadly, you won't be able to tap into the 125+ collection of whiskeys with the $25 cover charge. Just Mr. Beam.
Price tag: $25 (includes domestic beer and Jim Beam only, plus a champagne toast
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Three mic-spitting, ax-wielding Chicago rockers known as The Last Vegas kick off the night with their brand of Motley Crue-ish speed metal, followed by some arm-swingin', foot-kickin' Celtic punk rock via South Siders The Tossers. Finally you get copasetic (and you learn to accept '06) with headliners Local H. Beware, champagne bottles may be broken, but you have to buy 'em first.
Price tag: $60 (includes everything except top-shelf liquors, bottled beer and champagne)
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Friend of the owner DJ Tony Healy returns yet again to take over this indie-rock-star training ground. Expect a night of head bobbin' funk, hip-hop, ska, soul, rock and other year-end-worthy grooves. Both floors will be open, providing plenty of room to throw back and party.
Price tag: $50 (includes open bar with top-shelf liquors and bottled beer, but ends at midnight)
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 9 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
Nowhere else can you get so plastered for so cheap. This year the Bottle gets funky fresh with headliner The Juan Maclean, who started rockin' the dance floor with its Euro disco, experimental electronic style way before Daft Punk. But before the climax, Spank Rock, Baltimore's fusion of hip-hop, dance, electro and punk and tease the crowd with a little beat-tastic foreplay. In between sets and bringing it home come the DJ stylings of Coco LeRoc. And you can't forget the 40 ounce toast.
Price tag: $20 (includes champagne and 40-ounce toast)
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Boasting a "25th Anniversary New Years Bash," the west suburban hot bed of jazz, local rock and blues is opening up all three of its buildings, Sidebar, party room and club, and pitching a heated tent. Sidebar will host alt-country act Robbie Fulks; The Iguanas, a New Orleans hodgepodge of Cajun, Tex-Mex, Zydeco and blues, take the main stage; and a "very special guest co-headliner" is tentatively being heralded as well. The clincher to all this country twang is a Southern-style late-night buffet by Chicago's own Wishbone restaurant.
Price tag: $90 (includes open bar with top-shelf liquors and bottled beer, but ends at 1 a.m.)
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 9 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Chicago's largest jazz club is billing, you guessed it, jazz band The Business. Expect a fine dining four-course meal of such delicacies as lobster, caviar and smoked salmon, among others, to start. What you shouldn't expect is a comp drink. Sorry all you hepcats, it's a cash bar. But feel free to dance away your troubles to a band that plays for four hours straight.
Price tag: $85 (cash bar)
Doors: 7 p.m.
Music: 9:30 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
A little more than a year old, the $19.5 million dollar building constructed to both honor the first black mayor of Chicago and provide a community arena for research and performance is hosting the cool tones of Cabrini-Green-raised soul star Jerry Butler, a.k.a. "The Ice Man." Heating up the stage beforehand with his fusion of soul, funk and contemporary spiritual licks is Tennessean Gary Jenkins, who boasts the ability to play more than 14 instruments. And since it's a fundraiser, proceeds go toward educational programs at the center.
Price tag: $75 (includes "lavish" buffet, champagne toast and party gifts giveaways)
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 9 p.m.
The boot: ?
This worldly center for performance and exhibition brings Grammy nominee Angel Melendez y Su Orquesta to the stage. You'll need a pair of dancin' shoes for the stellar salsa and mambo that this 20-piece outfit will romp through. And no worries about a sweaty, stuffy evening: Smoking is prohibited. Bonus: Party favors included.
Price tag: $75 (includes champagne toast)
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: ?
A night without blues, like the majority of nights at our beloved HOB, kicks off with a mid-'90s alt rockers Fastball and Soul Asylum. On the main stage, the real Mix (101.9) and CBS Channel 2 have assembled a live broadcast of rocky soul searchers Train.
Price tag: $85 Fastball/Soul Asylum; $155 Train
Doors: 10 p.m. Fastball Train; 7:30 p.m. Train
Music: 10:30 p.m. Fastball/Soul Asylum; 9 p.m. Train
The boot: ?
Two soul shakin' modern blues players, Larry McCray and Joanna Connor, rattle up the historic Chicago blues site with continuous play on two stages...until the sun comes up. If you get your kicks on the southern Delta, there is no finer spot to be on New Year's Eve. Bucket beer specials make it all that much more enjoyable.
Price tag: $25 (includes hats, party favors but no champagne)
Doors: 7:30 p.m.
Music: 8 p.m.
The boot: 5 a.m.
Rooaaaarrrr! Cover band Tributosaurus evolves into Stevie Wonder this New Year's. Chicago's "beast of multiple musical faces" tramples the stage with a 16-piece band, including a five-piece horn section and four backing vocalists. Promising a complete span of Stevie's career, the rockasaurs will play two sets along with local guest vocalists Marqueal Jordan of Starcandy and Typhonie Monique. For such an intimate venue, I'd imagine there won't be much space with all them rockasaurs, so get their a bit early and grab a bite to eat off its scrumptiously affordable pub menu.
Price tag: $30 (includes a champagne toast)
Doors: 6 p.m.
Music: 9:30 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Canadians invade: Indie-pop crusaders The New Pornographers orchestrate neo '80s magic behind texture-heavy opening act Rogue Wave. Wistful vocals, sugary instrumentation and moderately priced Smartbar drinks await.
Price Tag: $60
Door: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
Your ticket to front row viewing of "Chicago's Official fireworks" awaits in Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom; another three-peat of pop-rock jumpstarts the night. XRT (93.1) has assembled Beatlesque foursome The Redwalls to start, followed by the recently reunited light rock locals the Freddy Jones Band. And the closer: the amped up power chords of the Grammy-nominated Fountains of Wayne. But the real kicker: ABC channel 7 might put your mug on TV with its live simulcast.
Price tag: $67 ballroom package (includes 10 $1 drink tickets and party favors), $107 V.I.P. package (includes 10 $1 drink tickets, private balcony seating, private bar and a coffee and desert bar)
Doors: 8 p.m.
Music: 9 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
Two-year nominatee for "Best African Entertainer" by the Chicago Music Awards, the Chicago Afrobeat Project headlines with its 14-piece full percussion funk/house/Western African hodgepodge of sound. The Note gets packed, so it'd be a wise decision to arrive prior to both "Floetry" pioneer Bad News Jones and the one-man hip-hop show of DJ Shon Dervis. Price tag: $25 advance; $30 door
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 5 a.m.
Dirt-cheap Schlitz and Chicago's alt-rock quartet, The Changes, loom over a surprise guest or two. Comfort food and a stage that never seems too far away make this choice a hidden gem; tickets will probably sell out quick, so get on the ball.
Price tag: $15 (includes party favors and a champagne toast)
Doors: 9:30 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
The place to find what's hot before it's hot is featuring DJ Logic and his band, Project Logic. Raised in the Bronx, Logic used to spin tracks so funky and so diverse he'd rock jam-packed clubs by night and his 50-year-old grandmother by day. Nowadays Logic and his Project play everything from jazz and soul to future rock. It's a perfect three-floor playground for the music and dance-savvy partier.
Price tag: $70 (includes top-shelf liquors and bottled beer, ends at 1:30 a.m.)
Doors/Music: 9:30 p.m.
The boot: 3 a.m.
If you're a fan of the relaxed vibe of house parties, coffee and in-arm's-reach performers, don't hesitate to spend the last hours of '05 in this cafe that's eerily more comfy than your own living room. There's no cover, bottles of wine are half price and the featured DJ's acoustics will be so clean you'll actually hear your friend talking.
Price tag: whatever you choose to booze, and maybe something to eat
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 10 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
Jazzman Fred Anderson has booked one of Chicago's finest, saxophonist David Boykin. Known for his limitless amount of energy and precise technicality, expect the rawest jazz fans to be represented in the crowd; all about the music baby, it'll be mad. And beers are always a cheap at the lounge.
Price tag: $15 (includes champagne toast)
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 9:30 p.m.
The boot: 2:15 a.m.
Since long before DMB sold out Soldier Field, Chicagoans have looked to the Vic or for "acoustronic" sing-alongs, thanks to the local 11-piece outfit Poi Dog Pondering. Largely influenced by a five-night sold-out stint of back in '97, the band returns to the historic theater once again, this time with the Latinesque beats of DJ Casolando as a primer. Price tag: $40 advance; $46 door
Doors: 8:30 p.m.
Music: 9:30 p.m.
The boot: 2 a.m.
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