U.S. Bank Eve
Ring in 2012 with New Year's Eve celebrations around Madison! The fun starts early with U.S. Bank Eve, and then builds through the night and well into morning with parties at the Goodman Center, Plan B, Cardinal Bar, Majestic Theatre, Knuckle Down Saloon, Ivory Room, Quaker Steak & Lube in Middleton, Erin's Snug Irish Pub, Inferno, High Noon Saloon, Brink Lounge, Crystal Corner Bar, Badger Bowl, Club Tavern, Harmony Bar, Orpheum Theatre, downtown Great Dane, Alchemy Café, downtown Brocach Irish Pub, Jolly Bob's, Frequency, Mickey's Tavern, Merchant, and many more clubs and taverns around the city. The revelry starts early on Friday with a trio of shows, and will continue on Sunday with the Packers play their regular season closer. Happy New Year!
Friday 12.30
NOTEWORTHY: Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein executed, 2006.
Frequency, 9:30 pm
Teeming with alumni of power-pop outfit the Copyrights and a handful of Ben Weasel fans, this punk band from Carbondale, Ill., churn out fist-pumping anthems and lyrics sneered with the mastery of a queen-bee tween. With Direct Hit, Masked Intruder and the Transgressions.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
A half-dozen local emcees, DJs and producers -- including Sincere Life, DJ Pain 1, 21st Century Crew, Deck Entertainment, Rambunxious and C.M.E. -- join forces to bid adieu to 2011 before the New Year's Eve hoopla begins.
Tani Diakite & the Afrofunkstars
Alchemy Café, 10 pm
A native of Mali and a master of the kamale n'goni -- a harp-like instrument designed to entrance humans, animals and animal spirits -- Diakite infuses his band's sets with percussive sounds and the funky side of the West African blues tradition.
Saturday 12.31
NOTEWORTHY: Packers beat Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Ice Bowl, 1967.
The annual party offers family-friendly fun at six locations. From 5 to 9 pm, check out games and other activities at Olbrich Gardens, Keva Sports Center and Sun Prairie Athletic Club and Ice Rink. And from 6 to 10 pm, there's revelry at U.S. Bank Plaza, Monona Terrace and the Madison Children's Museum. Fireworks over Lake Monona at 10:30 round out the night.
Goodman Community Center, 8 pm
The iconic Madison folk duo showers fans with folk music, funny tales and door prizes.
Beyond Fairytales: A Never Ending New Year's Eve
Plan B, 8 pm
Plan B melts the ice from Willy Street's sidewalks with a sizzling lineup of DJs that includes Fuzzy Duck, Radish and Lizzy T, plus a saucy drag show by Davina DeVille and Ava Stone.
DJs David Muhammad and Chamo Candela
Cardinal Bar, 8 pm
Strut your stuff as the DJs blast remixes of Latin house, reggaeton, salsa and bachata.
Sandy La Clair & the Impact of Brass, Lube
East Side Club, 8:30 pm
The bands will fill the club with swing-dancing soundtracks, polka jams and plenty of classic rock.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
DJs Nick Nice and Mike Carlson flaunt their curatorial prowess as they project videos by icons like Michael Jackson and Madonna on the theater's oversize screen.
Charlie Brooks & the Way It Is
Knuckle Down Saloon, 9 pm
A consummate R&B crooner who has opened for Ray Charles, the Supremes and the Temptations, Brooks honed his vocal skills in a church choir and his showmanship as a Motown backup singer.
Ivory Room, 9 pm
Madison West choir director Anthony Cao and wife Leslie, a multi-instrumentalist, take to the pianos to perform requests until the cows come home, which would be about bar time.
Quaker Steak & Lube, Middleton, 9 pm
A sonic salad of rock, pop and country with a dash of punk, shows by the Lucas Cates Band feed late-night cravings for head bobbing, fist-pumping and out-and-out rug cutting.
Erin's Snug Irish Pub, 9 pm
The singer and guitarist from the local Americana group Rowdy Prairie Dogs pair award-winning songwriting chops with whiskey-steeped vocals.
DJs Mazi & Zeez, Psychotron, Weaztek
Inferno, 9 pm
A cross between a Mardi Gras fete and a scene from Eyes Wide Shut, the club's New Year's masquerade will teem with mysterious masks and black-and-white finery. Industrial music and other dark electronica power the event.
Morbid Tales, Hell Toupee, Grinder, Sabra Cadabra, I'm Cramped
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Over-the-top tributes to Celtic Frost, Turbonegro, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and the Cramps melt faces during the High Noon's celebration of rock's staying power. With DJs Jenni Ladd and Reverend Velveteen.
Brink Lounge, 9 pm
Anything goes at this dueling-pianos event. Audience members request jazz standards, Elton John classics, Bon Jovi sing-alongs and even a few hip-hop jams.
Crystal Corner Bar, 9:30 pm
Popular in both Mad Town and the Windy City, this talented ensemble specializes in the Chicago blues of the 1940s and 1950s but keeps listeners guessing with Delta blues tunes from decades earlier.
Badger Bowl, 9:30 pm
Rat your hair and don your leather pants, then brandish your devil-fingers as this band shreds its way through the catalogues of Skid Row and Dokken and charms the ladies with Firehouse ballads.
Club Tavern, Middleton, 9:30 pm
This local octet blends funk, folk, reggae and R&B into the kind of cocktail that makes people unfurl their craziest dance moves.
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm
Fueled by banjos, accordions and a zany sense of humor, these local rock 'n' rollers infuse each performance with the style and soul of Irish music.
Orpheum Theatre, 10 pm
The love child of a rave and a continental breakfast, the Orpheum's New Year's Eve celebration will explode with free glow sticks, doughnuts and coffee when the clock strikes 4 am. Local DJ collective Dirty Disco Kidz fill the main theater with electronic grooves, and the remixing enthusiasts of Mad Major Melvin host a dance party in the venue's opulent lobby. With Team Bayside High, Von & Swampp Cat, Slam Dunk Champion, DJ Fuzzy Duck and Khoa Le.
Great Dane Downtown, 10 pm
This Milwaukee-based DJ splices hip-hop with punk and other hard-edged sounds, making crowds writhe with joyful aggression.
Alchemy Café, 10 pm
This wacky collection of jazz-trained musicians cranks up the bass and unleashes the funk. A portion of the evening's proceeds benefit WORT-FM, which lets DJs from the community share their favorite tracks over the radio waves.
Brocach Irish Pub-Downtown, 10 pm
The Gomers serve as your backup band. Options include Johnny Cash, Madonna and Fine Young Cannibals.
Jolly Bob's, 10 pm
Armed with a well-curated collection of reggae and dancehall tracks, Nathan Foulks, a.k.a. Vilas Park Sniper, transforms the Willy Street spot into a Caribbean celebration of past, present and future.
Frequency, 10 pm
With nicknames like Scuzzbucket and Trashbag, the members of this local five-piece excel at musical garbage collection, recycling metal and hardcore into a messy but exhilarating stage show. With the American Dead, the American Plains and Bereft.
Mickey's Tavern, 10:30 pm
Featuring members of the No & Maybe Game and the Penfield Mood Organ, this local quartet pairs punk drumming with dance-friendly melodies, New Wave flourishes and lyrics that furrow eyebrows. With Jakeleg, the Manginas, Lonesome Savages, and Sexy Ester & the Pretty Mama Sisters.
DJs Jeremy Thomas and Homewrecker
Merchant, 11 pm
The bar supplies the punch, champagne and party favors, and the DJs craft a dizzying soundtrack that's likely to include vintage soul spiked with '90s hip-hop and a bit of deep house.
Sunday 1.1
NOTEWORTHY: Global Y2K computer disaster fails to materialize, 2000.
