Cherry Bar
New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday this year. Those who know anything about anything will realise that’s when Soul in the Basement regularly takes over Cherry. Wisely, they’re not deviating from the norm just because it’s New Year’s Eve, and DJs Vince Peach and Honey will be splattering the room with a heck-load of northern soul and hip-moving boogie tunes. It’s ordinarily a match-making event, and with the New Year’s fumes floating around we can only imagine this’ll increase.
The Croxton
The Croxton are hosting the ultimate ska, reggae, roots and rock party to bring in 2016. Tunes on the night will come from Melbourne Ska Orchestra and Blue King Brown frontwoman Nattali Rize. It’s been full steam ahead since Melbourne Ska Orchestra dropped their self-titled debut album back in 2013. Since then, the band have played sell-out national shows and multiple major festivals, and completed three huge international tours that took in Glastonbury, Montreal Jazz Festival, Sierra Nevada, club shows in LA and New York, and a sell-out show in London. Now they’re preparing to release their next album in March. Nattali Rize will also be back on our shores for this special performance. Taking things well into New Year’s Day will be reggae and dancehall producer Jake Savona AKA Mista Savona.
The Retreat
Are you eager as fuck to ring in the New Year at your local? The Retreat, Brunswick’s ultimate music haven and favourite local haunt, has you covered for midnight 2015. DJs Adalita and Jeff Leppard will be taking over the venue and doing their thing from 7pm till 3am. Come celebrate (or commiserate) the year that was and say goodbye to 2015 in fine style with all your mates at The Retreat. Entry is free, so spend that money you saved on cover charge on sweet, sweet jugs and have yourself a party you’ll more than likely forget the next day.
Tanglewood Festival
Tanglewood festival takes place in Thornton, VIC, which is roughly 90-minutes north of Melbourne. It’s a multi-faceted festival on every level. The lineup covers everything from blues, metal, hip hop, reggae and good-times rock’n’roll. Plus there’s a range of reasonably priced food stalls, craft markets and cultural and educational workshops. So after catching some of Spoonbill’s oddball electro, you can pop over to the healing space for a tarot reading or a massage. It goes down from Wednesday December 30 – Friday January 1.
Yah Yah’s
Yah Yah’s has spent 2015 hosting a hell of a lot of hard-rock and ridiculous late nights. So naturally, they’re turning it up a little to bring in the New Year. Taking charge of proceedings are Melbourne rock’n’roll bad boys The Tarantinos. As the name suggests, these guys are devoted to musically emulating the sounds of Quentin Tarantino’s typically violent films. Their live show, accordingly, can be rather unruly. As if that weren’t enough, at 2am Hyno Sex Ray will hit the upstairs bar with a set of Cramps covers.
Ding Dong Lounge
New Year’s is as good a time as any to get stuck into some down-and-dirty rock’n’roll. Good news: two of the city’s rowdiest bands, The Bennies and Clowns, are taking over Ding Dong Lounge for a night of good-for-nothing depravity. There’s a strong chance nudity will prevail, and if not, clothes are likely to be torn apart in the mess of crowd surfing and general exclamations of angsty liberation. And it’s just a tram ride away from your bed.
The Union
The magnificent Suzannah Espie & The Last Word will be heralding in the New Year at The Union in Brunswick, after melting hearts across the country on her recent sell out national tour. This special affair will see support from the Native Plants, the Union’s own pop-propagated-with-rock duo. Music kicks off at 8.30pm.
Lucky Coq
No plans (and no cash) for New Year’s Eve? No worries. No Frills NYE at Lucky Coq is your go-to destination. Over the course of the night there’ll be a free BBQ from 5pm – 7pm, free entry, free pool table and beer and cocktail specials all night long. Plus, no bullshit superstar DJs, just a killer lineup of locals. Get your broke arse down there.
The Penny Black
Our mates over at The Penny Black have you cats on Sydney Rd sorted this NYE. Come down and enjoy killer tunes around in their huge beer garden, free entry and an extra special 3am close so you can keep the party going late. The night will be featuring guest DJs Ayna and Grammy award winner M-Phazes on the decks, as well as house DJs D’fro and Tee Dubya. It’s guaranteed to be a night to remember that you probably won’t.
Laundry Bar
This one goes out to all of you indie kids out there: get off my lawn. Also, get down to Weekender Indie NYE for all of your throwback indie needs. Melbournes best indie DJs Steve Wide, Dave Shaw and Gregory Wright will play Pulp, Blur, The Smiths, Interpol, The Strokes, New Order, Belle and Sebastian, Blondie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys, Postal Service, Modest Mouse, White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, The Cure, Elastica, The Clash, Ramones, Ride, Charlatans, Joy Division, Suede, Foals, Libertines, Dandy Warhols, PJ Harvey, Primal Scream, Supergrass, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Teenage Fanclub and so much more – it’s indie heaven. Upstairs at Laundry, 10 clams on the door.
Section 8
Pop the champagne, those cats over at Section 8 are ringing in the New Year with some of our favourite slingers from the Secret Heat Soundsystem. Celebrate in our style with disco, boogie, hip hop and beats to ring in ’16 from selectors Benny Badge, Sammy B, Annie and Ricardo McFly; all a stone’s throw from the city chaos and underneath the fireworks show. Doors from 6pm, free entry.
Belleville
There are only three things I want to happen in 2016. Donald Trump not to win the American election, someone finally stops Kony, and for you to kick-start it all at Belleville. Bring your mates, throw some shapes and dance (and eat) on down until its 2016 with tunes from Saca La Mois (The Cumbia Cosmonauts) Galambo (live) and No Future DJs. Early bird tickets are only $20 (food and drink included). Get a roast chook up ya.
Ferdydurke
Ever year when I write these round-ups people always come back saying the same damn thing: “This is a really informative and helpful list and I really like your haircut but this NYE I want to party at a bar that’s named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.” Well, to all you fictional people out there, I’ve got you sorted this year. Those cats Loose Joints are taking over Ferdydurke this NYE, with DJs Rory McPike, Tuscan Prince, Midnight Tenderness and Woz. Free all night, festive drink specials. Party.
Bendigo Hotel
If your idea of New Year’s includes a lot more blood, sweat and denim than most, then The Bendigo Hotel is the place to be as a righteous surfer skater team of Party Vibez, Cosmic Kahuna and K-Mart Warriors all hit up the centre stage, paving the way for California punks Agent Orange to bring in 2016. $50 tickets, but just think of all the money you’ll save from the cheap jugs.
Reverence Hotel
How fucking poetic would it be if you had your last drinks of the year with Cash Savage & The Last Drinks? Savage and co. are headlining The Rev’s New Year’s Eve shindig, leading a lineup stuffed full of goodies like La Bastard, The Sugarcanes, The Dead City Lights and Hot Wings, along with a few unannounced surprises to come. Be warned: it’s fancy dress, so dress the fuck up.
World Carnivale NYE
At World Carnivale they don’t mince words. So when they say this is Melbourne’s “best NYE 2015 gig” they’re prepared to back it up. Committed to offering a utilitarian event, World Carnivale NYE is a multi-genre, multi-demographic, multi-generational affair. How do they pull this off? Well, for a start, there’s five completely unique parties taking place within the one South Wharf event space. You’re welcome to roam among the parties as your mood ebbs and flows. You’ll have the option of taking in the sounds of afro spiritual house master Osunlade, The Voice star Rik-E-Ragga, Brazilian beats deployer DJ Marz, voluptuous Latin salsa from Buena Vida and plenty more. There’s a bundle of different packages available to purchase on their website, but regardless of the package you select, you will receive hours worth of food and drink, and of course, the freedom to party, dance, dine or romance your 2015 NYE night away in a true festival atmosphere, against spectacular river and city skyline views right on the banks of the Yarra River. Oh, and let’s not forget the NYE fireworks, which’ll be ignited only 50 metres away from the party itself. We haven’t had that much fun since playing with fireworks in the back alleys of Footscray in the ‘90s. It’s a lot to take in, but the one guarantee is that there’s no other party quite like World Carnivale anywhere in Melbourne over New Year’s.
And if you run out of supplies at home: Tipple
Sometimes, it’s a good move to keep New Year’s low-key. Perhaps a relatively sophisticated dinner party with a group of friends, or a backyard picnic cranking the best of Paul McCartney and Wings. Whatever it is, there’s a strong chance you’ll want some booze to carry you towards midnight. That’s where tipple steps in – Melbourne’s own on-demand alcohol delivery service, which brings drinks to your door within in an hour of placing an order online. We spoke to Tipple’s CEO and founder Ryan Barrington to find out what it’s all about:
Can you tell us a little about your service, and what drove you to embark on every Melbournian’s wildest fantasy?
Gladly! tipple is Melbourne’s virtual bottle shop, delivering on-demand in under 60 minutes, or when your future self is thirsty. Our drop zone delivers to over 75 inner-Melbourne suburbs, with plans to expand across all of Melbourne in 2016. Watch this space. The concept came out of running liquor stores and food and delivery outlets around Melbourne for the past 11 years. As a business operator and liquor industry diehard, creating and building tipple seemed like the most natural next step, given the community demand for a service like this. Our credo is “drink. different.”, and our pillars of success are based on speedy delivery, expansive range, competitive value, and a strong technical platform. We have a mobile app launching in a matter of weeks, really bringing to life the concept of having your bottle shop in your pocket.
You guys also deliver snacks. Nothing goes hand in hand like booze and snacks. What kind of food do you offer, and, what’s your personal favourite alcohol/snack combination?
You’re spot on. You can’t entertain with drinks alone. Along with building on our range of liquor, we are constantly growing our range of snacks to cater to the appetite of Melburnians. We’re currently delivering a range of Shale Point gourmet cheeses and crackers, Nobby’s nuts and pork crackle, a range of chips like Doritos, Smiths, and Red Rock Deli varieties, and new to the virtual snack isle is Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream. Personal favourite? You can’t beat a good bottle of red with cheese. I go for Wynn’s The Banker because it drinks like a $50 bottle at more than half the price, with the Shale Point Cracked Pepper cheese and crackers. Although, this summer my go-to is Louis Perdrier French sparkling that drinks like a $40, but again, less than half the price.
You guys boast an incredibly speedy delivery time. How quickly can we expect you to come and alleviate our desire?
We promise to alleviate desires with delivery in less than 60 minutes. We take ‘on-demand’ seriously, and so far we have been averaging around 30 minutes for a delivery. However we allow a one-hour window because Melbourne is such a buzzing city with non-stop events and activities, which makes traffic unpredictable at times.
You have over 800 alcoholic beverages in stock. What are some of the more obscure drinks we can order through you guys?
If you’re into your beer, the original Fruh Kolsch beer is a great pick for something different. The Gentlemen’s Collection red is a great intro to wine as it has 5% fortified wine, which gives a smoother finish on the palette. A big seller for us is the Little Fat Lamb cider and ginger beer, because it’s 1.25 litres, 8% alcohol volume, and only $7.50. And tasty too. Most obscure winners go to our range of spirits though, of which there are too many to mention. Most popular has been Ron de Jeremy Spiced Rum, Purity Vodka (the purest vodka in the world, distilled 37 times), and SX Cha Cha Cha Lemon & Honey tequila. Staff pick is the Diplome Dry Gin, which has a vintage, authentic taste, staying true to the original recipe which was perfected in the era of WWII.
