December is just under way, but before you know it New Year’s Eve will be staring you in the face.
Don’t be left without a destination to get your party on as 2008 arrives. Whether it’s a night of chuckles, tasty crab cakes or hot-and-sweaty dance floor action, here are some San Francisco celebrations to consider:
CONCERTS
Where: The Independent, 628 Divisadero St.
Tickets: $85
Info: (415) 771-1421, www.theindependentsf.com
Les is more: Honestly, it just wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without Les Claypool’s annual shindig. The Bay Area’s preeminent bass master — and rock music’s, for that matter — keeps the tradition alive with another installment of the Hatters Ball Extravaganza. Don’t forget to don your best headgear for the most original hat contest.
Where: Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd.
Tickets: $59.50
Info: www.livenation.com
Piece of cake: Known for the infectious hits “The Distance” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” Cake is sure to spice things up with its deadpan rock-meets-jazz-meets-country sensibilities. If you’re lucky, maybe the Sacramento band will pull out Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” from its repertoire of covers.
Where: Warfield, 982 Market St.
Tickets: $69.50 to $79.50
Info: (415) 775-7722, www.ticketmaster.com
Going to Mars: The Mars Volta, a rock group founded in 2001, is known for its complex, often concept-based studio albums, and, even better, for putting on wild, energetic and improvised live shows.
Where: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St.
Tickets: $55
Info: (415) 421-8497; www.ticketmaster.com
PARTIES
Earn your sea legs: There really isn’t an event that can rival the size of “Sea of Dreams: Metamorphoseas,” the massive production put on by Anon Salon and a host of collaborators that includes circus acts and burlesque performers. Now in its eighth year, the super-sized celebration is set to transform the Concourse Exhibition Center into an artistic wonderland, with groups such as the Brazilian Girls, Mad Vibe Orchestra and the Vau de Vire Society on the bill.
Where: SF Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St.
Tickets: $65 to $105
Info: www.seaofdreamsnye.com
Red hot: Crab cakes, complimentary Champagne and the rambunctious electronic dance beats of the Crystal Method make for Ruby Skye’s red-themed party, “NYE Resolution VIII: Eye Candy.” And what, exactly, serves as the eye candy? Hot club-goers? Actually, the cirque and aerial spectacle performed by TrapezeWorld.
Where: Ruby Skye, 420 MasonSt.
Tickets: $110
Info: www.rubyskye.com
World beat: Get your global groove on without leaving the comfort of The City with the international celebration “Eclectic Fever.” The all-night dance party brings together a culturally rich roster of artists such as DJ Jeremiah and the Afrobeat Nation, Bangra dancers and the reggae outfit Native Elements, and even supports a good cause; money raised from the event will benefit the House of Hope School in Uganda.
Where: San Francisco Gift Center, 888 Brannan St.
Tickets: $55 to $125
Info: www.eclectic.eventbrite.com
COMEDY
Oh, Sandy: She’s certainly a little rabble-rouser, that Sandra Bernhard. The stand-up comic delivers her signature satire-saturated social commentary for an evening of riotous comedy and song.
Where: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.
Tickets: $35-$100
Info: (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com
Laugh out loud: Funny man Greg Proops of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” fame headlines the Palace of Fine Arts’ “Comedy Countdown.” Also set to perform are resident VH1 “Best Week Ever” commentators Paul F. Tompkins and Greg Fitzsimmons.
Where: Palace of Fine Arts, 601 Lyon St.
Tickets: $59.50
Info: www.ticketmaster.com
Get funky: Animal Liberation Orchestra, better known as ALO, serves up a heaping helping of pure, unadulterated funk-inspired jams that are worthy of hitting the dance floor and making a fool of yourself well after the clock strikes 12.
Find out more at www.sfexaminer.com/join/
