a guide to Seacoast happenings on New Year’s Eve

Why do we celebrate New Year’s Eve? As a wise man with a weird mono-nomenclature once said, “Nothing changes on New Year’s Day.” It’s true—when we wake up on Tuesday, Jan. 1, not much will have changed from the previous day, other than the date on the calendar. It will still be cold and snowy outside, you will still have the same banal day job, and your gambling debts will still be unpaid. 

But that’s a pessimistic view. If New Year’s Eve is nothing more than an excuse to temporarily break free from the tethers of your inhibitions and celebrate life with friends and family, there’s nothing wrong with that. Still, it broaches the question of what to do on New Year’s Eve. Expectations of extraordinary fun are high, and time is running low. So decide!

Around the Seacoast, there are attractive New Year’s Eve options for music, dining, dancing, comedy and theater. Depending on a variety of factors, including your budget, your aversion to crowds, your noise tolerance and your entertainment preferences, you should be able to hunt down the perfect celebration. The Wire wants to assist you on your hunt. What follows is a guide detailing some of the Seacoast’s most anticipated New Year’s Eve concerts, bashes, balls, parties and other festivities. 

A reliable staple of every New Year’s Eve holiday on the Seacoast is First Night Portsmouth, the city-wide celebration organized by Pro Portsmouth Inc. As always, professional crafters will carve intricate ice sculptures in Market Square, Portsmouth Community Radio will DJ a seven-hour dance on Pleasant Street, and fireworks will explode in brilliant colors over South Mill Pond.

The most abundant form of entertainment featured at First Night is music. TJ Wheeler’s Jug Band and Roundhouse will each perform at the Connie Bean Recreation Center on Daniel Street; The Yankee Clipper Chorus and Jeff Warner & Barbara Benn will each play at Middle Street Baptist Church; High Range and TJ Wheeler will each play at The North Church in Market Square; Salt River, Two Old Friends and Rock My Soul will take turns at South Church on State Street; Foté and The Joan Watson-Jones Jazz Ensemble will perform at Seacoast Repertory Theatre on Bow Street; and Randy Armstrong will perform at Temple Israel on State Street. At United Methodist Church on Miller Avenue, Seacoast Civic Dance Company will get bodies moving, and “All Together Now” will feature a set of Beatles covers. 

For fans of live stage entertainment, Pontine Theatre will present “It’s a Wonderful Life” at West End Theatre on Islington Street, where selections from N.H. Theatre Project’s upcoming show, “The Primary Primary,” will also be performed.
For children and families, Bob Nilson will draw caricatures, “Headband Lady” will help you create your own First Night headband, and face-painting will be available. Bikram Yoga, located on Islington Street, will offer family rhythm circles and children’s yoga. Martha Dana will perform puppet shows and tell stories at The North Church.

A First Night Portsmouth 2008 Button will grant you access to all indoor events. Buttons are $13 in advance, $17 on New Year’s Eve and $1 for children aged 10 and under. To purchase buttons or view a full calendar of events, visit www.proportsmouth.org/firstnight.cfm.

But, if you feel like enjoying a few libations while you rock out on New Year’s Eve, First Night is not going to be your cup of tea (or booze). Fortunately, just about every self respecting bar and club in the area will offer live music of all flavors throughout the countdown to 2008. Let’s begin with a few of the highlights in Portsmouth.

For a guaranteed night of high volume debauchery, check out glam-metal rockers Camarojuana at Paddy’s American Grille at Pease Tradeport. If you have any doubt about this group’s veracity, just consider the band members’ stage names: David Beef Broth on vocals, Doug Deep on drums, Butch R. Block on bass and Spider Von Manhayden on guitar. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, and the fun begins at 8 p.m. 

A regular feature of New Year’s Eve is the groove-heavy rock band Truffle, which will perform a $10 show at The Press Room on Daniel Street. Born on the University of New Hampshire campus a couple of decades ago, Truffle has become one of the most dependable sources of original rock ’n’ roll on the Seacoast.

Those looking for a place to grind on some behinds will probably be better off going to the Third Floor Nightclub at the Gas Light Co. on Market Street. During the club’s New Year’s Eve “White Party,” DJ Biggie will provide music while staff members dressed in “outrageous white costumes” serve up a midnight champagne toast beneath all white décor and lighting. Footage from the NYC countdown will run on a big screen TV, and dancing will continue until 2 a.m.—an hour after the bar stops serving alcohol. Tickets are $50, $75 for VIP passes.

Music options at smaller, more intimate venues include The Verbs and Seth Gooby at Blue Mermaid Island Grill on the Hill, beginning at 9 p.m., $10; or Bob Arens & Friends at Spring Hill Tavern, beneath The Dolphin Striker on Bow Street, at 9 p.m., free of charge. There will also be live entertainment and a midnight champagne toast at The Page (formerly The Sports Page) on Hanover Street.

Always good for a sure party, The Jumbo Circus Peanuts will be at the Portsmouth VFW Ballroom on Deer Street for a “Seacoast Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Dance Party and International Hot Dog Festival,” beginning at 8 p.m. The $10 event will include the added bonus of frankfurters from around the globe. Seriously.

Elsewhere, there are intriguing New Year’s Eve options in Dover; Rochester; Exeter; Newmarket; York, Maine; and Newburyport, Mass. In Dover, Superfrog and Lost in Verona will perform at the Dover Brick House on Orchard Street, beginning at 9 p.m., $10. Local funk sultans Funkfoot will be at The Barley Pub on Central Avenue with an opening band at 9 p.m., $7; and DJ Soho will provide music at Biddy Mulligan’s on Washington Street, beginning at 8 p.m.  

The Stone Church, on Granite Street in Newmarket, will offer a chance to hone in on the music and zone out all the peripheral hullabaloo of New Year’s Eve. The venue will host the Seth Yacovone Band, beginning at 9 p.m. Yacovone is a veritable guitar prodigy hailing from the musical haven of Burlington, Vt. Having shared the stage with the late Ray Charles, Government Mule and The Wailers, among others, Yacovone and the rest of his trio have been reeling in praise for a few years now, establishing themselves as the Northeast’s premiere rock revivalists. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.

At Inn on the Blues, on Ocean Avenue in York, the Bruce Marshall Group will kick off a set of original blues, R&B and country at 9:30 p.m., with tickets ranging from $15 to $45, depending on your preference of food and seating. The Henry Welch Band will bring its rock and R&B sound to The Grog, on Middle Street in Newburyport, beginning at 9:30 p.m., $10. In Rochester, Slim’s Tex Mex Saloon will host a New Year’s Eve DJ Dance Party and a scavenger hunt with Draught Pick and Fat Tony. The North Main Street cantina will stay open until 2 a.m. and will offer plenty of prizes and giveaways.

Also in the Lilac City, Rochester Opera House on Wakefield Street will host its second annual New Year’s Eve Party for Kids. The event begins at 10 a.m. with a musical production of “Christmas with the Clements,” followed by an interactive reenactment of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and concluding with the climactic countdown to … noon. Yay! Only 12 more hours ’til the New Year! Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, $10 for children under the age of 12.

If you want to laugh your way into the New Year, your most promising option is Laff-In 2007 at Ioka Theater on Water Street in Exeter. The two-hour comedy event, beginning at 8 p.m., features a lineup of five Boston comics: Jon Rineman, Dan Crohn, Matt Malley, Jim McCue and John Hinton. Tickets are $25, and a full bar will be open.

There are also plenty of unique dining opportunities available on New Year’s Eve, ranging from the sumptuous and romantic to the dumptuous and gigantic. The Black Trumpet, on Ceres Street in Portsmouth, offers two options for an elegant dinner—a four-course meal with wines, beginning at 5:30 p.m. for $85, or a five-course meal with wines, beginning at 9 p.m. for $110 (prices do not include tax and tip). 

By contrast, the Muddy River Marketplace, on Route 236 in Eliot, Maine, will offer a Party in the Pig Pen Lounge, featuring free chicken wings, barbecue meatballs, smoked sausage and more. There will also be door prizes, T-shirts and drink specials, all beginning at 6 p.m.

Some New Year’s Eve events combine fine dining, dancing and overnight accommodations. Got about $750 lying around? Then you, my friend, should spend the night at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the swanky hotel will host a Grand New Year’s Eve Venetian Masquerade Ball, with a champagne and wine reception followed by a buffet dinner and dancing. Filled with crystalline ice sculptures, sparkling fountains and a four-hour open bar, the ball costs a mere $149. If you plan on staying overnight in one of the building’s luxurious rooms with your sweetheart, however, rates start at $579.

Somewhat less expensive, but still likely to decimate your wallet, is the New Year’s package at Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth. For $299 (yes, that’s under $300), you get a night in downtown Portsmouth, complete with a sparkling wine welcome and two First Night Portsmouth buttons.

Yet another idea is just to stay home and relax. If you fall asleep well before midnight, you can avoid the crowds, the noise, the expenses and the hangovers that inevitably pollute most New Year’s Eve memories. Then you can wake up refreshed, ready to face 2008 with your health and dignity intact.