Here are some ways you can celebrate New Year’s in Portland, Maine, my friends.

Are you looking for ways to ring in 2013 in Portland? Here I present a robust handful of suggestions.

  • At SPACE Gallery, there will be Mexican wrestling (Super Lucha Explosiva), DJ sets (Nan’l Meiklejohn and Gabe FM) and video projections (David Meiklejohn). I usually end up at SPACE Gallery on New Years Eve and I have never regretted it. Doors at 8:00, tickets are $20.
  • At Port City Music Hall, MartyParty, Of The Trees and Digtial Bonesaw will be playing. Doors at 9, tickets are $20 – $35.
  • At Nosh, there will be music (DJ Nicotine), noshing (ha!) plates, prizes & giveaways and the restaurant’s First Annual Sandwich Contest. Head chef Jason Loring will pick the winner at the conclusion of 2012 and the winning sandwich will be featured on Nosh’s winter menu. Doors at 10, tickets are $20.
  • At The Loft, George Hamm and friends will be doing some standup. The first 50 people through the door will get a free CD. The event runs from 8 to 10 and tickets are $10.
  • At Empire Dine & Dance, there will be a “Clash of the Decades.” The event will presumably follow the Clash formula, though instead of one cover band fighting another, musicians will represent the 80s, 90s and 00s, because nostalgia is an essential ingredient for ushering in the future. Doors at 8:00, tickets are $15.
  • At Asylum, there will be a ton of music (Dirty White Hats, Cam Groves, Karaoke with DJ Johnny Red, and 80s music downstairs with Rob from WCYY). Doors at 8, tickets are $7.
  • At Slainte, there will be a party called Cockmonster hosted by Hi Tiger and featuring live music, performances and video projections by Che Ros, Hi Tiger, Jacob Pitcher, Ryan Tapia, Marcus Caine, 32 French, Fruit Punch Productions, Amanda Clark, Aquarius Funkk, and TWRK MNSTERS Brenty Ney and The 90 Minute Blonde. Doors at 9, entry is free.
  • At Grace, there will be a champagne toast at midnight and dancing all night. All proceeds go to The Center for Grieving Children. Starts at 10, tickets are $10.
  • At Geno’s you can see SYLVIA, The Coalsack in Crux, Conjjjecture, and Superorder. As one friend suggested, he will be “splitting time between SPACE and Geno’s, SPACE for partying, Geno’s for sick bands.” Doors at 9:30, tickets are $7.
  • At Local Sprouts, there will be dinner, music, dancing, and “family-friendly fun.” I am not sure what any of this means, exactly, but I do love the folks at Local Sprouts. Entry is free, I believe, but dinner will probably cost some money.
  • At STYXX, there will be door prizes that include cash, gift cards and a 10 day trip for two to Mexico, music (DJ Kate and DJ Chris O), full service bars, booze until two and dancing until three. Doors at 7, tickets are $10.
  • At The Big Easy, Model Airplane and Sly Chi will be throwing a party to celebrate musician Brian Graham’s 10 year anniversary cancer free. A portion of the proceeds (30%) go to SamFund, a cancer treatment foundation. Doors at 8, tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of.
  • At The State Theater, a bunch of hippies will converge to see Moe. Doors at 7, show at 8, Tickets $50 in advance, $55 day of.

Also, it should totally go without saying, but plan ahead. Don’t get behind the wheel while totally shit-housed.

Alex Steed

About Alex Steed

Alex Steed has written about and engaged in politics since he was an insufferable teenager. He has run for the Statehouse and produced a successful web series. He now runs a content firm called Knack Factory with two guys who are a lot more talented than himself.