So This Is The New Year ...

Another year slips into the memory banks and a new one awaits. Time to send ’05 off in style with a weekend full of original music and/or local favorites. New Year’s Eve weekend might not have any one “blockbuster” event at which to sing “Auld Lang Syne,” but there are plenty of solid local events to attend. Many clubs are offering things like food and drink specials and champagne toasts (not to mention higher cover charges), so be sure to call ahead when planning your big night out.

· The Sundresses‘ 2005 included a triumphant visit to Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest music fest/conference, some regional touring, one band member’s derailed effort to become the next mayor of Cincinnati and a bone-rattling EP, which they split with fellow Indie Blues deconstructionists 4192. What they didn’t do was play a ton of shows in Greater Cincinnati, making their free New Year’s Eve gig at the Northside Tavern all the more special. (One of the year’s best new bands, The Virgins, also performs.) The show is being filmed and recorded for a possible surround-sound DVD companion to their next full-length, due next year and, according to their Web site, tentatively titled Barkinghaus. The trio has also been invited to return to the SXSW fest this March. (thesundresses.com)

· Downtown’s Viper Room Cincinnati will be changing its name in 2006 because the owners of the Viper Room in Los Angeles would rather have it that way (the new name has yet to be announced).

The club — one of the best new Rock venues in town — will also open its second floor performance space in the new year. But before the changes, the club hosts a NYE bash featuring The Terrors, The Newbees, Mona and Visceral Elixir. The 18-and-up show kicks off with sets from various local comedians.

· Legendary local Blues diva Sweet Alice Hoskins performs Saturday for what will be the final event at popular Downtown hot spot, the Havana Martini Club. The club will be closed after New Year’s Eve and reopens in March 2006 in its new space at Carew Tower on Fifth Street. Havana’s last hurrah kicks off at 8 p.m. Call 513-651-2800 or e-mail havanainfo@cinci.rr.com for reservations and more info.

· Kaldi’s in Over-the-Rhine offers “Last Chance Café,” a musical New Year’s Eve bash featuring local singer/songwriters Liz Bowater, Eric Falstrom and Brandon Dawson, as well as Dayton’s marjolein and Detroit’s Michael Blair Project. Music starts at 7 p.m.

· With the holidays falling on a weekend this year, not all the New Year’s action is on Saturday. The Viper Room plays host to local Rock crew Big Whiskey‘s annual “New Year’s Eve Eve” shindig Friday. The band has been presenting the bashes every year for service industry laborers who have to work New Year’s Eve. This year’s event is a benefit for the Freestore/FoodBank (bring two canned food items for $2 off the $12 cover) and features music from The Kelly Evans Trio, Derrick Sanderson’s Soul Expression and G. Burton and Hyde Park Outrage. (bigwhiskeymusic.com)

· Before The Newbees‘ Viper Room gig on Saturday, they’ll be at the Southgate House in Newport on Friday night, opening up what could be the last local show ever by Ohio “Jam” faves, Ekoostik Hookah. At the very least, it will be the last Cincinnati Hookah show featuring the band’s lineup of the past nine years, as guitarist/singer Ed McGee is leaving the fold following the group’s New Year’s Eve show in their hometown of Columbus. The remaining Hookah members plan to take some time off to evaluate the situation, with hopes of returning to the scene later in ’06. (southgatehouse.com)

· Saturday, Over-the-Rhine’s alchemize presents a special New Year’s Eve edition of its popular “Girls & Boys” live music/DJ night. Dynamic DJ duo Boy Radio spins hot Retro, Indie and Alternative music, while locals Turnbull ACs and Columbus/Cincinnati Indie quartet Paper Airplane perform live for the 18-and-up party.

· Local Rock trio The Layers are using a New Year’s Eve gig at the Strasse Haus in Covington to release their debut full-length CD, Days of Gold. The band plays at 11 p.m. (thelayers.com)

· For a more rowdy, Metal-edged and economical New Year’s Eve experience, hit Sudsy Malone’s in Corryville on Saturday for a free show featuring Azygous, A Nervous Wreck, Seven Orchids and Stone Cutters. (sudsys.com)