The new year promises a fresh start, but it's also the beginning of soon-to-be-broken resolutions, drunken midnight smooches, weeks of finding glitter on your sheets and in your ears, and all-around regretful debauchery.
But whether you look at the champagne flute half full or half empty, you have a sparkling alcoholic beverage in your hand. It's time to make some new mistakes, and why not do it while gulping some bubbly?
Spend this New Year's Eve having a really good time, like a silly, fun, wonderful night. And you don't have to go all the way to Times Square to see balls drop -- ahem, a ball drop. South Florida is jam-packed with everything from, well, Phish jamming to house DJs spinning to hip bands strumming.
So before you count down to midnight, read our countdown of NYE parties to find a proper way to kick 2014's ass out the door.
10. Respectable Street.
10 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Respectable Street Cafe, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Cover is $10. Call 561-832-9999, or visit sub-culture.org.
If you want to forget about fancy, big-name DJs and just have a quality wild night out, there's Clematis' longest-running live-music haven, Respectable Street. It'll be fully stocked with some of the finest local live music out there. On display will be surfy doo-wop duo Beach Day, the psyched-out metal ladies of Snakehole, the indie rockers of Wake Up, and dreamy psych act the Band in Heaven. The music will start at 10 p.m., and the festivities will go on all night long. Yes: All. Night. Long.
9. Phish.
8 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at AmericanAirlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Tickets cost $250 plus fees. Call 786-777-1000, or visit aaarena.com.
OK, this bash isn't in Broward or Palm Beach County, but we made an exception. Jam band Phans will swarm the streets of downtown Miami for a few days of extended grooves. Yes, Phish is doing a four-day run at the home of the Miami Heat. The band hasn't played NYE in town since 2010, and it just released its first album in five years, Fuego. And that's exactly what the Phans will be like, spreading all over, como wild fuego.
8. America's Backyard.
9 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets start at $35 plus fees. Call 954-449-1025, or visit myamericasbackyard.com.
When a few measly glasses of champagne won't do the trick, that's when America's Backyard steps in. Thirty-five bones gets you to the party and slurping up booze at an open bar from 9 p.m. until midnight. This includes a champagne toast at the end of 2014. In other words: Worry not! There will be plenty of booze to let you end 2014 tipsy and begin 2015 the same way. This year's theme is black and gold, so put on your finest things that shine and get ready to dance like it's 1999.
7. American Social Las Olas.
7 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at 721 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. No cover. Call 954-764-7005, or visit americansocialbar.com.
If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happens at American Social will sure as hell stay there as well. The trendy Las Olas restaurant will host a Sin City-themed party for its New Year's shebang. Sip your free midnight champagne while dancing like Sinatra to music played by DJs ESP and Skitty. If you end up feeling as boozy as a full martini glass the next morning, get yourself a little hair of the dog at the Social's brunch from 11 to 3 p.m.
6. Georgie's Alibi.
8 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at 2266 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors. No cover. Call 954-565-2526, or visit alibiwiltonmanors.com.
Wilton Manors goes all out for the holidays -- think of the wildness at Wicked Manors on Halloween -- and New Year's Eve won't be any different. DJs will spin fabulous dance beats at inside and outside bars, and expect a sensual live performance by the Ladies of Soul. A midnight champagne toast and a balloon drop offer the perfect time and place to plant a wet one on somebody new. Georgie's Alibi will also offer an alluring next-day brunch that lovingly provides $3 bloody marys and mimosas until 4 p.m.
5. Honey.
10 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Honey, 13 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets start at $35 plus fees. Call 561-270-7187, or visit honeydelray.com.
What better way to ring in the New Year than at a spanking-new club? Honey is Rodney Mayo's very recent, classy, and exclusive Delray endeavor. Dance to sweet, jazzy, and chill tunes spun by house DJ Adam Lipson, and find out why Honey is, according to its website, the "hottest place to be in Delray Beach."
4. Black and White Midnight Masquerade.
9 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Pawn Shop Lounge, 219 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. General admission is $50 plus fees. Call 561-833-6500, or visit pawnshopwpb.com.
Who says Romeo and Juliet get to have all the masquerade fun? Not Pawn Shop Lounge, that's for sure. The new Clematis hot spot -- modeled after an actual pawn shop and featuring a truck DJ booth and ferris wheel parts -- is hosting the Black and White Midnight Masquerade, complete with West Palm's hottest crowd with concealed faces, a champagne toast at midnight, and music by DJ R1 and Alex Gregory. Think of the whole mask thing as beer goggles but way more stylish.
3. Stache Roaring 1920s New Year's Eve Bash.
9 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Stache 1920s Drinking Den, 109 SW Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $75. Call 954-449-1044, or visit stacheftl.com.
Fort Lauderdale's popular speakeasy, Stache, will usher in 2015 with a not-so-surprising Roaring '20s theme. Get your sustenance early when light appetizers accompany an open bar beginning at 9 p.m. Live music from local blues deity Joel DaSilva and the Midnight Howl, beats from DJ Misha Samson, and a burlesque performance by sexy Aurora Natrix. What have we got to say to Stache about this whole setup? Well played, old sport, well played.
2. Passion at Hard Rock.
9 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at Passion Nightclub, 5701 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets start at $40 plus fees. Call 954-235-6164, or visit passionnightclub.com.
You'll be showing off your party skills at Passion Nightclub, where you can twerk and twirl to not one, not two, but three DJs. DJ Zog and DJ CX will be at the turntables in the main room, while DJ Ishy will hold it down in the Latin room. You know what R. Kelly says: "Shit don't stop till 6 in the mornin'." Well, this one stops at 5 a.m., but it's close enough.
1. W Fort Lauderdale.
8 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, at W Fort Lauderdale, 401 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. General admission is $120 plus fees. Call 954-414-8300, or visit wfortlauderdalehotel.com.
Wrapping up our list is another masquerade party, but this masked event will take place at the upscale W Fort Lauderdale. We're talking an open bar, access to both venues -- Whiskey Blue and Living Room -- and music by DJ Richie Rich, formerly of hip-hop trio 3rd Bass, and Kevin Graham. Of course, there will be party favors (not those kind, you naughty little elf) and a midnight toast to keep you warmed up and in the groove.
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