The Golden Dogs and The Bicycles
Two of the city’s most infectiously joyful bands bring plenty of good cheer to Lee’s Palace for the club’s New Year’s festivities. The Golden Dogs hit the stage for two sets’ worth of exuberant power pop and ragged, Replacements-like rock, with the husband-and-wife team of singer-guitarist Dave Azzolini and keyboardist Jess Grassia leading the charge. Earlier in the evening, expect more pleasing melodies and sunny harmonies courtesy of The Bicycles, the five-strong group whose debut album, The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly (2006), is a steady fave among local indie-pop fans. Both bands will do their best to make sure you start the year feeling happy, soused or both.
Where: Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor St. W.
How much: $15 in advance from Rotate This, Soundscapes, Horseshoe Tavern, TicketMaster; $8 after 12:45 a.m.

Goldie at Destination 2008
This may not be the city’s only massive New Year’s dance party, but it’s most definitely the only one to offer the prospect of all-night go-karting. Yes, that’s right—besides the opportunity to enjoy “two rooms of pounding bass” and throbbing grooves courtesy of celeb DJs, including U.K. drum ’n’ bass pioneer Goldie, and hardcore electro duo Jackal & Hyde, party-goers can take a spin on the tracks at Grand Prix Kartways or hit the arcade, both of which will be open all night. So when you just can’t take any more of that bass, there will be other kinds of thrills to be had.
Where: Grand Prix Kartways, Downsview Park.
How much: $49–$99 in advance from Ticket Break, Numb, Play de Record, Zoam, Delphic.

The Sadies
One of Toronto’s hardest-working bands once again takes part in what’s become a local tradition: New Year’s with the Sadies at the ’Shoe. This time, the group’s also got a new album to promote, its first studio disc in three years. New Seasons (2007) is a powerful example of the Sadies’ prowess, featuring everything from twang-laden country to surf tunes to heart-wrenching balladry to freewheeling psychedelia. The band’s two front men, Dallas and Travis Good, wield their guitars with equal degrees of precision and abandon. The Horseshoe crowd gets two sets of the Sadies’ brand of action, plus an opening set by Brit-centric Ottawa retro combo the John Henrys.
Where: Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. W.
How much: $25 at the door; $20 in advance from Rotate This, Soundscapes, Horseshoe Tavern, TicketMaster.

Sander Kleinenberg at Magic
Though the Guvernment/Kool Haus complex on Queens Quay E. is large enough to host several parties at once, at the centre of the action is a Dutch DJ who’s renowned for his sets’ aural and visual pizzazz. When not touring the global party circuit, running his Little Mountain label or recording his own progressive house tracks, Sander Kleinenberg shoots short movies that become part of the backdrop during his performances—consider him one of the world’s few DVJs (that’s a DJ and VJ at once). Also playing that night in the club’s various spaces is an impressive lineup of local turntable talent, including house fave Mark Oliver, DJ Aristotle of the Guvernment’s hip-hop night, and Comfort Zone regular Deko-Ze. You should have plenty of reasons to keep circulating.
Where: The Guvernment and Kool Haus, 132 Queens Quay E.
How much: $40–$55 in advance from TicketMaster.

Café Cubano and Luis Maria Ochoa’s Trio
The Dundas West haven for Latin and international sounds wants to give New Year’s Eve partiers a little taste of Havana. Lula Lounge’s Cuban party features many of the club’s favourite acts. Early in the evening, singer-guitarist Luis Mario Ochoa leads his trio through a tasty set of Latin jazz. Ana Machado follows with dance lessons that should help prepare the crowd for the live salsa by Café Cubano, the high-energy ensemble that has ruled over the club’s Cuban Fridays since making its debut in September 2005. DJ Fab makes sure that tropical vibe persists well into the wee hours.
Where: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W.
How much: $50–$125 from TicketMaster, Lula Lounge.

Shit la Merde, Supercycle, Inflagranti and Pammm
The raucous DJ events by indecently monikered impresario Shit la Merde (a.k.a. Dave Binette) are a regular stop for local hipsters. His New Year’s Eve party at his home base of Sneaky Dee’s should be particularly fun, thanks to a lineup of spinners that includes two like-minded hipsters from out of town—Vancouver’s Supercycle and Brooklyn’s Inflagranti—as well as Binette’s frequent partner in crime, DJ Pammm of Lipstick, Cherry renown. Expect an eclectic menu of electro, hip hop, rock, mash-ups, mutant disco and other examples of danceable esoterica.
Where: Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St.
How much: $20 in advance from Rotate This, Sneaky Dee’s, Soundscapes, Ticketweb.ca.

’Round Midnight Cabaret
The Queen West West boutique hotel and party spot promises an “evening of elegance, decadence and roaring excitement with a contemporary twist.” What that means is a bucketful of funk in the Underground space—courtesy of KC Roberts and the Live Revolution, an eight-piece band that regularly rules over the dance floor at Revival—and all kinds of other activity elsewhere in the venue. Comedian Andrew Johnston hosts a cabaret that includes a striptease by Mina LaFleur and a contortionist act by Aidan Orange. Dr. Baggie’s Danceteria and Gary Cronin are on hand to spin dance tunes for both the beautiful people and the rest of us plebes lucky enough to get past the lineup outside.
Where: The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W.
How much: $125–$225 at the door and in advance from Ticket Break; $25 after midnight.

The Phonemes, By Divine Right, Drumheller, Gentlemen Reg and more
DJ events outnumber live-music concerts by a considerable margin on New Year’s Eve. But for those who appreciate the sights and sounds of musicians onstage more than someone in a Plexiglas booth, this gathering of indie acts is just the ticket. A grotty but lovable hangout in the Annex, the Tranzac Club hosts a generous and admirably diverse array of performers. Whether you’re after the straight-up rawk of By Divine Right, the melodic, insistently rhythmic pop of The Phonemes, the witty and winsome songs of Gentlemen Reg or the woozy avant-jazz of Drumheller, you’ll find something to savour as you count down the last moments of 2007.
Where: Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave.
How much: $12 at the door; $10 in advance from Rotate This, Soundscapes, Tranzac Club.

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