ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News: Fireworks light up the sky in the finale to the Fire & Ice New Year's Eve Celebration Thursday evening December 31, 2009 in Town Square.
Many of you will be ringing in the new year at one of the many events happening around town this weekend. Reggae-rockers from Hawaii, Pepper is on the cover of Play this week, and contributor Toben Shelby wrote this preview of the band’s New Year’s Eve show at Bear Tooth.
Another high-profile year-end event at the Egan Center is in the Hot Picks, but you can check the rest of our New Year’s Eve calendar at events.adn.com. On the dining page, Josh Niva has a roundup of what restaurant kitchens around town are offering for one night only.
Below are this week’s Hot Picks
NOTE: Since going to press, Historian has dropped off of tonight’s lineup at the Avenue Bar. Pretty Birds That Kill will play instead.
Rock the countdown
Egan Center will host one of the city’s biggest New Year’s Eve parties when Vertical Horizon (“Everything You Want”), Alien Ant Farm (“Smooth Criminal”), Hawthorne Heights (“Saying Sorry”) share the stage with local modern rockers Static Cycle. You can also expect a beer garden for the 21-and-older crowd, plus a balloon drop and fire jugglers. 9 p.m. Saturday, $49. Visit ticketmaster.comfor info.
The more the merrier
As far as bar-band lineups go, few come as diverse as this one at the Avenue Bar. There’s grizzled troubadour Orion Donicht, then there’s the harsh noise-makers Fire Island, AK. In between is the scuzzy rock of Gamma Radio and B-Bois on Acid, hard-core punk rockers She and lo-fi indie-rockers Pretty Girls That Kill replace Historian, who have dropped off the bill. The show starts 9 p.m., free. Call 272-6124 for info.
Take cover
Maybe you’re already planning to get “Dazed and Confused” on New Year’s Eve with Lez Zeppelin, but you have another shot of catching the Led Zeppelin tribute act tonight. The women take the stage 10 p.m. today and Saturday, Sitzmark Bar and Grill in Girdwood. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Visit alyeskaresort.com for info.
Hometown heroes
The local roots-rockers in The Whipsaws and Jack River Kings are already connected at the hip (each band shares a guitarist in Aaron Benolkin), and the two groups join forces for a co-headlining bill, 8:30 p.m. today at Tap Root, $10. Opening the night are singer/songwriters Spiff and Melissa Mitchell. Visit taprootalaska.com for more info.
'Come Sail Away’
A member of the band Under the Influence of Giants, Aaron Bruno started the electro-rock outfit Awolnation as a solo project and scored a hit this year with the song “Sail.” Now Bruno is coming to Alaska with a full band in tow for Bear Tooth’s First Tap concert, 9 p.m. Thursday, $30 (21 and older). Visit beartooththeatre.net for info.
