The New Year’s resolution is best understood as a direct backlash to the annual marathon of compulsory debauchery known as the New Year’s Eve party. Below is a list of some happening places that should provide you with the right setting to create a memorable New Year’s Eve, or at least one you are quite sure you enjoyed despite having no memory of it whatsoever.
Whether you’re into swinging inner-city jazz, cutting-edge electro grooves or proudly South African hip-hop, Afro-pop and kwaito, the Mother City is destined to live up to its billing as the country’s party capital this New Year’s Eve. The seventh Annual Homecoming Concert at the Good Hope Centre boasts an impressive line-up including pioneering Afro-jazz combo Stimela, sexy soul-jazz songbirds Lira and Siphokazi, Afro-pop stars Malaika, kwaito kingpin Kabelo, rappers Prokid and Tuks, Mzansi house mixmaster DJ Sbu and more. Starts at 6pm.
Upwardly mobile movers ‘n shakers can see in the New Year in Afro-chic style with flamboyantly funky saxophonist Moreira Chonguica and his Moreira Project at the Cape Grace’s swanky Bascule Bar on the V&A Waterfront. Metro FM’s DJ Fistaz supplies the Mzansi house support. At R850 the price may seem a bit steep, but you will be partying with the beautiful people on the water’s edge of the international yacht marina. If you’re after a more affordable, all-ages, family-friendly way to tune in to 2008, join Afro-pop sensations Freshlyground and irie reggae-pop favourite Dr Victor and his Rasta Rebels at KFM 94.5’s New Year’s Eve Concert in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Gates open at 7pm. The concert will go ahead irrespective of the weather. Admission is R190. Tickets available from the Kirstenbosch Visitors’ Centre ticket office. Tel: 021 761 2866.
The Voyage New Year’s Eve Party at brand new CBD hangout Velvet in Bree Street promises to be the discerning clubber’s first choice with its cutting-edge mix of nu wave-electro, minimal, nu rave, disco-punk, house, indie and dubstep courtesy of skinny jeans-sporting indie-disco stylists Howard Roark. DJs include Digital Rockit, Killer Robot and more. Starts at 9pm. Admission is R200 (pre-sold), R250 (door) and R350 (VIP).
If you’re looking for top-notch entertainment and a way to see in the New Year in classic Cape Town style you can’t do much better than The Kramer Petersen Songbook, showing at the Baxter Theatre, which celebrates the collaboration between Taliep Petersen and David Kramer. The candle-lit New Year’s eve party starts immediately after the shows come out. There will be indoor fireworks and a balloon drop. The New Year’s Eve show starts at 9pm.
Johannesburg can become a bit of a ghost town at this time of year, with many residents deciding to escape the overcrowded city by fighting for space on the beaches and making life generally unpleasant for those who live on the coast. Those wise enough to stick around get to enjoy traffic-free roads and some of the biggest (and loudest) parties in the country.
The Jo’burg Carnival will be a colourful spectacular complete with costumes, musicians and dancers, and aims to give inner-city residents a safe way to see in the New Year. The SAPS will be in full force, making sure that the parade, which starts in Kotze Street in Hillbrow, proceeds across the Nelson Mandela Bridge and ends in Newtown with a massive party, remains free of the type of incidents that make the area so notorious on December 31.
Huge party venue Tempo‘s will be hosting a 12-hour party featuring mainstream rockers Prime Circle alongside Southworld, Lonehill Estate, Redhouse and ‘the winner of Woodstock”. There will be the usual large-scale sound and lighting, as well as a fireworks display (hey, any excuse to blow things up) and DJs to keep the party going till well into the new year. Tickets are R175 through Computicket or R230 at the door. Tel: 083 721 2536.
Moderation has never been key when it comes to New Year’s parties, and Groove Bar in Midrand is hosting an enormous dance party, one of the biggest drawcards being that from 5pm to 8pm you can drink for free. If you’re still standing after that there will be a huge line-up of 23 DJs and a fireworks display to welcome in the new year.
Those who prefer to end the year on a quieter note, or who simply want to see in the new year with livers and eardrums intact, can head for the five-star Kloofzicht Lodge (half an hour from the city) for the Great Gatsby Dinner Dance. Tickets are R475 per person and include a seven-course gourmet dinner and champagne. Accommodation can be arranged. Tel: 011 317 0600.
In Tshwane, the best rock line-up can be found at the Tuks FM Psychedelic New Year’s Party taking place in Hatfield Square. Exciting Afrikaans alternatives Foto Na Dans are on the bill alongside The Garage Band, The Hellphones, Wickhead, The Narrow and newly reformed surf-rockers Perez. The gig should be a good antidote to the dance beats that seem to take over at this time of year. Tickets are only R60 and are available through Computicket.
Those who like their new year served up with a dollop of pap en sous should head to Loftus, where Afrikaans pop idol Kurt Darren will perform alongside Karen Zoid and Beeskraal at Trademarx Café. Tickets are R110 through Computicket, with a VIP dining option at R350.
For those who want to deep-six 2007 in a barnstorming barrage of beats far from the madd(en)ing crowd, there’s nothing better on offer than the annual AmaFullThrottle Party at Tucker’s Bass Farm in Ifafa down the South Coast. From December 31 to January 1 the event allows you to kick back, relax and celebrate the new year in the mellow style — or go completely off your pip on the pulsating dance floor.
If you want to put some serious funk in your trunk but not leave the city limits, head for Sibaya Casino’s Krakatoa Bar, which throws a New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras party featuring dancefloor daredevils The Iridium Project, who perform their slinky live electronica.
For some old-world charm on New Year’s Eve sip a glass of wine and enjoy the exceptional classical and contemporary stylings of virtuoso pianist Christopher Duigan, who performs a special New Year’s event in his intimate home studio at 35 Montgomery Drive in Pietermaritzburg.
Quality live music is provided by Suncoast Casino. Taking place on the magnificent Suncoast Sundeck, their New Year party features live performances by all top-five Idols finalists and radio-friendly rockers Prime Circle, Sitter, Love Jones and LX Seth.
If seeing 2008 in on a more theatrical note is your cup of tea, get into the swing of all things Irish at the special New Year’s Eve performance of Celtic Rock at The Barnyard Theatre at mega-mall Gateway. For theatre of a more vintage nature, catch the special New Year’s Eve performance of classic musical comedy Guys and Dolls.
Those who fancy the idea of ushering in the new year by falling over in a field can make their way to the Symbiotek New Year’s party, where a mind-boggling array of psy-trance, techno and minimal DJs will provide three days and nights of nonstop beat wizardry. Taking place in Bronkhorstspruit, about an hour from Jo’burg, the festival promises enough creature comforts, such as coffee shops and hot showers, for revellers to feel quite at home (even though, come midnight on December 31, many won’t know where they are anyway). Tickets are R180 and include access to the camping area. For more details and directions, go to www.teknotribe.co.za. — Compiled by Lisa van Wyk, Miles Keylock, Brent Meersman and Alex Sudheim.