We get it. You still love live music but don't get out on the town like you used to. New Year's Eve might be the one night of the year you're willing to pay as much for a glass of wine or pint of beer as you do a bottle or six-pack, as long as it involves amplifiers.
Here are some pointers on the best concert options for Tuesday's big night out.
If you don't want to be around drunks: The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is co-hosting the Zero Proof NYE Party at south Minneapolis' newly revived neighborhood theater, aimed at the growing "sober curious" crowd. No alcohol will be served, but the lineup is still potent, with rocky indie singer/songwriters Haley (formerly Haley Bonar) and Lydia Liza, plus comic Moe Yaqub. (9 p.m., Parkway Theater, Mpls., $45-$75, theparkwaytheater.com)
If you want a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band that still rocks: Rockford, Ill., legends Cheap Trick of "Surrender" and "I Want You to Want Me" fame outshined ZZ Top and Journey in recent opening sets and are a sure bet as casino gigs go. (10:30 p.m., Treasure Island Casino, Red Wing, $59-$99, ticasino.com)
If you know who Ganja White Night is: The fourth annual, hi-fi electronic dance music fest Snowta kicks off a night earlier with Zeds Dead and a dozen other acts, then continues on NYE with the aforementioned Belgian duo, plus sax-addled Coloradoans Big Gigantic and more. (6 p.m., the Armory, Mpls., $99-$419 per night, $180-$220 for two-day pass, snowtanye.com)
If you want a stylish, calm sit-down show: Jazz great Connie Evingson will be crooning standards with pianist Jon Weber in Crooners' intimate sister venue. (5 & 8 p.m., $30-$40, Dunsmore Room, Fridley, croonersloungemn.com)
If you want a stylish, rowdy sit-down show: Take your pick between two of the scene's best blues singers, Chicago-flavored belter Joyann Parker in the Crooners main room (7 & 10:30 p.m., $40-$110) or the Southern-y boogie band Davina & the Vagabonds at the supper club where they frequently render the chairs useless. (6 p.m. dinner show, $135, and 10:30 p.m. cocktail concert, $100, Mpls., dakotacooks.com)
If you want it extra-rowdy: The newish quartet from the Doomtree hip-hop crew, Shredders — anchored by rappers P.O.S. and Sims — dropped its gnarly debut LP in August and has been tearing it up on tour this fall. Punkers the Bad Man and Lunch Duchess open. (9 p.m., Turf Club, St. Paul, $30-$35, eTix.com)
