Austinist's New Year's Eve Picks

Come 12:01am on Monday morning, downtown Austin will be a madhouse of drunken revelers and even drunker artsy types. You could opt to shell out plenty of dough to get into the swanky parties, but why bother? You probably won't remember it the next day.

Below are our top choices for fun things to do this New Year's Eve, all with reasonably-priced cover charges and, more importantly, within stumbling distance of one another. Get there early and pre-purchase your tickets if possible, as all will more than likely reach capacity early:

• SWISSmas: A '90s New Year's Event!
  Along with The Onion, we're helping the DJs of Car Stereo (Wars) put on their decidedly rad '90s-themed blowout shindig. Local cover band SWISS (The Gloria Record, Zykos, more) revisits the golden days of alt rock on the outdoor stage while the CS(W) turntablists spin dance party mash-ups inside. Also, free champagne and portraits by Courtney Chavanell.
  $10, Beauty Bar, 617 East Seventh Street, 10pm-2am
• Urban Pollution New Year's Party
  UrbPol's brought together an excellent lineup of indie bands from near and afar for their showcase/get-down at The Mohawk. Inside: Loxsly, Jonathan Meiberg (Shearwater, Okkervil River), A Hawk and A Hacksaw. Outside: Cari & Jason (from Belaire, Voxtrot, Fancy Feast), Evangelicals, The Blow. [link]
  $10, The Mohawk, 912 Red River, 9pm-2am
• Rock the Casbah 25
  Nothing short of a nuclear meltdown (or excessive pre-partying) would stop us from missing an episode of DJ Mel's quarterly '80s dance party, so it's a safe bet that we'll be over at The Parish Room when it's time for the countdown. Our only word of advice: get your tickets online or at Waterloo Records as soon as you can, assuming they're not already sold out. [tickets]
  $12, The Parish Room, 214 E. 6th Street, 9pm-2am
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  A Trifecta of Rock at Emo's
  With Barsuk badasses Starlight Mints teamed up with the Octopus Project and Black Lipstick on the outside stage, Flametrick Subs + Satan's Cheerleaders and Hotrod Hillbillies inside, and IV Thieves and Moonlight Towers in the lounge, what more could you ask of this three-pronged rock show? (Hint: we're giving away a pair of tickets to the right)
  $10.50, Emo's, 603 Red River, 9:30pm-2am

Now that we've shown you ours, we'd love to see yours. Where will you be celebrating this NYE?