With midnight extravaganzas, extended curfews and no-holds-barred performances, New Years Eve has become the quintessential rock ‘n roll holiday. Every band seems to step it up a notch and find a way to make the last show of the year their finest.
Who would have thought just a couple years ago that three bands by the names of Sleater- Kinney, Wilco and The Flaming Lips would be headlining a place called Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve.
As the strobe lights flash and the confetti rains down on the crowd, singer Wayne Coyne pushes the audience into a full chorus sing-a-long exclaiming, ‘humiliation is nothing to fear!’ He should know, leading the house along with a hand puppet of a nun, while he dons a classic white suit stained with fake blood. And this isn’t New Years, or a Halloween show…it’s a Wednesday night in April where a packed house dances and cheers along side frogs and cows and every costume imaginable.
