Dec. 25-31 | Live: New Year’s Eve Events 

For this week’s music picks, we venture off the daily best-bets path to bring you several, very different New Year’s Eve events, breaking down the various adventures into easy-to-use categories. Happy partying!

NEW YEAR’S EVE 12.31
nMETAL MAYHEM
nExercise the demons of 2008 and send off that wacky Bush administration with a swift kick to the pleated pants—a swift double-kick-drum blow, to be exact. Local metal bands Massacre at the Wake, Separation of Self, Scripted Apology, Devour the Sky and Blood of Saints will provide the soundtrack to your cathartic experience, cranking their amps way past 11 for maximum aural pleasure. This is one New Year’s Eve night that’s truly a bash. Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West, 9 p.m.

CLUB HOPPING
nPut on something slinky and straddle multiple bars at this year’s NYE Block Party aka The Downtown Affair. It’s possible your blood-alcohol content might exceed the outdoor-temperature reading—not a huge deal considering the close proximity of participating venues and complimentary trolley-transporting ticket-holders to and fro. DJs Sayo, Latu, Juggy and Jello will hold down the three dance floors while you shake it for the paparazzi. If you had a blast at prom, let the good times roll again. Hotel/Elevate, 155 W. 200 South; Lumpy’s Downtown, 9 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com

FANCY PANTS
n If you ended 2007 with your head in a toilet, try classing it up a bit by partying with the pretty people and their NYE leader, model-turned-DJ Sky Nellor who prefers “to spin in 5-inch Manolos on a regular basis.” Scoff if you will, but Nellor appears to be the real deal. Raised on a steady diet of her father’s R&B collection, she credits The Cure and The Smiths for getting her through high school. Hard to imagine the bombshell suffered from ugly-duckling syndrome, but anyone who doesn’t consider ninth through 12th grade as “the best years of my life” is probably a solid individual. Plus, Nellor had to prove herself as a bona fide talent in a field dominated by male egos. Come see if she’s really all that at Harry O’s NYE Black & White Masquerade Ball. Dress code strictly enforced. Harry O’s, 427 Main, 8:30 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com

SWING TOWN
n Often credited for sparking the ’90s “swing revival,” Royal Crown Revue is living proof that the movement is no passing fad. Whether you live the retro life or simply want to indulge in a little traditional jazz music and dancing, then this is the place to spend New Year’s Eve. SLUG is hosting the night, and do they know how to throw a party or what? Expect free giveaways provided by Big Deluxe Tattoo, Frosty Darling and other local businesses, plus an opening set by DJ Kristin of Salt City Swing Nights. Costumes encouraged, as are jumping and jiving. Maybe wailing, too. The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, 8 p.m. Tickets: DepotSLC.com

TURN UP, SOUND OFF
n Skip the bar altogether and join local noisemakers for one of the loudest all-ages year-end nights in town. Featured acts include ska-type kids Fews & Two and Vanzetti Crime, punk/metal rockers Loiter Cognition and Bombs & Beating Hearts, experimental audio contortionists Trebuchet, plus friends Abandon and Despite Despair. Who knows—maybe there will be an after-party at the Boing house. Artopia, 60 Exchange Place, 7 p.m. All-ages.

DONNY & MARIE-STYLE
nThe Osmonds 2nd Generation aren’t your parents’ Osmonds—you can tell by the way they abbreviate their name: 2ndG. So. Funky. The group’s New Year’s Eve Rockapella performance is a good bet for revelers seeking wholesome entertainment with just a touch of heartthrob for lifetime New Kids on the Block fans. Michael, Douglas, David, Alex, Tyler, Nathan, Scott and Scott carry on the family tradition, adding their special boy-band twist to classic songs and—tonight—holiday standards. 2ndG is kind of like Star Trek: The Next Generation and possibly appeals to the demographic that prefers Jean Luc Picard over James T. Kirk. 2ndG will share the stage with headliners Rockapella of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? fame. Oh, and some guy named David Archuleta is also scheduled to appear. McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, 7 p.m. Tickets: SmithsTix.com

ROCKIN’ EVE: DISCLOSURE EDITION
nI’ve spent the past four NYEs at the Urban Lounge—why should 2008 be any different? Salt Lake City’s The Wolfs and DJ Ted Dancin’ (boyfriend) will reprise their roles as the evening’s soundtrack to lighting up one last time in the private club. Remember, the smoking ban takes effect Jan. 1. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m.

HOMEBODY
nPint of Maker’s Mark one Catch Phrase: Music Edition two large Este pizzas = zero DUIs. Your apartment/house/condo/trailer.

COMING UP
nThe Wailers (Harry O’s, Jan. 7); No Quarter (Depot, Jan 10); I Am Ghost (Kilby Court, Jan. 12); Royal Bliss CD Release (In the Venue, Jan. 13); Pepper (Harry O’s, Jan. 14); Eek-a-Mouse (Urban Lounge, Jan. 14); Guru of Gangstarr (Urban Lounge, Jan. 17); The Radiators (Depot, Jan. 18); Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band (Salt Lake City Sheraton, Jan. 19); Lenka (Kilby Court, Jan. 2)