Options, options, options

Whether you're lucky enough to be done with finals, or you just need a study break, Gainesville's got you hooked up tonight with some amazing events. Lets consider our options...

Motion City Soundtrack: Yes, please. This quirky fivesome has been in the pop-punk scene since 1997. We're getting a bit nostalgic right listening to "Everything is Alright," takes us right back to 10th grade. But, seriously these guys always put on a great show, and its high-energy performance might be just what you need today. Motion City Soundtrack plays at The Venue. Door are at 7pm and tickets are $17 in advance. Look out for our giveaway today.

Sharab's "White Party": Sharab Lounge's end-of-semester bash is just about forgetting about all your stresses and partying. With free drinks from 9 to 11pm, and $1 beers til the keg runs dry, it won't be long before this semester becomes a distant memory. To get you in the let-loose mood, Sharab is blacking out all the windows and loading the place up with black lights everywhere. So put on your favorite white garb, whiten your teeth and prepare to glow. Tip: Wear all white to get in free and get there early, Sharab is expecting to be at capacity by midnight.

Neon Liger + Party Degree Dirty Disco Concert Series, featuring Designer Drugs: This one is going to be nuts. Designer Drugs, the dance-music duo known for its sleezy, sweaty beats comes to Gainesville to help you celebrate the end of spring in the craziest way possible. To fit the overload of the event Neon Liger is transferring its act to The Vault Nightclub, the newest addition to the downtown scene with an 800-person capacity. 800 people, dirty dance beats and Designer Drugs? We are so there. Tickets are already on sale for this event, so get on it quick. Check out the FB event page to get tix.

Other funsies:
Modern Amusement at Lux Bar: $3 wells, $3 Casino shots, early-bird specials.
Wine tasting and art show at The Laboratory, 818 W University, Ste. C; 7 to 9pm.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall poolside at The Woodlands, 1055 SW 62nd Blvd.; 9pm
Grog House Reading Day: Free beer from 9:20 to 10pm at Grog House.
Klass Dismissed at Skyy Night Club, hosted by The Kappas $10 All you can drink.

-SG

New Year's Eve in the Ville

With more than half of the town gone, this New Year's Eve the city of Gainesville is your playground. We've compiled a list of the best NYE parties around town. Choose one, or branch out a bit and bar hop to all of them. But whatever you do, don't stay home to watch the ball drop on TV. You made it through 09 and into a new decade, you deserve a little celebration.

• Never one to skimp out on a good party, Rue Bar's, 104 S Main St., "Bringing in 2010" party is sure be wild. The $20 admission fee gets guests free drinks until midnight and free champagne and Red Bull all night. Expect balloon dropping, laser shining frenzies as Kiss 105.3 and DJ R3IGN lead the New Year celebration. Preorder tickets at The Network Promotions. 
  

• Lux Bar, 211 W. University Ave., might not have the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, but they are bringing in NYC DJ Just-Iz for its "Night of Mayhem" fiesta. An $8 cover, also gets you a free drink at this intimate downtown spot. For non-drinkers, $4 gets you in the door.
  

• Party at 1982 Bar, 919 W University Ave., with Douglas Shields & The X-Factors, Tyler Black, MP3J Sterlo and DJoshua. As a New Year's present to you, all this heart-thumping, body-shaking live music is yours for only $3, so you can have your beer and drink it too!
  

• Be the star of the show at Common Grounds, 210 SW 2nd Ave, Karaoke with Hairy Karaoke. With an endless selection of songs and a Grade A stage, CG's karaoke nights never disappoint. If the strike of 12 catches you there, the staff will be serving up free champagne toasts.
  

• If good beer and wine is your thing, move your celebration to Alcove, 110 S Main St. where Michael Parallax  jamesDUNK  and Big Smile will perform for your musical enjoyment. Make friendly with the kiddies there, and they might just invite you to the 2010: Year of the Spirit Cat after party.
  

• The Bo Diddley Downtown Plaza will be offering a free NYE party complete with champagne, balloons and live music. Opening the show is Other Voices, a "folk and roll" band, followed by the headlining band, The Imposters, a Beatles tribute band. The festivities will run from 9pm to 12:30 am.
  

Hot Sales, Cheap Drinks, Hip Hop

Beginning with a huge storewide sale and free drinks at Wolfgang, 1127 W University Ave, it’s not difficult to see why last night (Oct. 28) was a great night in Gainesville. Shoppers scurried around the boutique to grab up their favorite picks, from women and men’s clothing to jewelry and accessories, all at 25 percent off the original price. The in-store cocktail party lasted from 6 to 9pm with free drinks provided byLux Bar, the official after-party venue for the event.

Fully equipped with new Wolfgang attire and a few extra bucks in their pockets, attendees headed over to Lux’s Modern Amusement. Presented by Wolfgang and Grooveshark, the event was part of a nationwide promotional tour for Alize liquors and renowned hip hop artists Izza Kizza and Skinny Friedman. Resident DJs Thomas and Ernie spun in between the national acts and kept the crowd going. But the artists didn’t need much help once it was their time to shine; everyone in the audience danced along and threw their hands in the air for Izza Kizza and Skinny Friedman.

Izza Kizza has worked with the likes of Missy Elliot, David Banner, Lil’ Wayne and Skinny Friedman, one half of world-famous DJ duo Philadelphyinz, and has had songs featured on The Rub, Discobelle and Lil’ Jon mixtapes.

Free drinks continued to flow until midnight, and the entire place swarmed around a sweet new treat: spiked snow cones. “I think Alize was brilliant for creating the liquor-based snow cones. It went over so well with the crowd; everyone seemed to enjoy it,” Alize promotional model Caitlin Sacher says.

Wolfgang and Grooveshark sponsor Modern Amusement at Lux Bar every Wednesday, always with free cover and cheap drinks.

"We're all really excited about the turnout last night and the enthusiasm of our crowd, as were Izza and Skinny," Wolfgang owner Matthew Turner says. "This is the first of many great things to come."

—Brooke Johnson

Free Kicks Thursday

We are two months into the semester, and surely financial aid funds are quickly running out, if they are not totally gone already. Luckily Gainesville's got your back today with lots of events to help you escape midterm stress on a dime or less. 

Start your day with a free pumpkin decorating craft session at the Colonnade, surely to make for a good send-back-to-the-rents present. While at the Reitz, don't forget to stop by the CRC's Career Fair for some totally free, but not at all cheap career advice and a chance to score a great job (gotta get the income rolling again). 

Grab a $4 Hare Krishna lunch at the Plaza of the Americas, then indulge your inner music fanatic with the sounds of a 400-voice choir, as UF celebrates it

s 25th Annual Invitational Choral Festival at the University Auditorium. Catch the sounds of youth at 3pm, while six, high school choirs perform; followed by a team-up between the high school choirs and the UF choir singing together at 4 pm. It all leads up to the University Choir Invitational Fall Concert, Mostly Multicultural Musical Musings, at 7:30 p.m.

All that vocal talent got you inspired? End the day with a free screening/sing-along of Purple Rain at Orange & Brew as RUB celebrates the 25th anniversary of Prince's classic musical film. 

Transition into nighttime, party mode with free beer at Lux Bar from 9:30 to 10:30 pm. After a full-day and early evening of free fun, give something back to your community by visiting Sharab Lounge, where Sharab's promotional group PRNTHS have set up to have the evening's door proceeds benefit The Scleroderma Foundation. In exchange for your generosity, Sharab will be offering up Orlando-super DJ Justin James and as always killer drink specials. Check out the Facebook event for more information. 

Want to save on gas and Gainesville's infamous parking tickets/towing fees? Grab your student ID and log onto RTS Trip Planner to work out your chauffeuring.