The Ultimate New Year’s Eve Party Knockout!

By Lukas Steinberg
Good bye, 2012! You brought us a lot of joy, you exposed doomsday lies, you disappointed, you [insert your personal emotion here]. No matter whether it’s a farewell with tears or you’re glad to get rid of the year: It’s time to celebrate one more (big) time to give 2012 the deserved kick in the butt and welcome 2013. Browse through our rundown of notable 2012 NYE parties, and have a fabulous time!
S.T.D. New Year’s Party @ Arkham
If you’re hiding in the dark underground caves of Arkham, you won’t notice much of what’s going on outside when the new year arrives. Good to know that DJ Wordy from Beijing, Matt Black and Jonathan More of Coldcut (UK), Linfeng, ADO8 and Max will unleash a range of dance, hip-hop, electro, house, reggae, D’n’B and more to keep you well occupied over the whole night.
100RMB // 9pm // 1 Wulumuqi Road, near Hengshan Road (乌鲁木齐路1号, 近衡山路)
TECHNOW NYE Special @ MAO Livehouse
Mushido are back, of course with Boro Lo and Milan J. Technow is techno, so expect pulsating soundwaves and projections ruling the countdown soundtrack till midnight and beyond. Presale tickets include several goodies.
80RMB pre-sale incl. CD/gift bag + wrist band, 120RMB door incl. one drink // 9:30pm // Mao Livehouse // 3/F, 308 Chongqing Nan Lu, near Jianguo Zhong Lu3/F, (重庆南路308号 近建国中号)
YYT New Year’s Eve Party @ Yuyintang
Quattro live music attack by Candy Shop, Senlinmu, Orange and Fearless! Rock and pop by four good local bands and two beer for 100RMB, no complaints. Sounds like a great package for NYE.
100RMB incl. 2 beers // 9pm // Yuyintang // 851 Kaixuan Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu (凯旋路851号, 近延安西路口)
Fake Flakes 3 @ JZ Lounge
15 hours of live music sound a bit too good to be true, especially if you consider how early most venues tend to call it a night in Shanghai. But Visuals and performances, photo exhibitions, the Flamingo Jazz Band plus an impressive DJ lineup featuring Ben Huang, Zammo, Razor, Arterror plus a surprise guest DJ sound like a good way to kill the night.
200RMB before midnight, 100RMB after // JZ Lounge // 22-23/F, Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden Hotel, 159 South Henan Lu, near Fuyou Lu (河南南路159号22-23楼, 近福佑路)
Electric East NYE Edition @ DADA
Shanghai- and London-based record label Rankadank is always good for a neat Electric East Party. But of course we don’t need to tell you this since you’re reading Shanghaiist. For the NYE party, Lady Citizen, Conrank, Deadlock, Q-Kraft, Steven Lorenz, HBD and Dirty Mouth are the honorable guests. D’n’B, dubstep, hip-hop, house etc. make fans of bass-heavy tunes happy.
Free // 10pm // Dada // No. 115 Xingfu Lu, near Fahuazhen Lu (幸福路115号, 近法华镇路)
NYE Party: Spanish Countdown @ LOLA
You know what’s bullshit? Paying a premium door charge and getting shit music in return. Luckily, you won’t have to deal with those common annoyances at Lola. The NYE party is 100% free and passes on all the bells and whistles that nobody really needs for a good party. HD Substance, Alecs Marta, Teasy and Frank Costello on the turntables.
Free // 10pm // 570 Yongjia Lu, Bldg. 4, near Yueyang Lu (永嘉路570号4号楼, 近岳阳路)
pH Balanced @ LUNE
No cover charge? Check. RSVP not required? Check. Unpretentious location? Check. Promising musical lineup? Check. Looks like we’ve found a bulletproof option for those who couldn’t be bothered to spend a few hundred kuai on a dull glitzy party with so-called champagne free-flow or even more kuai on the real thing. Lune promises the best of UK bass music with Alta, Arthur Fox, Siesta, Beardslap, Ben Thriller and Zammo. Dubstep, garage, house, funky and more on rotation.
Free // 9pm // Lune // 4F, No. 218 Xinle Lu, cross Donghu Lu (新乐路218号, 东湖路路口)
Angel NYE Party @ Weider City Club
The biggest gay New Year’s Eve bash in Shanhai, with DJ Alan Liao (Taipei) and Brian & the FLIT (Korea) catering to you with house and progressive.
150RMB incl. 2 drinks // Weider City Club // 1 Henan Zhong Lu, near Yan’an Dong Lu (河南中路1号, 近延安东路)
Welcome 2013 NYE Party @ 390 Shanghai
OK let me get one thing straight (again): Champagne IS NOT equal to sparkling wine. Thanks for the attention. So no matter what the flyer may suggest, 150RMB get you free flow sparkling wine courtesy of Charles de Fère at Shanghai’s most recent LGBT party and live music venue. Regular entry without all you can drink “bubbly” is 50RMB including one standard drink.
50RMB incl. 1 drink, 150RMB incl. free flow champagne cheap sparkling // 10pm // No. 390 Panyu Lu, near Fahuazhen Lu (番禺路390号, 法华镇路)
2013 NYE Party @ Barbarossa
Barbarossa simply offer what they’re best at: Drinks accompanied by resident DJ Bernar’s tunes. For the Special occasion, they announce to throw in some fortune telling and “magic messages” from the future just so you know what to expect from 2013. I predict increasing taxi fares and McDonald’s prices for 2013.
Free // Barbarossa // 231 West Nanjing Road, Inside People’s Park, Next to Art Museum (南京西路231号人民公园内, 上海美术馆旁)
Hells Angels NYE Party @ Boxing Cat (Sinan Mansions)
Funny. Quite a few people in Europe associate Hells Angels with scum, but sure, why not make it a party theme. Congratulations. After all 150RMB is a competitive NYE deal for free flow drinks, now isn’t it?
150RMB // 9pm // The Boxing Cat Sinan Mansions, Unit 26A, 519 Fuxing Zhong Lu, near Sinan Lu (思南公馆, 复兴中路519号26A, 近思南路)
Black & White Ball @ The Geisha
Don’t know what to wear for NYE? The Geisha limits your options to two colors, making it either easier or impossible for you to decide for an outfit, depending on what your wardrobe has to offer. The Perfecto Playboys take over the turntables. Not sure what that means but we assume mass-compatible tunes. But you probably don’t care too much anyway because there’s a chance you’re coming for the 300 kuai open bar (550 with champagne).
300RMB open bar (550RMB with champagne) pre-sale, 350/650RMB at door // 10pm // The Geisha // No. 390 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Fuxing Lu (陕西南路390号， 近复兴路)
Gold NYE @ Bar Rouge
So we didn’t intend to complain about Geisha’s b/w concept – after all, that’s a fairly common dress code. Who knows how serious Bar Rouge takes the whole ‘Gold NYE’ concept. So dudes, you may wanna get some fashion inspiration from Goldmember from Austin Powers 3 for the most glamorous, not tacky at all appearance. The 300RMB door charge includes one glass of Moet (and yes, that’s actually champagne).
300RMB incl. 1 glass of Moet // 10pm // Bar Rouge // 7/F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu (中山东一路18号7楼, 近南京东路)
White NYE @ ZEAL
Zeal is one of the few places tonight that intend to attract partygoers with music instead of a special open bar deal. Hector Romero (NY) will be supported by resident DJ Tavo and Etime. If funky mid-tempo house is your thing, you might like this one.
200RMB // Zeal // 6/F, 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, near Xin Yongan Lu (中山东二路22号6楼，近新永安路)
NYE Unico All Stars @ Unico
Unico put together a colorful program from DJ music to live acts, dancers and circus performances to welcome the new year. It’s free to get in and probably a good idea for those who just wanna enjoy a few drinks and the fireworks without the annoyances that come with the louder clubs and party places (including desperate fights to secure open bar drinks).
Free // 9pm // UNïCO // Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu (外滩3号, 中山东一路3号, 近广东路)

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