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12B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, December 4, 2003
Ring in the New
Year the right way
::
This year's biggest
party is just around the
corner, and one question remains: Where will you be?
;
BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily
_This New Year's, you could go see Phish play or ... you could go celebrate in New York or ... you could go watch Michigan play in the Rose Bowl.
By Megan Jacobs
Daily Arts Writer
New Year's Eve: Quality time with family, making resolu-
tions that you may or may not intend to follow and, let's be
honest, a fair amount of celebrating. Father Time is being
good to us this year, as he offers plenty of activities from all
corners of the United States to help kick off the New Year ...
Welcome to Miami, 2004. After three days of concerts,
alternative-rock-hippie-throwback-band Phish kicks off the
New Year at American Airlines Arena starting at 8 p.m., Dec.
31. You'd better have your ticket in hand already, because all
four concerts are sold out, which is not uncommon for Phish,
with its dedicated fan base.
At last year's annual New Year's Eve concert, the group
rocked out to a packed crowd in New York City's Times
Square. Tickets went on sale to the public Oct. 7 at 10:00
a.m., and all shows were sold out - even front row tickets
costing $1,935 apiece - within three hours. The Phish Fan
Club, however, offered two tickets to each member through a
lottery a week before Ticketmaster had them available.
"I got my first two through the fan club," said Kinesiology
freshman Joel Zager. "But I am going to the concert with five
friends, so I had to skip my English class on the seventh to
get the other four."
Though Zager paid the ticket value of $49.50 for each one
he bought through the fan club, after two hours of clicking the
"Buy Ticket" button on Ticketmaster's website, the cheapest
he could find was $80 each.
The costs of ringing in the New Year with Phish do not end
with the tickets, as getting to Florida will empty your wallet,
too. Luckily, hotels such as the Radisson Miami Downtown
are offering Phish New Year's rates to offset the hefty charge
that even economy airplane seats will stick you with. Of
course, you must show proof of concert attendance to acquire
the Phish-friendly prices.
If Phish isn't your thing, or if you can't find a way to head
south, look East. If the East Coast is more accessible to you
- look no further than Times Square, for the 100th Annual
NYE in NYC. Dick Clark is hosting his 33rd Times Square
event. Over 500,000 revelers are expected to make the trip to
watch the legendary ball make its way down the flagpole at
One Times Square.
If you're looking to avoid crowds, however, join the one bil-
lion who will watch this 1,070-pound wonder, covered in 432
light bulbs, count the seconds into 2004 on television. In con-
junction with the Times Square festivities, Central Park is
hosting its 26th Annual Midnight Run, a four-mile trek
through the park. Central Park will be filled to the brim with
music, live entertainment, gifts and awards and a masquerade
costume parade. The best part: No tickets are needed for
either event.
For those seeking warm weather without having to spend
time with Grandma in Boca, try visiting sunny Los Angeles
for Times Square in L.A. There's an event called CityWalk,
and luckily for those broke college kids who may spend all
their money on Rose Bowl tickets, it's free. In addition to the
giant neon store signs and crazy crowds that are the norm in
L.A., a huge Astrovision TV, ice skating rink and live DJs will
compete for the attention of over 3,000 revelers.
Special packages are also being offered at CityWalk's bars
and restaurants, everything under the sun from dancing to live
salsa bands to champagne toasting. If you're set on ringing in
the New Year at L.A. hot spots such as Gladstone's or Hard
Rock Cafe, your best bet is to make reservations yesterday, as
seating is going fast.
New Year's in Cali doesn't stop with Los Angeles, however.
Go West, young boys and girls, for the chance of a lifetime.
After the sweet Buckeye-kicking success of the most mean-
ingful 100th anniversary event of the year, a faint odor has
been reported wafting into Ann Arbor.
Smelling roses? You should be, and can in Pasadena, Calif.
on Jan. 1 for the 115th Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose
Bowl - an event in which the University has not competed in
six years. While our football squad has not officially accepted
the bowl's invitation, tickets for the "Granddaddy of them all"
go on sale Saturday, Dec. 6 for a mere $125 each. A small
price to pay, most would agree, to see your beloved Michigan
Wolverines take on another BCS-qualifying super power
(first-ever game against those Texas Longhorns anyone?). If
you plan to attend, stadium gates open at noon, and the game
time is set for 2 p.m.
Forget 1999 - it's time to party like it's 2004, or at least
1997.
WEEKEND
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