LA New Year's Parties for Plutocrats
There are some people searching for NYE parties -- let's call them "employed" -- who want an affordable alternative to paying $100 for a 2,000 person rave or hanging out in a dilapidated dive bar. Those people are pretty much screwed. But there's a closely related group of people -- let's call them "doctors and producers" - who want all of that but don't care about affordability. For them, there's an array of LA-area parties involving opera singers, cruise liners, and hotels that aren't even close to affordable, even under normal circumstances. Tickets for these events are usually way north of $100, but they come with lavish dinners, take place in sublime venues, and provide the smug satisfaction of knowing that you're far away from the hoi polloi.
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Viceroy Santa Monica
1819 Ocean Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401
On the slim possibility that some of the people who live west of the 405 have money to burn, the restaurant is offering an all-inclusive dinner and party for $195/ticket … plus $15 parking. Whist Executive Chef Warren Schwartz will be providing the food, Brazilian dancers will be providing the entertainment, and knowing that you can blow this kind of money on a whim will be providing the smug satisfaction. This event has actually shown up on a couple of different lists because it's being DJ'ed by new LA resident Mark Rae, the former head of UK indie uberlabel Grand Central Records. Their invitation also includes one of my favorite combination of letters in the English language: "unlimited beverages." [link]
Renaissance Hollywood Hotel NYE Ball 2008
6801 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
[link]
Queen Mary New Year's Eve
1126 Queens Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90802
[link]
Paris A Go-Go @ Disney Music Hall
111 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
I'll forgo the easy joke about precisely how many denizens of the City of Angels are going to be spending NYE inside Paris. Because this is a classy post. So classy that … Belinda Carlisle's classy white gloves in this picture totally don't lend themselves to a joke about the utterly mindboggling amount of blow she did when she fronted the Go-Gos. She and Rufus Wainwright will be "joined by a cool Parisian band and sassy French dancers for a cosmopolitan extravaganza, all capped by an unforgettable finale fantastique." Tickets for the later show -- which is the one you care about -- start at $53 for nosebleeds. Not the kind of nosebleeds Belinda Carlisle used to get. [link]
Mastro's Ocean Club Fish House
East Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
The Ocean Club is a sister restaurant to the more famous Bev Hills steakhouse, except in addition to bone-in rib eye and Kansas City strip, they also focus heavily on … seafood. You're also paying for one of the chichiest locations in Newport Beach, which during weekends has waits going on three hours. On New Year's Eve, they're providing live music and dancing, and this place will almost certainly be packed. Tickets are $175, which buys you a four-course dinner and a table for the night. [link]
Killer Entertainment's Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise Show
100 Aquarium Way
Long Beach, CA 90802
It's absurdly kitschy, but if you're looking for something cute, you might want to check out a murder mystery dinner cruise out of Long Beach Harbor. This will be small, … with seating capacity maxing out below 100 people. $175 per person buys a four-course meal, a champagne toast, and party favors. Also: dancehall girls, vaudeville ringmasters, bare-knuckle boxers, and theater types who go from table to table hamming it up. The show ends around 11:45 p.m., then they open up their ballroom for dancing until 2 a.m. They've also timed it so that you'll be on the deck to see the spectacular Queen Mary fireworks show over the harbor. [link]
