And please, keep us the hell away from Hill Interns.

December 21, 2010 9:40 AM

After years and years of house parties, I'd like some ideas as to how myself and a small group of (largely nerdy/artsy/pseudohipster) friends can spend our New Years Eve out and about in the Washington DC Metropolitan area.

Salut MetaFilter, I want your recommendations for awesome places to spend New Years Eve in the DC area this year. Now that we are all young twentysomethings with Real Jobs in the Real World being Real People, we were mulling over spending our New Year's outward bound. (Also, I think we've all each had our share of post-New-Years-cleanup the next day at our respective domiciles, because really drunk people at house parties—while occasionally magnanimous in tidying efforts—are messy messy messy.)

Random thoughts to this end:
* The group would be 8-10 folks. To paint our demographics broadly, we're all some combination of nerdy, artsy-fartsy, and somewhat pseudohipster; basically, then, we're not terribly interested in going to a sports bar or someplace where the major dynamic is DC bro-yers with bad haircuts trying to pick up young pretty Hill interns. (Unless, in your experience, it is good for the apocryphal "lulz.") We are a-okay with pseudodives, gay bars (hell, half of us are queer), and oddball places.

* We're mostly looking in DC (friends reside in the Northern Virginia area and I am visiting home), but anything in the NoVa region closer to DC would be great as well.

* Not looking to spend too much (though we realize it is New Year's Eve!), but then again, we're not looking for anything too special (unless there is something special you have in mind). Just an acceptable place or area (how is Adam's Morgan on New Years Eve?) to have a few (or many) drinks and maybe/maybe not watch a ball drop to signify a relatively arbitrary date distinction... with friends! =o)

Thanks DC MeFite diaspora! Help us party!

posted by Keter to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Brightest Young Things.

I DJ'd at their NYE party last year and it was phenomenal. Those guys know their shit.
posted by empath at 9:43 AM on December 21, 2010

U Street Music Hall might be worth checking out for later night hassle free dancing.
posted by the foreground at 9:49 AM on December 21, 2010

Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club and Little Miss Whiskey's are teaming up for NYE. They're on H St, and they're running shuttles to Union after midnight if you're concerned about getting home. $25 for either bar, $90 for both with open bar. It is, oddly, limited to 25+, which I guess means I'm not going.

I am not a big BYT fan usually, but I think NYE would be all right, as far as options go.

Red Derby is low key, in Petworth, and has no NYE cover. It is my favorite bar in the city. Drinks are cheap.
posted by quadrilaterals at 9:54 AM on December 21, 2010

Oh, Sam Burns is at Jimmy Valentines. Best house DJ in DC, definitely go to that if that's your think, but I can imagine they'll be a bit crowded.
posted by empath at 9:58 AM on December 21, 2010

BTW, I sold my old Technic 1200s to Jimmy V's, glad to see them being put to good use.
posted by empath at 9:59 AM on December 21, 2010

If you make it up to Baltimore, the Ottobar is having a New Year's thing for $25 that includes open bar from 8-11.
posted by electroboy at 10:04 AM on December 21, 2010

My wife and I have spent several NYEs dancing to the big swing band at Black Cat. There's usually plenty of room to hang out in back or downstairs. Probably 1/3 in NYE finery, 1/3 in standard evening finery, and 1/3 in ironic t-shirts.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:20 AM on December 21, 2010

I would not want to spend my NYE with BYT types. But that's just me.
posted by kat518 at 7:45 PM on December 21, 2010 [1 favorite]