If you're looking for a big bang for your buck, Boondocks Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave., is a pretty safe bet. Your ticket--$15 in advance, or $20 at the door--entitles you to a full dinner buffet starting at 7:30 p.m. After that, stick around for a dance party featuring Amo Chip Dabney's AmoSphere with a special guest, blues-guitarist Bryan Dean. Expect to hear both covers and originals in a variety of genres including funk, reggae and Cajun. For more information, ring 'em up at 690-0991.
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., can always be counted on for a great theme party, and tonight is no exception. Since we all know the end of days is happening in 2012, what better way to ring it in than a party called Aztec Apocalypse? The hotel promises Aztec warriors and voluptuous Aztec maidens, live covers by 80's and Gentlemen, dance music in Club Congress, and a virgin sacrifice at midnight. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door--but be warned: This event sells out every year. A $100 VIP package that includes an open bar and buffet is also available. Doors open at 8 p.m. Call 622-8848 for more information.
If Latin rhythms are more your thing, the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., is where you'll no doubt find yourself. Tucson's own indie-mambo kings, Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta featuring Salvador Duran, will crank out original songs as well as covers by the likes of Agustin Lara and Pérez Prado all night long, so throw on your finest vintage or formal duds before heading out the door. An added bonus: You only have to be 18 or older to enter. Showtime is 8 p.m., and tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. A VIP package that includes floor seating and a private bar is available for $40. Call 740-1000 for more information.
For the Westward Look Resort, 245 E. Ina Road, 2012 isn't just any old year. Like Arizona itself, the resort will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the new year, and they've put together what looks to be a lovely night to celebrate. Guests can choose between a three-course dinner at GOLD starting at 6 p.m., or a three-course banquet and live music in the Santa Catalina Ballroom from 7 to 9 p.m. Both packages are $85 per person and include admission to a party in the Sonoran Ballroom featuring live music from classic rock and blues band East2West. Several hotel packages are also available. Call 297-1151 for reservations.
Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, recently opened its long-in-the-works hotel, making a rather sprawling complex even bigger. So it makes sense that they'd have a little something for everyone tonight. Baby boomers might want to pick up tickets for the party happening in the casino's new Event Center, where a seated dinner begins at 7:30 p.m. At 10 p.m., none other than '70s hit-makers KC and the Sunshine Band will be your boogie men for a night of disco-dancing. A dinner-and-show ticket runs $125 per person, while $75 gets you into the show only. If Tejano is more your thing, the casino's Bingo Hall will feature a free show featuring Tejano legend Ruben Ramos, La Diferenzia, La Maldad, and Tucson's own La Familia Yucupicio. Meanwhile, over in the Paradiso Bar and Lounge, Mezzo Forte will keep you dancing to soul, R&B, hip-hop and oldies favorites. Admission is free. For more information, call (800) 344-9435.
In what should prove to be one of the night's most-highbrow offerings, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is joining forces once again with the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., for a Moveable Musical Feast. The night begins at 6:30 with an open bar and hors d'oeuvres in the Flandrau House Courtyard, and then moves inside for a multicourse dinner served in intimate dining areas throughout the inn. At various points throughout the night, enjoy music courtesy of TSO members--everything from Beethoven and Rossini on horn, cello and piano, to a percussion ensemble performing Sting and Frank Zappa, to an African-music jam. After dinner, attendees will be treated to swing and Latin-dance music courtesy of the TSO's SwingN' the New jazz ensemble, featuring vocalist Ben Sorenson. Tickets are $199 per person. Call 882-8585 for reservations.
For the sixth consecutive year, the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., is teaming up with the Tucson Jazz Society for an event called All Jazz, All Night. Starting at 8 p.m., guests will enjoy a gourmet four-course dinner followed by jazz music all night long from trumpeter and vocalist Rick Braun, who will be joined by a lineup that includes Euge Groove, Jonathan Butler, and Sylvan Street. Tickets start at $199, and hotel packages are also available. For reservations, call 903-1265.
Monsoon Night Club in the Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road, will play host to a Latin-dance party featuring local favorites Los Gallegos performing the best in Norteño and Tejano. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $25 per couple, or $20 per person, which includes a drink ticket. For more information, call 294-7777.
A trio of fine local bands will ring in the new year at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., at an event that doubles (triples?) as a CD-release party and a masquerade ball. Blind Divine, a self-described "art music" act that performs sensual, Gothic-inspired music and enjoys a sense of the theatrical, will be releasing a five-CD box set containing 100 new songs for the occasion. Also on board for the night are the similarly dramatic Ensphere and the rock 'n' roll of HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS. The action begins at 9 p.m., and admission is only $8--or $6 for those in costume. Call 798-1298 for more information.
And for the punk-rock-lovin' cheapskates, The District Tavern, 260 E. Congress St., will feature a bill that includes The Besmirchers, Cadillac Steakhouse (with two drummers) and DJ Buttafly. Admission is free. Call 791-0082 for details.
