Partys du Nouvel An: Top electronic picks!

Staying true to its hard-earned rep as the party capital of North America, Montreal’s electronic music party promoters have whipped up a fine offering of NYE nights that are destined to go down in history. And whether that means the back pages of NIGHTLIFE Magazine, the photo blog of some seriously sketchy mustachioed dude or your iPhone’s repertoire of sepia-tinted Hipstamatic prints, what matters is that you make it a night to remember. (Or forget, in which case, stay at a safe distance from all party paparazzi.)
 

1. Big Bang New Year’s Eve w/Bare Noize
Why waste astronomical wads of dough on a club night that’ll assuredly come to an abrupt end at 3 a.m. sharp, with belligerent bouncers escorting you out, when you can celebrate the New Year in good ol’ ravey fashion, at an affordable party boasting both a dubstep room (sign of the times, it would appear, with UK’s Bare Noize, Montreal’s Vilify, Construct and Wally behind the decks, among others) as well as an electro/house room (Jordan Dare, Corey K and Mayday headlining). Promoters are promising "massive sound and lights", live artwork by the Beef Oreo and Keep it Klean crews and a BYOB (no glass!) policy. Location revealed 48 hours in advance.

2. Velvet NYE Animal House Ball 2011
Ah, our favourite posh kids over at the Old Montreal speakeasy sure know how it’s done, and their NYE line-up doesn’t disappoint. The party hardy trinity of DL Jones, Alex Brosseau and Stefan Leacock have devised a bold & beautiful "3 parties in 1" concept, with DJs working the rooms in the attic (Jordan Dare, Zubi, Hatchmatik), the lounge (Stéphane Cocke) and the underground (Duvall, Christian Pronovost and Jonah’s Ear). Guests are promised "priority access" and a shuttle ride to a top-secret after party…  

3. NYE 2011 / Altered Natives (UK) & fam
You’ve got to love a crew (Clark St., E.S.L., Lawless and MusicIsMySanctuary.com, for your information) that hustles its party all over the internets by referring to it as "2011’s first and most wickidest rave". Given their stellar line-up, they just might be onto something, as London’s Altered Natives (a Hyperdub-approved garage/2-step producer and self-avowed rude-boy DJ) will be making his North American debut, along with reliable local staples Lexis, Rilly Guilty, Bus and more. Visuals by SIMPLYCOMPLICATED, location revealed the good ol’ fashioned warehouse party way. 

4. UN NYE 2011
One of the only new electronic venues of 2011 to walk the walk and offer Montrealers a consistent line-up of quality (and forward-thinking) bookings, Club U.N. will be celebrating its first NY in the Old Port with DJs Steve Bear Sas, Michel Tardif, Mike Perras. It’ll be a most exclusive soirée with cocktails served in the atrium at 8 p.m. and a live house music band. Only 300 tickets for sale, $30 a pop.   

5. NÜ LOVE – NYE 2011
House, progressive and tech heads can get their inaugural fix of the New Year by heading over to Espace Réunion for Nü Love’s 2nd edition. There’ll be both a house and a progressive room, with DJs spinning in unison in the name of love with a capital L. The DJ line-up is solid, with Erik El, Bender, Green & Lateez and Kressel among others in the main room, and FM Radio Gods, Olivier Saint Germain and more in the prog room. Open bar till 3 a.m., champagne and bottle service, and we’re promised more space & more bathrooms than last year, "chill areas" and a huge coatcheck. 

To carefully weigh the pros and cons of all your New Year’s options, swing by our events calendar!