OK its New Years Eve and you havent decided your plans for the evening. We sympathize with procastinators, so here’s a last minute list to help you decide. Our advice: skip the kegger, skip the club – this is NYE, time you challenge your comfort zone and do something unexpected. Here are your options:

Allston Pudding: Bent Shapes, Kid Mountain, and Abadabad @ Reginas Pizzeria (Allston)
8pm // All Ages // Free // FB

This is probably THE SPOT for those under 21, but will be fun (and packed to the brim) regardless of age – especially if you dig that exuberant and nuanced shade of pop. AP threw a NYE bash for the first time last year, and it was a huge success, and why not? An all ages FREE show with all the $2 slices and cheap tallboys you could ever want. Music starts early and so should you.

Eye Design: Idiot Genes, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Lady Bones, & The Televibes @ Charlie’s Kitchen
9pm // 21+ // $5 // FB

If you want a rock show but fear the teeming masses that will be at Regina’s tonight, he’s a more comfortable option. Hosted by Eye Design and featuring a top cast of local heavies all in love with the riff, this show will make the perfect soundtrack to libation-guzzling and merry making. Plus, Charlie’s has great (cheap) burgers.

First Night: ‘Songs in the Key of JP’ Documentary Premiere @ Hynes Convention Center (Room 308)
7:30-8pm // All Ages // Free w Pass// Event

We were happily surprised to witness the Somerville tradition of Porchfest – an all day, community-oriented musical festival, where neighbors perform on (what else?) front porches – was replicated with great success in the artistic enclave of Jamaica Plain. Catch the short documentary on how it all came together, enjoy the music, and who knows, maybe you’ll get inspired to create something in your community.

First Night: Animal Hospital Ensemble @ Hynes Convention Center (Rotunda)
8:30-9:30pm // All Ages // Free w Pass// Event

A true First Night tradition at this point, the multi-talented musician Kevin Micka reforms his epic Animal Hospital Ensemble for another night of expansive, mesmerizing music from a vertiable orchestra of guitarists. Inverting expectations for a musical concert, here the ensemble forms around the audience, encircling them in a warm coccoon of electrified chords. This year they break out of their typical room at the Hynes, instead occupying multiple levels of the main rotunda (where all escalators are), where the polyphonic strumming will bounce around the impressive acoustics of the space. A good way to start your NYE without a doubt.

First Night: Yo La Tengo @ Hynes Convention Center (Ballroom B)
9:30-11pm // All Ages // Free w Pass
Seminal rhythm riders Yo La Tengo have been doing their thing for a good 30 years now, and they aint stopping now. This group was saddled into the yawning chasm of ‘alternative rock’ in the 90’s, but they always transcended easy categorization with a sprawling, circuitious approach hemmed in by a sharp hook and infectious attention to melody, all punctuated by deadpan-yet-poignant vocal delivery. Whether you loved this band from time immemorial or its your first time hearing them, chances are you’ll dig what they have to offer.

Together: Venus X, MikeQ, Colby Drasher (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell), Kidd Drunkadelic, John Barera & Will Martin @ Great Scott
9pm // 21+ // $30 // FB
Its the #1 day for hedonism, indulgence and depravity, so its safe to assume you want to spend the night dancing. Sidestep the wretched cologne-infested clubs and show off those moves you were practicing in the mirror all week to people who actually care. This show features some proper producers and DJs – folks dedicated to craft and not enslaved to ‘The Drop.’ Let that freak flag wave, bb.