What's Going on New Year's Eve 2011? Live Music in NYC

There's no shortage of live music in the New York area on New Year's Eve, and here's a selective guide to some of shows that still have tickets available (as of around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 28th). Naturally, a lot of shows are sold out by this time, including Patti Smith at Bowery Ballroom, Gogol Bordello at Terminal 5, and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists at Maxwell's. But there are still some good shows you can get into, depending on your musical preferences, geographical area, and budget.

Deer Tick & friends play at Brooklyn Bowl on New Year's Eve.

Check out websites like the Oh My Rockness show list or Gig-o-Meter for more shows. For parties in NYC at bars, clubs, etc., with or without live music, see the MurphGuide New Year's Eve guide.

Here are some interesting shows that still have tickets as of late Wednesday night:

• The Damnwells play two shows at Rockwood Music Hall's Stage 2, at 8:30 (doors 7:30) and 11 (doors 10:30). Tickets are $20 for each show.
• Assembly of Dust with Jason Crosby & Lucy Chapin at Mercury Lounge, doors: 8:30. $35.
• Deer Tick & Friends (J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Dead Confederate, and Virgin Forest) at Brooklyn Bowl. Show at 8 p.m. (doors 6). $45.
• Matt & Kim at Hammerstein Ballroom, 9 p.m. $55 ($66.75 with fees).
• The Fleshtones, The Waldos (featuring Walter Lure of Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers), The Todd Youth All-Stars, The Threads, The Dead Tricks, and "a surprise performance by a secret rockabilly legend" at The Bowery Electric, 8:15 p.m. (7:30 doors). $20.
• Los Lobos at City Winery, 7:30 p.m. (5:30 seating); tickets from $60. (There may be literally one or two tickets available for the 11 p.m. Los Lobos show.)
• Gov't Mule at Beacon Theatre, 9 p.m. $59.50 to $84 ($73.35 to $100.45 with fees).
• Chuck Berry at B.B. King's, 8 p.m. (doors at 6) and 11 (doors at 10), $100 ($120 with fees).

Free Album Streaming: New CDs by Tom Waits, Girl in a Coma, Deer Tick, Surfer Blood, & More

The new album by Girl in a Coma is streaming online this week. Above, they cover David Bowie's "As the World Falls Down," from their covers album.

If you're looking for some new music to help ease your post-CMJ hangover, there are some good new streaming albums this week that may well do the trick. Many people will be glad to hear "Bad as Me," the new Tom Waits album, but I'm looking forward to a few listens of the new release by the blues-influenced Texas rock trio, Girl in a Coma. I saw them this summer at Coney Island, opening for Joan Jett (the band is on Jett's label, Blackheart Records).

Other releases I'm happy to dig into: new albums by Surfer Blood (now on tour with The Pixies) and Deer Tick, and a new album by Dntel, the electronic music project of Jimmy Tamborello (best known as half of The Postal Service).  And as a fan of Rock en Espanol and Latin pop music, I'm glad to see a new album by the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Lila Downs.

NPR First Listen:
"Exits And All The Rest" by Girl in a Coma
"Bad as Me" by Tom Waits (also streaming at KCRW)
"Pecados Y Milagros (Sins And Miracles)" by Lila Downs

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Handmade" by Hindi Zahra

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Tarot Classics" by Surfer Blood
"Tides and Tales" by Hurricane Bells
"Divine Providence" by Deer Tick
"Life Is Full of Possibilities" by Dntel

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"If You Were Me" by Bear Lake

Free Summer Concerts: Nicole Atkins Tonight; Deer Tick Thurs.; Roots of American Music Fest. this Weekend

Nicole Atkins plays a free show outside City Winery at 5:30 Tuesday.

Another week of free concerts is underway, and here are some of my picks.

[UPDATE: The Nicole Atkins show is postponed because of the heavy rain, City Winery announced at 4:30 p.m. on its Twitter and Facebook pages. They say they will try to reschedule a make-up date.]

Tues., Aug. 9th: Nicole Atkins at Hudson Square: the South Jersey native plays the second-to-last show in the after-work Hudson Square series, which takes place in the parking lot behind City Winery. Atkins recently came out with her second album, "Mondo Amore." Showtime is 5:30 p.m. City Winery is at 155 Varick St. between Vandam and Spring Street; you can enter the festival area from Spring Street (between Varick and Hudson) or from Vandam between Varick and Hudson.

Wed., Aug. 10th: performance artist Laurie Anderson takes the stage at Lincoln Center Out of Doors; also on the bill is fiddler and composer Todd Reynolds in a debut collaboration with Sxip Shirey and Adam Matta (of the Carolina Chocolate Drops) and a section of violinists. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at Damrosch Park Bandshell (map/directions) in Lincoln Center.

Thurs., Aug. 11th: Deer Tick and Dom at RiverRocks (Pier 54): Led by John McCauley, Deer Tick brings its blend of punk, blues, country and more to the RiverRocks series at Hudson River Park. (Hear an early performance by Deer Tick in what may have been their first radio broadcast set, from WNYC in January 2006.) Also on the Thursday's bill are Dom and Translations. Doors: 6 p.m. Hudson River Park, Pier 54 (map and directions to Pier 54.)

And the Roots of American Music Festival closes out Lincoln Center Out of Doors this weekend, with a series of great roots/Americana musicians Saturday and Sunday. The whole thing ends with a bang late Sunday afternoon with a show featuring legendary soul guitarist Steve Cropper, Bettye Lavette, The Bar-Kays, and the North Mississippi All-Stars Duo. On the schedule:

Sat., Aug. 13th, 2 p.m.: banjo player and singer Abigail Washburn; folk-rock singer Sid Selvidge with Sons of Mud Boy; and Sun Records oral histories. Location: Hearst Plaza Stage (venue info), Lincoln Center.

Sat., Aug. 13th, 5 p.m.: Ebony Hillbillies, a black string band with "a rootsy, homegrown style that was a key element in the genesis of all-American music: jazz, blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, rock and roll, and country." Location: Josie Robertson Plaza (map/directions), Lincoln Center.

Sat., Aug 13th, 6 p.m.:  country and bluegrass show with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives; Sonny Burgess; Cowboy Jack Clement; Rudy “Tutti” Grayzell and Hayden Thompson; Dailey and Vincent. Location: Damrosch Park Bandshell (map/directions)

Sun., Aug. 14th, 5 p.m.: Steve Cropper and Friends: Tribute to the 5 Royales (New York debut) with Bettye Lavette, Ellis Hooks, and Dylan LeBlanc; The Bar-Kays; North Mississippi All-Stars Duo; Big Sam's Funky Nation. Location: Damrosch Park Bandshell (map/directions)