What better way to ring in the new year with live, local music. There were a heap of gigs to choose from which appealed to all tastes on New Year’s Eve.
I only caught three of the dozen or so gigs happening in Lethbridge.
I started off by catching the end of a crazy, psychedelic set of rock from Leigh Doerksen and Dan Puurveen, aka Church.
They had a packed Owl Acoustic Lounge watching intently as Doerksen played wild psychedelic jams while Puurveen kept the beat rolling on the 
drums.
After that, Lethbridge acoustic folk/ pop group the Neccessities rang in the new year with a variety of songs including crowd favourites like the Cricket Song ( Death To The Sun) and Brian Wells from their debut CD “Forbidden Fruit.”
Lead singer Steven Foord brought out the mandolin after the big countdown as the crowd swelled in front of the stage hugging and cheering the onset of 2012 grooving to the mesmerizing folk of the Necessities.
Meanwhile, the Slice rang in 2012 with soulful blues courtesy of the Janni Lee Band.
I caught a hot set of beautiful blues and R and B music powered by Janni Lee’s powerful pipes.
There were sassy blues classics, classic rock like the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” a touch of reggae and even Top 40 including Adele’s big 2011 hit “Rolling In The Deep” which had a good portion of the audience dancing in front of the stage.
The band played a tight set with Pat Ackerman on bass, Raz holding down the beat and tasteful solos being supplied by Matt Tatta on guitar.
Janni Lee of course showed her big, resonant, powerhouse voice throughout.
It was time for a little rock and roll at the Stone as The Phantom Creeps and Calgary’s the Dudes were in the house to ring in the new year.
While I missed the Phantom Creeps, I caught the end of the Dudes’ upbeat, loud, fun-filled and energetic set, which had most of the crowd singing along, dancing, listening to them “tear it up,” and calling for more after their “fake out of here,” according to lead singer Dan Vacon.
Lethbridge rapper Mase One joined them on stage for a sweet, soulful number combining his rap and the Dudes’ laid back groove on one of the few times they slowed things down.
They were happy to play long after the“fake out of here” and ended on a slower note after three or four faster songs.
