Hogmanay Clubbing: There's a Lot Going on Underground

Out with the old and in with the new, as the saying goes. So let's start the rundown of high quality festivities taking place on the 31st of December with a look at one of the newest entries on the Hogmanay party circuit.

Tictactoe's twelve hour party runs from 2pm to 2am before moving on to an official afterparty. Taking place at Templeton Carpet Factory in Glasgow, the event is already selling out fast as the headline act is none other than Circo Loco resident Matthias Tanzmann. Joining him will be No Dough's Broken and Towie, as well as Soma's Harvey McKay, Simon Stokes and tictactoeclub resident Andrew Doran. Completing the lineup are Daniel Hedley of Hotbox, Bobby Wilson of EQd and Terry Whyte of Optik.

A slightly more subdued celebration takes place in one of Glasgow's finest watering holes, the Ivy. Starting at 9pm, the river of rum will flow to the tune of a four deck set by RKGB. Meanwhile, Spectrum has a residents special in the basement of Blackfriars whilst downstairs in Max's Kansas City hosts the Slabs of the Tabernacle New Year Party, with Mark du Mosch, a live performance from Electrick Dragon, Casionova and Slabs' resident DJs.

The Universal let's the kids loose in the form of Kreep vs Itch were residents from both nights will be going head to head. Guests include Sweets Edison from Thunder Disco Club, Saavedra from La Disco Freaks and Tarantism from Subcity Radio.

The well publicised line-up share between Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire and the Arches in Glasgow throws up some big dogs. Death Disco's first ever Hogmanay bash will see Erol Alkan, Aeroplane, Rex the Dog, Den Haan, Mark Moore, Sammy Jo, Acid Girls and Burns ensuring that not a single glitter smeared torso is left vertical by the end of the night.

The Cabaret Voltaire offers the same headline acts, but with a different supporting cast for the evening. Erol Alkan and Aeroplane will hop onto the Citylink 900 service and dart between the two cities whilst Ultragroove’s Gareth Sommerville, Bargain Harold & i-Tallah Disco from Sick Note and This Is Music keep the punters tantalised.

Elsewhere in Edinburgh, Departure Lounge are celebrating their sixth year of success with a suitably diverse Hogmanay line-up in The Caves. Appearing live in cave one are The Haggis Horns, The Banana Sessions and The Edinburgh Samba School followed by DJ sets from Astroboy, Jiminez and Mr Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, cave two hosts a rub-a-dub session with Big Toes Hi-Fi Soundsystem and MCs Daddy Scotty, Dangerman, Pappa Zebbi and George Prophet.

Round the corner at the Bongo Club, the inevitable has occurred. After a successful year of creating events that blurred the line between clubs and theatre to the delight of its core fanbase, Confusion is Sex has been offered the keys to this year’s Bongo Club Hogmanay party. Music is provided by resident micro-edit, glam-electro queens Dolby Anol and dance performers include Daiquiri Dusk, Hettie Heartache and The Freaky Brides.

Elsewhere in Reekie, the official afterparty for the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations takes place at the HMV Picture House, organised by Musika. The line-up includes a DJ set from Mylo, sure to be previewing material from his forthcoming second album due for release in 2010. Joining him will be James Zabiela, Dean Newton, Derek Martin, Alan Dobson and Neil Bartley.

The veteran of Edinburgh’s dubstep scene, Volume!, returns with its offering for the biggest night of 2009, the year when their favoured genre broke through into the mainstream consciousness. Confirmed acts include Termite, Morphamish, Kidill AKA Smooth Rider, Jonny Faith, Wolfjazz and Robtheft.

Studio 24 is the venue for Balkanarama’s New Year special with DJs specialising in ‘gypsy dubstep’ and live performances from Alejandro Toledo & The Tombolinos, Black Cat and Grandma Staflash, all topped off with free food from the best Polish and Turkish eateries in Edinburgh.

Back in Glasgow, Optimo Espacio goes back to its roots with a sensational evening of all Scottish guests at The Fruitmarket. A warm up set will be served up by Warp Records' secret weapon (well, he was till we stuck him on the cover last month) Hudson Mohawke followed by a live performance from the ‘also available for children’s parties’ entertainer Drums of Death. A brand new second stage has been added this year to showcase the talents of Divorce and a new show by The Niallist.

Stereo's basement has, hands down, been one of the most interesting places for live music and leftfield club events since it moved into the heart of the city. After a variety of nights from Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club, LuckyMe, Curious Curious and Men & Machines, the space formerly filled by the printworks of Glasgow will be occupied by the Numbers collective as they bring in the new year. Special guest include Dorian Concept, Brackles, Guido as well as Numbers and Ballers Social Club DJs. Hold on to your ticket stubs for free entry into the Numbers 2010 Meltdown at the Sub Club on New Year’s Day.

Melting Pot stays at the Admiral for an exclusive set by disco and house maestro The Revenge, joined by Greg Wilson as part of his Credit To The Edit Vol. 2 tour. Across the way, the Sub Club invite Ralph Lawson into the bunker for a DJ set along with a live show from Guillaume and the Coutu Dumonts after the bells. This will be Guillaume and the Coutu Dumonts second time at the Sub Club after their well received debut at Subculture last year. Harri and Domenic will recap some of the year’s best records along with some well worn Subculture classics.

Up north, Aberdeen's Snafu continues the quest to become the city’s finest with a Hogmanay event featuring Alan Braxe of Stardust, JoJo De Freq and Djamba.

And, with that, dear readers, we offer a Springer-like wish that you might  take care of each other and yourselves.