new year's eve parties

The 12 best ways to party on New Year's Eve in Houston

Look for belly dancers and drag queens at Boheme.

Photo courtesy of Boheme

Rest assured that, on the night of December 31, Houston will be swarming with New Year's Eve parties. Here's a rundown of festive gatherings, which include desserts, disco, drag queens, and even a sober party.

Stay safe — and feel free to party hop. The parties are listed in order of start time, so you can plan your night and your ride sharing.

Children's Museum of Houston's "Rockin' New Year's Noon"
For those who have kids who want to celebrate New Year's Eve too (but can't stay up for it), the museum will have its annual "Rockin' New Year's Noon." There will be festive hats and noisemakers, a countdown, two simultaneous ball drops and parade featuring a New Orleans-style brass band. (A pre-show kicks off at 10:45 am.) Noon.

Belly dancers and drag queens at Boheme
Start your New Year's Eve early over at this cocktail hangout. The popular bar will have an extravaganza featuring a drag show by beloved drag queens Chloe Knox, Cyn City, Angelina, and Chloe Crawford. Exotic belly dancers will perform in-between sets and around the bar. (Entertainment starts at 9 pm.) 4 pm.

"Dancing & Desserts: NYE" at Heights Theater
What's been missing at New Year's Eve parties? Desserts! Thankfully, this theater will be offering up a self-serve dessert buffet if you buy a ticket to "Dancing & Desserts: NYE," which will feature a live set from Boomtown Brass Band. There will also be a champagne toast at midnight. 7 pm-1 am.

Arnaldo Richards' Picos "Dine and Disco New Year's"
You ever wish you could've hung out with Andy, Liza, Bianca and the gang at Studio 54 back in the day? This restaurant will be fulfilling your wish with "Dine and Disco New Year's." Guests can enjoy a fabulous four-course dinner, with an open premium bar and specialty cocktails. After that, you can boogie the new year away! 8 pm.

Conservatory's Asian-style market
Instead of throwing another NYE soiree, our favorite, underground beer and grub spot will be hosting an Asian-style night market. Among the vendors that will be ready to celebrate: Beer Garden, Noble Rot Wine Bar, aRTe Pizzeria, El Burro & the Bull Restaurant, Treacherous Leches, and others. 8 pm-2 am.

Finca Tres Robles "Farm & Firelight: A Sustainable New Year's Celebration"
If you're in the mood for an all-natural, outdoorsy, New Year's Eve party, here we have "Farm & Firelight: A Sustainable New Year's Celebration." Guests can cozy up around bonfires whose ashes go into the farm's compost to help feed the East End, roast marshmallows and drink hot toddies & craft beer from Sigma Brewing Co. 8 pm-1 am.

"Totally Awesome '90s New Year's Eve Party" at MKT Bar
The bar will have a "Totally Awesome '90s New Year's Eve Party," complete with a champagne menu, food specials and dance-off prizes. Kay Allah and Mohawk Steve will be spinning the music, and we're sure they'll be playing tunes that'll have people doing such '90s dance crazes as the Macarena, the Humpty Dance, and even the Bartman. 8 pm-2 am.

"New Year's Comedy Jam" with Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley
Wouldn't you like to leave 2018 with a good laugh? Check out a top-notch collection of comedians ready to make you chuckle over at the "New Year's Comedy Jam." Expect two Original Kings of Comedy — Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley — along with Arnez J and Nephew Tommy. 8 pm.

New Year's Eve at the Crystal Ballroom at Rice Lofts
The ballroom and Lawless Spirits and Kitchen will be joining forces for one, big, blowout NYE bash. General admission tickets will get guests into the ultimate and all-inclusive party at the ballroom. Guests can upgrade their tickets with a pass into the adjoining, intimate and glamorous Lawless. 9 pm.

"Year of the Bo$$ 2K19 NYE Celebration" with Slim Thug
Welcome in the new year with Slim Thug and his crew, as they will be the headliners for the "Year of the Bo$$ 2K19 NYE Celebration." You can head in early for happy hour, from 5 to 7 pm. There will also be a chef-created, á la carte dining menu, available until 8pm. (The lounge menu will be available until 11pm.) 9 pm.

Sober Eve 2018 at The Story Houston
If you would like to ring in the new year with a clear head, this spot will have "Sober Eve 2018." The shindig will have all the familiar accoutrements of a NYE party — music, flashing lights, confetti dropping at midnight — except there won't be any drugs or alcohol. It's perfect for people who want to drive home safely. 9 pm-1 am.

Fireworks at CityCentre
What New Year's Eve isn't complete without fireworks? This event will have a countdown to midnight that will be capped off with confetti and a 60-second, rooftop fireworks show, which we're sure will be a spectacular sight. There'll also be a live performance in the plaza from five-piece, variety dance band A Sure Thing. 9:30 pm.

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Movie Review

Offbeat drama Pillion features command performance by Alexander Skarsgård

Photo courtesy of A24

Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling in Pillion.

Describing the new movie Pillion is almost an act of futility. It contains a variety of seemingly disparate parts that coalesce into a whole to make it utterly fascinating. Few other recent films have been able to walk the line between filthy and wholesome in quite the way this one does, and that’s only because few other filmmakers would actually dare to try.

It centers on Colin (Harry Melling), a meek man in his mid-thirties who still lives at home with his parents, Pete (Douglas Hodge) and Peggy (Lesley Sharp), while working a dead-end job giving out parking tickets. While performing in a barbershop quartet at his local pub, Colin catches the eye of biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), who summons him for a clandestine hook-up the following day (which just so happens to be Christmas Day).

With barely a word exchanged between them, Ray establishes a dominance over Colin that quickly leads to them starting a relationship in which Colin does anything Ray asks. And that means more than just sex: Colin, whether desperate for any kind of affection or unlocking a side of himself he hadn’t known, readily agrees to cook, clean, shop, and basically do whatever else Ray wants him to do.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Harry Lighton, the film is astonishing in the way it’s able to mine humor from Colin and Ray’s atypical bond. To call Ray “unfeeling” might not be totally accurate, but the way he treats Colin borders on cruel. However, the way Lighton structures the film, it’s easy to understand why someone like Colin would be willing to go along with the situation. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking to see Colin debase himself in a variety of ways.

On the flip side is Colin’s heartfelt arc with his parents. It’s established right away that Peggy, who is sick with cancer, is a bit too involved with Colin’s love life, with the opening scene featuring her setting him up on a blind date. But their easy acceptance of his queerness and desire to see him find love is as heartwarming as it gets. The juxtaposition between the wholesomeness of their family and Colin’s new life is also the source of a good amount of comedy.

Lighton does not shy away from the sexual side of Colin and Ray’s relationship, and the scenes he depicts are as graphic as you are likely to see in an R-rated film. Some go up to and a little past what might be expected in a mainstream movie (including the use of a certain fake appendage). Other times they play out in a comical way to illustrate just how far Colin has progressed from the person he was when the film started.

Skarsgård, who stole the show in the Charli XCX movie The Moment, is the attraction in more ways than one in this film. The part calls for someone who’s not only impossibly handsome, but also a person who can stop dissent with just a glance, and he lives up to both qualities equally well. Melling, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies, also embodies his role perfectly. He plays Colin as weak enough to be run roughshod over by Ray, but not so hopeless as to not be worth rooting for.

Pillion (which is the name of the secondary seat on a motorcycle on which Colin rides multiple times in the film) operates at a storytelling level that is difficult to achieve. Many people will not fully understand the film’s central relationship, but the way it is showcased by Lighton makes it compelling, gut-wrenching, and sexy.

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Pillion is now playing in theaters.

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