Hairball brings its arena-rock spectacle to Backseat Events on Dec. 30

The Minneapolis show band, with three rotating frontmen, smoke and pyro, plays Winchester the night before New Year's Eve, with tickets from $25.

There's New Year's Eve, and then there's the night before it, when nobody has to dress up or count down. Hairball has claimed that night in Winchester.

Hairball plays Backseat Events on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. The show was announced Oct. 22. Tickets are $25 to $50 through Tixr. The room holds about 1,200.

If you haven't seen Hairball, the subtitle on the ticket sums it up: "a bombastic celebration of arena rock." That's the band's own phrase, and the Grand Forks Herald notes that its site also pitches the show as "Las Vegas meets Arena Rock." The Minneapolis-based act works through the big names of the era, Van Halen, KISS, Mötley Crüe, Queen, Journey and Aerosmith among them. It isn't a band in jeans playing the hits. Three lead vocalists rotate through the night, each taking on a different character, with lights, smoke and pyrotechnics to match.

Don't call it a cover band to their faces. The band's guitarist, who goes by "Happy," has said they'd rather not be called a cover or tribute band. Given the costume changes and stage effects, it's fair to call it a show more than a set. They've been doing it a long time, too: a Bergen PAC listing last fall described the group as celebrating its 25th year.

Backseat Events is a good fit for that kind of night. The venue at 114 Full House Drive is mostly standing room with a limited number of bar stools. That means you'll be on your feet for the "Panama" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" moments whether you planned to be or not. The calendar has mixed roots, rock and nostalgia acts this year, from The Travelin' McCourys in August to Little Ozzy later this month. A big-production arena-rock night right before New Year's fits that run well.

Las Vegas meets arena rock, on a Wednesday in Winchester.

Two practical notes. The venue is cashless and takes cards only, so leave the cash at home and bring plastic for the bar. And since this was announced in October for a holiday-week date, the cheaper tickets in the $25 to $50 range are the ones to grab before the week of the show.

Dec. 30 is a Wednesday, and a lot of people will be off work that week anyway. If you've already got NYE plans, this is the warm-up. If you don't, this might be the better party.

Sources: Hairball: A Bombastic Celebration of Arena Rock – Backseat Events (Tixr) (tixr.com); Rock band Hairball returns to Grand Forks – Grand Forks Herald (grandforksherald.com); Hairball – Explore Minnesota (exploreminnesota.com); Hairball: A Bombastic Celebration of Arena Rock invades Henderson Pavilion – Scary Monsters Music (scarymonstersmusic.com); Rock in the arena: Hairball headlines Graham – Post Bulletin (postbulletin.com); Hairball – Bergen PAC (bergenpac.org); Backseat Events – AXS (axs.com); The Travelin' McCourys at Backseat Events – TickPick (tickpick.com)