Rocking 2006 away at fairgrounds’ Orange Drop

New York City may have dropped the ball on New Year’s celebrations, but in Costa Mesa things went down a little different, with the 100-foot plunge of a 6-foot orange at midnight.

Orange County New Year’s Eve 2007, also known as the Orange Drop, gave locals a party worthy of New York City’s Times Square with enough live music to fill six stages for hours.

Organizers kicked things up a notch from last year’s impressive schedule, wrangling in bands that assaulted the airwaves back in the ‘80s, ‘90s and a few names to look for in the future.

On the main stage, Blondie, the Violent Femmes and the English Beat were set to give the hordes of flashback fanatics an evening to remember and a New Year’s celebration that one can only hope to top in the next 365 days. On the other five stages Berlin, Soul Asylum, Everclear, the Knack and the Romantics added to the old school feel.

Bringing in the new year held special meaning for up-and-coming Los Angeles band the Bangkok Five. Branding themselves punk rock while leaning toward New Wave when the occasion calls for it, the five just hope for now that people get their name straight. “Nobody ever gets it right,” lead singer Frost said.

Frost styles his voice after the great crooners of the 1940s and ‘50s, mixing his sound with the vocal strength of his hero, Glenn Danzig, although that is as metal the band gets, he said.

His bandmates Holcomb Kansas and Sweeney on guitar, Cuatez playing bass and Blanco on drums, have been living together on a bus for almost two years as they tour the country.

Well-known on the East Coast, the band said that only recently with the help of Indie 103.1 disc jockey Steve Jones, previously known for his guitar days with the Sex Pistols, have they been getting real notice in their hometown area.

“Things are changing. We’re No. 5 on the college charts; we’ve done tons of touring,” Frost said.

Partyers Sunday couldn’t help but notice that they were in the county of citruses, as the main stage where the giant orange would fall, was completely bathed in the same orange glow.

Going for a more intimate gathering on the last day of 2006 just a few blocks away, Tin Lizzie’s Saloon in Costa Mesa ushered in the new year with a style of their own.

Lovingly referred to as “the queer Cheers” by regulars, the bar offered noise makers, a midnight champagne toast and other treats for those who chose to celebrate New Year’s there.

“Everyone knows you; it’s a good feel,” said bartender Marty Campitelli. Having only been with the bar since May, Campitelli could not comment on previous Tin Lizzie New Year’s celebrations, but he was proud of the fact that so many usual patrons opted to party there.

The festivities were set to kick off somewhere around 8 p.m., although a good number of revelers showed up hours before.

David Powers, one of the many regulars at Lizzie’s came by early to help decorate, tying red ribbons to the balloons blanketing the ceiling that night.

“It’s close to my house, and all my friends are here,” Powers said. “Everyone knows everyone; it’s a great neighborhood place.”