The Bridge
The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW; Sun., 7:30 p.m., $24.75-$34.75, Mon., 8:30 p.m., $39.75-$54.75.
If New Year’s Eve is about spending time with friends and family, then it makes sense that Baltimore jam band The Bridge would choose the occasion to play a pair of rare reunion shows in D.C. “We’re always up for playing if it’s the right opportunity and the right vibe,” says singer-guitarist Cris Jacobs, whose band disbanded in 2011 but still gets together to play occasionally in Charm City. “We try not to force it and we try not to overdo it.”
What to expect on New Year’s: The Bridge will play through midnight on New Year’s Eve, and Jacobs says the setlist will include new covers and plenty of Bridge favorites. “People want to hear songs they like, and we have a pretty vast catalog — we made five records — so people don’t hear those songs a lot,” he says. The Hamilton also promises a complimentary champagne toast at midnight and various party favors. “You do the whole ball drop and then keep rocking out until people want us to stop. If people are raging, we’ll keep playing.”
New Year’s memories: Jacobs, now a solo artist, has played his fair share of New Year’s shows — including a Bridge sunrise set that began at 2 a.m. New Year’s Day one year in Baltimore — and he knows what makes one unforgettable. In 1995, when he was 17, Jacobs went with his then-girlfriend to see Phish at Madison Square Garden in New York. “It was nuts,” he says. “It was one of the most electric experiences. It was literally my first time walking the streets of Manhattan. On New Year’s Eve, after midnight, high on mushrooms, after the Phish show. So it was quite an experience.”
Thoughts on “Auld Lang Syne”: “I mean, we’ll play it,” Jacobs says. “I’ve done it every New Year’s that I’ve ever played, and you know there’s something about that song that conjures up the feelings, for sure. I don’t hate it. It definitely creates the feelings of New Year’s for me.” — R.G.