Dear ATVians,

Let me be the first to wish you a happy new year.

OK, by the time you read this, you’ll probably have been the recipient of such a greeting already (if not 50 times already), but know that I really mean it when I say it. I mean, this isn’t like one of those “How are you?” questions where the person asking really could care less about the answer. No. I really do wish you a happy new year. I mean, no skin off my back, right? Happiness isn’t a zero-sum game. You and I both can be happy, without cost to the other. So, I’ll say it again, with all sincerity: Happy New Year.

I would’ve said Happy Rockin’ New Year, but I didn’t want to get sued by Dick Clark. However, even without saying such a thing, you can still be certain that this year will rock. And thanks to the Grog Shop, it is going to be might easy (or at least inexpensive) to get your 2010 show-going started off on the right foot. That’s because the Grog’s annual free (ahem, FREE) weekend is scheduled for January 7-9. That means three solid nights of free rock and roll (the drinks still cost money, though, you bunch of lushes).

While Thursday’s line-up of The Suede Brothers and Never Got Caught promising some bolstering rock and Saturday’s quad-bill of Safari, Mystery of Two, Mother Country Madmen, and Rare Birds is chock full of awesomeness, the show I’m super pumped for is Friday night’s Afternoon Naps gig. A little dreamy pop is just what the doctor ordered to chase those dreary January blues away, and it is a scientific fact that no one has ever left a Naps show in anything less than exuberant spirits.

However, if you are thinking, “CB – All this sounds fine, but I really need to rock!” – no worries! The rest of the line-up features up-and-coming rockers like Casual Encounters, Filmstrip, and Shiny Penny. Each one of these bands has a different perspective on ye olde rock and roll, but they will all churn up the wintry guck in your soul to the point that by the time Tom DeChristofaro and company come on stage to play the aforementioined dreamy pop, you’ll be ready for some jangly zip.

See you there, friends. Your entire year depends on it.

OK, it doesn’t really. But, think about this … what if it did?