Due to the fact that I was out parked out front most of the night slinging cream at the New Years Eve party at Little Radio, you get two reviews of all that went down. I got to hear the music but I only made one pass inside just after midnight and it was so nuts i retreated back to the safe confines of Bessy. Even though the other big events around town got shut down due to potential bad weather, it didn’t rain one drop all night. Which is good because rain and ice cream don’t go that well together.
This had to be my most sober New Year’s in, ummm, a VERY long time. I wasn’t bummed though because I got to watch all the happy folks getting hopped up on free Sparks and Rolling Rock. I’m not much a fan of drunk people but happy drunk people can be a hoot. The best thing about this party was that there was a great mix of people in attendance. Some people were there for the music, some for Dim Mak, and others just cuz it was the last cool party in town that hadn’t gotten shut down.
Thanks to Dave at Little Radio I had a spot directly out front for Bessy. The line to get in passed directly in front of the truck so I got to meet a lot of people who were quite skeptical about the free cream. After they’d watch other takers, they’d slowly make their way over. Even with over a dozen ice cream choices, the hottest product of the night had to be the remainder of my Andy Capp Hot Fries I had stashed on the shelves. It makes sense that Hot Fries might go better with Rolling Rock than Strawberry Shortcake… maybe.
The party was progressively more fun as people loosened up, hit the dance floor, then made their way back out to the truck for some fresh air. Just after two I decided it was time to start packing up. Since it’s near impossible too get a cab at two on NYE, my ice cream truck soon became an ice cream shuttle. Eight of LA’s finest hopped aboard for a ride back to their hotel downtown. After dropping them off, and giving them a stash of cream for later, I headed toward the 110 freeway. I turned the corner and a couple valets at another hotel started yelling ICE CREAM MAN so I threw Bessy into park at the red light and made a mad dash to the freezer for some treats.
For the last eight years or so, if I was in Long Beach for New Year’s, I would party at the Rancho Relaxo. I got off the freeway and started heading toward the Ranch when my truck broke down. Ah, 3:30 in the morn in a broke down ice cream truck on 7th and Orange. As my flashlight was dying i grabbed my mini vice grips and clamped them to the throttle cable to get me home. Even though the truck wasn’t 100% I still had to stop by the Ranch and say hi to the small handful of friends who were still giving it their all. A couple of the OG ice cream crew, Rod and Courtney even got engaged that night…CONGRATS! Slang some cream, enjoyed a PBR then headed home for what was one eventful and memorable night.
Words by Timothy Norris
This may have been the hot spot for NYE 2006. With a few of the other major events being canceled for the night due to weather, where else would you go to get a chance to shake your thang? Well, as it turned out, many made it down to the Little Radio warehouse to do just that. With dj sets and bands the likes of Steve Aoki, Shepard Fairey, Living Things, The Warlocks, Icarus Line and others, the night just exploded.
Around 10:30 or so Icarus Line kicked things off for the live performances rockin’ it hard through their set. I think because it was still a bit early and folks were still looking for the first drink, it didn’t seem too crowded yet. That wouldn’t last. In between sets brought on a tight little dj set before the Warlocks took the stage. Something was going on with the bass rig before they started and this held up the show by about ten minutes or so. Wasn’t too long, but one could see that they were having some trouble figuring out the problem. Finally, with a head change the bass now had sound and the show was once again under way. About five to six songs into the set the hour was increasingly near to midnight, which brought the dim mak crew, Cobrasnake and the Little Radio crew to the stage to bring in the New Year. This is when things started going nuts. Everyone having an amazing time!
After the rush died down the Warlocks decided to clear the stage for Living Things. This would be a great chance to visit Ice Cream Man outside for a tasty treat.
Back inside Living Things appeared to be ready to get going, but the sound crew had some work to do. Again the momentum of the show was halted while they worked it out. This time it seemed they had to unplug-replug the entire system. I kept my smile and went for another Rolling Rock to bide the time. When Living Things made it out they opened the set with the popular “Bom Bom Bom”. The crowd was eating it up. About the fifth song a man in a trench coat made his way on stage to dance in what began the on stage party. Things were wild. Singer Lillian was in the crowd, the crowd was on stage, Lillian was back on stage, people shaking up their drinks, Lillian back in the crowd. It was madness. This being the first time seeing them I had prepared myself after reading about the Viper Room show in the LA Weekly that week. By all accounts, this was tame by comparison. Somewhere around the sixth or seventh song in was the end. It had just come to a point in which you couldn’t tell the band from the crowd on stage and Living Things made off and the dj picked up.
With the dancing and drinks going well into the morning with much enthusiasm, I checked out around 3AM having had one of the best NYE experiences of recent memory. Thanks to Little Radio, Addvice, Dim Mak, and all for a fantastic NYE.
Peace.
