My plan was to spend the whole weekend in party mode, but then I just started to feel sluggish, which was perhaps the remnants of a sucky 2006. By New Year's Eve, though, I felt reinvigorated, so I headed down to Chinatown with Carlos and my brother for the Underground/Transistor/Atomic party at the Grandstar Jazz Club.

I don't know why this never dawned on me before, but Ketel One and tonic is only $6 at the Grandstar. In most L.A. clubs, we pay between $6 and $10 for watered down yet still hangover-inducing Popov and tonic. Gentle Readers, please remember that there are good deals to be had at the Grandstar.

We hung around mostly in the Underground-helmed second floor of the club and ran into a bunch of cool folks. Larry played some choice tracks from the Cafe Bleu and early-Bang! school of indie madness early in the evening. Think Cardigans tunes that aren't "Lovefool," Monaco, James, etc. Later on, we danced to Peter, Bjorn and John's hit "Young Folks," James Brown (naturally) and a bunch of other fine tracks that I can't remember at the moment.

At one point, we walked down to the Moutain Bar to see what was going on there, but it looked like a beer garden packed with bros. We retreated back to the Grandstar, where more fun was to be had.

What we thought, though, is that Chinatown is the perfect setting for New Year's Eve. It's small, easy to navigate and not nearly as touristy as most other clubbing destinations in L.A. Chinatown isn't living up to its potential. Imagine if all of the establishments were functioning all night on New Year's Eve with DJs and champagne. You could dance in a bar, hang around the galleries, get some food, shop, etc. Then, in the middle of the quad, there could be a stage hosting live bands. That would be an ideal set up for New Year's Eve. Maybe someone will make it happen. If they do, though, they should credit Carlos and Liz with the idea.