I'm a fan. I have played it a few times and have always had good gigs to packed rooms. I think this provides a service to the majority of the people in the city and surrounding area. It has a ton of things for kids/families. I think it is very important and it is proven by the number of people that attend. It is not something that I do not think I would attend if I was not performing, but that is not the point. It is not built for me; it made those that are easier to entertain.

A city the size of Worcester needs to have a First Night celebration. To me, it's a celebration of the city as much as a celebration of the past/new year to come. I noticed the lack of "rawk" too, kind of disappointing since the wife and I are already semi-decided to go to it this year (first time for me since '88). Hmmm, maybe I can convince the wife to go to the NoHo celebration (http://gazettenet.com/firstnight/) , she really digs Brooks Williams (never mind that the Alchemistics, Ray Mason Band, and the Drunk Stuntmen are playing too)!