Cheaps: FREE cabs, parties, Frisbys & MFAs

On a night that's expensive as it is disappointing, here's a New Year's Eve-based edition of Cheap Thrills, giving shout outs to free Cambridge cabs, two free alt-nightlife parties, a kid named Heath Frisby and not needing no ducket to hit the Museum of Fine art.

C’MON TAKE A FREE RIDE
Cambridge safe Ride New Year’s Eve taxi program
Tonight from 10 p.m. until tomorrow at 5 a.m., $35 vouchers available at Cambridge restaurants and bars.
The city of Cambridge deserves a gold star for offering free cab rides home to New Year’s Eve partygoers, and let this Cheap Thrill be a potential life-saver. Don’t take a chance behind the wheel after a debauched night out - grab a $35 voucher from the restaurant or bar and let the cab drivers get you home safe. Besides, Cambridge is where it’s at tonight, anyway. Among the cool parties going down include Porterhouse 2010 with DJ Steve Porter at Flat Top Johnny’s in Kendall Square, Heroes new-wave dance party with DJ Chris Ewen at T.T. the Bear’s Place in Central Square, Indobox (upstairs) and Bim Skala Bim (downstairs) live performances at the Middle East in Central Square, and acclaimed DJ duo Soul Clap at the Middlesex Lounge near Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ride on, Cambridge.
Info: 627-876-2000, cambridgema.gov

PARTY FREE OR DIE
Free New Year’s Parties: Red Carpet at the Alchemist Lounge and Rescue Nite at the Model Cafe
Tonight at 10 p.m.; 435 South Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain and 7 North Beacon St. in Allston, respectively; FREE
New Year’s Eve is awfully expensive. So while some places are charging up to $100 for the privilege of patronizing their establishment this evening, it’s good to see some joints keep it real. The Alchemist in Jamaica Plain holds to its promise of never having a cover, but also enlists some of Boston’s finest DJs to spin the electronic dance party. Robot Revolution’s Damien Paul, Coralcola’s Mikey Lee and a pair of Bittriches, John vs. Nick, levy the glossy beats in a Hollywood-inspired red-carpet bash. Over in Allston Rock City, the owners of the Rescue clothing boutique rep their bi-weekly Rescue Nite punk-and-Morrissey party at the Model with all sorts of new wave and dirty rock countdowns. It’s a celebration on the cheap, but still well worth the investment.
Info: alchemistlounge.com, 617-477-5741; rescuebuyselltrade.com, 617-254-9365

STRONG LIKE BULL
Red Bull Sled Style at City Hall
1 City Hall Plaza, Boston, today at 2 p.m.; all-ages, FREE
If someone asked you if you’d like to spend New Year’s Eve with a guy named Heath Frisby, chances are you’d fire up a few fist pumps, say heck yes and start lining up shots of Patron. Well, a guy named Heath Frisby swings by the Hub today, and not just to party when the ball drops. Idaho-based Frisby - his name is Heath Frisby! - is one of the leaders of competitive snowcross and the booming snowmobile freestyle movement, and he and bunch of Red Bull-fueled extreme-sport bandits will put on a high-flying spectacle show for free this afternoon at City Hall. More than 13 truckloads of snow have been hauled in to shape the course and, really, the only thing cooler than seeing a snowmobile soar through some serious air is the name Heath Frisby. Best name ever.
Info: heathfrisby.com

ART DEAL
Free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts
Today from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, all-ages, FREE
Before the heavy drinking begins promptly at dusk, fill your brain with some culture at the MFA, which, like the free parties above, is waiving its admission charge and letting folks get their art on before acting like deranged monkeys at whatever party they end up at around midnight. It’s kind of like filling up the gas tank before a cross-country road trip.
Info: mfa.org, 617-267-9300