In the spirit of the holiday season, the Empty Bottle is introducing one-year passes as stocking stuffers. The FOB (Friends of the Bottle) passes get you into shows at the Bottle itself and also, depending on which variety you buy, into Empty Bottle Presents shows elsewhere—there are two kinds of pass, a base model and a souped-up, all-inclusive, schmancy gold one. Each offers special amenities to make you feel important and wanted for the duration of 2012.

Other than price—the regular pass is $150, the gold $500—the sole difference between the passes concerns which types of shows you'll be able to attend. The regular FOB pass guarantees free entry to any show under ten bucks at the Empty Bottle (advance tickets included), while the gold FOB pass gets you into any Empty Bottle Presents show, including not just everything at the Bottle (regardless of price) but also all the shows the Bottle presents outside its cozy confines at Cortez and Western—venues will likely include the Logan Square Auditorium, Portage Theater, Beauty Bar, and Congress Theater.

Other perks conferred by both flavors of pass:

No lines, no waiting

Exclusive invites to secret VIP shows

One free drink ticket every time you attend a show at the Empty Bottle

Your choice of Empty Bottle T-shirt

15 percent off at Bite Cafe between doors and showtime

15 percent off posters and T-shirts bought from the Empty Bottle's online store

Visit the Ticketweb pages for FOB pass and gold FOB pass to read all the fine print about picking up your laminate, replacement fees, and what happens if you try to game the system and hand off your pass to a friend.

Read more from Gift Week:

The 2011 Holiday Gift Guide

"Who wants to own Alot?" by Julia Thiel

"Shameless Joe," by Kate Schmidt

"When picking out gifts, don't do what Mo did," by Mick Dumke

"I'm that drip from the Bleader," by Michael Miner

"In Print: Chicago's Classic Restaurants: Past, Present and Future," by Mike Sula

"What will they think of next? Wood ties, of course," by Kevin Warwick

"Mayor Emanuel gives Sara Lee a big, wet, and sloppy $6.5 million kiss," by Ben Joravsky

"Unquenchable," by Kate Schmidt

"The gift that keeps on killing," by Tal Rosenberg