As I have already promised that I am, indeed, NOT a scrooge, I am in the mood to cheer myself up! This holiday season I have a delightfully packed music schedule, lots of time to sleep in (oh, what life would be like if all I had to do was go to concerts and write here at At Limbo!), and good friends coming back into town just in time for New Years. What more could a girl want for Christmas?

I may not be decking the halls with holly this time of year, but I’m not one of the women profiled in the Daily Mail either. Really? The holidays as a “test” of “feminine wiles”? Cat ladies? I can understand not liking the holidays, even disliking the pressure to like them (isn’t that what I was just complaining about a week or so ago?), but to be made depressed by these things? To let it affect how you treat those around you and your general well-being? Oy! I’d have to say I’m much more of the “let’s make the holidays fun and pampered” variety. Last year I was absolutely devastated at the thought of being single for the holidays (having just gone through the Break Up of Doom), but this year I embrace it. As a single adult I have the opportunity to start making my own traditions and spending my time in the ways that I want, both things I’m looking forward to.

Most importantly, the shows. I absolutely love the fact that I get to spend my holiday doing what I love more than anything else – checking out great venues and getting lost in some awesome music.

I’ll be kicking off the holidays by checking out Billy Woodward & The Senders at DC9 tomorrow night. Something about the promise of “vintage r&b that all the kids are talking about” and the look of this band just makes me giddy with the thought of chilling out with a drink, some fried pickles (an addiction of mine at DC9), and good music all by my lonesome the night before Christmas Eve. After the show, I’ll be turning the corner onto U St. for some Kostume Karaoke action at Solly’s U St.

The day after Christmas, I’m excited to have the chance to see the full Justin Trawick Group yet again, headlining at IOTA(with Promiselab opening). Some funk, folk, rock, hip-hop, country, pop will be sure to chase the holiday blues away!

Sunday night, before heading back for another short work week, Molly Hagen headlines IOTA with the rare treat of a full band. This alum of The Nine always puts on a great show (I’ve seen her play solo and once – at IOTA as well – with back-up acoustic) and I can’t wait to see what she does will a full band behind her. Her vocal layering can only go to the next level in this show, it should be a blast!

I plan on taking the two days in between to rest, stay warm, ward off any lingering cold symptoms, talk to long-distance family and friends on the phone (an incredibly foreign concept for me!), and catch up on some reading. Ok, maybe there will be a lot of NCIS marathon-ing in there, too, but I refuse to find that at all depressing.