THURSDAY, DEC. 19

Have you checked out the Ordinarie yet? In case you (somehow) missed the memo, the American-style tavern serving hearty comfort food and craft cocktails has been decorated for the holidays in the most excessive, practically overwhelming displays of Christmas cheer this side of Liza Minelli’s (What, you haven’t been to Liza’s? Oh, you really must go.)

Although you really don’t need much of a reason to pop in other than to check-out the spectacle for yourself, tonight The Ordinarie hosts singer/songwriter Tom Norman to serenade guests with a solo acoustic performance while they find their holiday spirit in the bottom of a Santa shaped mug.

The Jingle Bell Nog and Bad Santa cocktails at Miracle at The Ordinarie menu. Photo by Brian Addison.

The St. Louis born blues/folk artist is sure to fuse holiday classics with some southern twang alongside bluegrass anthems fit for the cozy, festive space and season. And besides, booze always goes better with the blues.

Another great thing:

Photo courtesy Mono Sources/Facebook.com

OK, so maybe you’re looking for some live music to go with your boozin’, but if you have to listen to another verse of “12 Days of Christmas” you’re gonna stuff someone’s partridge in their pear tree. Lucky for you, Alex’s Bar is hosting a very live and very un-Christmas show tonight with some local stalwarts.

Indie rock outfit Rufrano will be opening the show, followed by performances from Cardioid, an LA-based dream-pop, fantasy metal group, plus our very own Mono Sources, an electronic synth-duo relatively new to the scene (with a new album) comprised of musicians Jesse Nason and Brett Bixby.

Yes, that Bixby. As in the Bixby’s. Brett Bixby is the great, great grandson of Lewellyn Bixby, the famed trailblazer who drove sheep from Chicago out to Rancho Los Cerritos in 1866, initiating the development of what is today’s modern Long Beach.

Brett’s been doing the music thing for a long time. Aside from performing and working with various indie rock bands like Twelvehourmary and Rocco DeLuca & The Burden, he also co-founded the celebrated, but since deceased, Long Beach live music collective known as The Space that offered a place for local musicians to rehearse and put on live shows.

So, why not come check out all the moody synths, mid-tempo beats and self-spun lyrics created by two artists who couldn’t stop making music even if they wanted to.

Giving us a moment’s pause: Don’t we all love options?

Tom Norman performs from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Ordinarie; 210 The Promenade N. The show is free.

Cardioid + Monosources + Rufrano perform at Alex’s Bar at 2913 E. Anaheim St. Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and you can purchase yours here.