The December mixtape is scaled down a bit, since this is one of the slowest live music months of the year. Unless you like holiday music. Which I do not. Still, here are 15 offerings for you, including tracks from bonafide legends Ralph Stanley, Loretta Lynn and Ray Davies and up-and-coming acts such as Love Is All and Hayes Carll. First five below, 10 more after the jump.

"See These Bones" - Nada Surf (Dec. 5, 9:30 club)
The New York band has done a fantastic job going from '90s one-hit wonder (remember "Popular"?) to a band with a deep, impressive discography filled with sweet, sentimental rockers like this one.

"Wild as a Turkey" - Hayes Carll (Dec. 5, Rock and Roll Hotel)
An up-and-comer on the Americana circuit, Carll excels at both twangy melodies and memorable lyrics.

"O Death" - Ralph Stanley (Dec. 6, Birchmere)
Legends, Part 1: Even without his banjo, the good doctor can deliver an awe-inspiring, moving solo vocal performance.

"Story of My Life" - Loretta Lynn (Dec. 6, 9:30 club)
Legends, Part 2: The Coal Miner's Daughter experienced a late-career resurgence with her 2004 album "Van Lear Rose," produced by Jack White. This autobiographical tune that closes the album has plenty of kick and grit.

"Wishing Well" - Love Is All (Dec. 6, Rock and Roll Hotel)
This spunky Swedish group has come through with an impressive sugar rush of a sophomore album, all skittery drums, scratchy guitars and gleeful vocals.

Walking into the soon-to-open Matchbox on 8th Street SE, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in the restaurant's flagship Penn Quarter location. There's the same exposed ductwork, same fabric on high-backed booths, same blond wood tables with vintage matchboxes set into the tops, same fiery pizza oven tucked at the end of the bar. Reclaimed brick and barn wood from Pennsylvania line the walls.

On Friday, a new Matchbox opens on Capitol Hill. (Julia Beizer/washingtonpost.com)

"We were going for the same industrial meets modern" look, said owner Drew Kim today, as he let Fritz and I loose in the restaurant for pictures. The 130-seat restaurant doesn't officially open for business until 5 p.m. on Friday, but holiday greens already deck the red metal staircase that leads to the airy mezzanine level.

Post-Thanksgiving letdown? Hardly. A revitalized club in Shaw launches a new weekly party and hosts an appearance by Ne-Yo, while Ballston welcomes a new British-inspired pub. Some of the city's top bartenders celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition with a cocktail-fueled party, one of hip-hop's top female MCs visits D.C., a rockabilly band channels Morrissey and the Smiths, and there are multiple chances to do good by attending happy hours or black-tie events.

A Two-in-One-Package: With the launch of Zola Wine & Kitchen, Penn Quarter gains a trendy new place to buy wine, and the executive chef of the related Zola restaurant around the corner gets a place to test recipes and teach cooking classes.

Dan Mesches, president of Star Restaurant Group, says the latest addition to his company is a way to "take some of the mystery out" of the wine buying experience. Wines suitable for, say, Asian meals or Christmas celebrations are displayed beneath one of four monitors depicting those themes. The 1,700-square-foot wine shop, dressed with white oak floors and a handful of stools, lounging cubes and a couch, is as cozy as they come. Think Starbucks, but sleeker and with more buzz: About 400 different labels, representing a world of finds, fill the racks.

The second part of the equation, the test kitchen, is visible from two large "spy holes" that punctuate one wall of wine. Mesches says the room, which can hold 30 people for a sit-down occasion or 50 for cocktails, will also be used for guest chef events and private parties.

"Zola's younger sister," as Mesches calls it, should come in handy when he and chef Bryan Moscatello prepare to open the company's next business, a yet-to-be-named Italian restaurant, in mid-February.

-- Tom Sietsema

While December is generally a pretty quiet month for art openings, this month offers a few promising possibilities, not the least of which is a new addition to an old friend. After six years and $621 million, the Capitol Visitor Center opens tomorrow, providing visitors with a cozy place to hang out while they wait for tours of the Capitol. But the building is much more than a waiting room. Among the grandiose spiral staircases and fountains are artifacts, a model of the Capitol's interior and sculptures of notable Americans (including everyone from Helen Keller to King Kamehameha).