MONDAY, DEC. 16 2013 >>>

1. The moths are on to something. Lights are awesome. Especially holiday lights. Make tonight the night you check out Zoolights or Fantasy Lights - both South Sound institutions. Zoolights, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium's holiday light show and extravaganza, offers a stroll through more than half a million lights, crafted whimsically throughout the zoo from 5-9 p.m. Take a driving tour of Fantasy Lights in Spanaway Park, where carloads of travelers can see more than 300 stunning displays of lights and imaginative animation over a two-mile stretch of Spanaway Lake Park from 5:30-9 p.m. Tune in to a special holiday radio station for a little holiday music to add to the mood. A Monday evening would be a nice time to take the family out and see some bright shiny things ... if you're not already sick and tired of the holidays, that is.

2. Pianist Nate D., bassist Cameron and drummer Peter T. continue to explore the edges of jazz by hosting a jazz jam every Monday at 8 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge. Not all gigs qualify as a hang, but this one has the precise alchemy that draws the area's best players: a high level of musicianship, a relaxed atmosphere and a sympathetic intergenerational crowd.

3. Since the beginning of time, The Swiss has hosted live blues every Monday at 8 p.m. Factor in the free pool on Mondays and guitar legend Jerry Miller on the stage, and you have yourself a night.

4. Every Monday at 9 p.m. Jazzbones is packed to the brim with college kids. Party types. The type that wear tight shirts and trucker hats. Throngs of Chad Fratguys and Sarah Sororitysisters swarm the bar, line up for the bathroom and dance to the Rockaraoke - live band karaoke. The Rockaraoke band is skilled, too. Tonight, Jazzbones will give $250 to the ugly holiday sweater. Here's hoping someone sings "Run to the Hills" while wearing a sweater featuring two lovely polar bears that appear to be best friends. 

5. Each Monday DJ No Pants and Mega Hit DJ Aaron Miggity Mack want you to come and join us at O'Malley's Irish Pub for all of your fave songs and probably some that you never heard of from a different genre of music. That's right, nothing static. Tonight, it's new wave night. Whether you're a 21-year-old feeling nostalgic for a time you never lived through, or a crimp-haired, stone-washed new-waver who never got over the Talking Heads breaking up, the music of the 1980s spans cultures and generations to bring the he-men and she-bops in from the cold.  

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Monday, Dec. 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area