Mon., Jan. 21st Jive
Good evening, it’s Monday, Jan. 21st. We hope you’re having a great Martin Luther King’s Birthday and Inauguration Day. This is the Jive at Five – WESU’s Daily community calendar and rundown of night time programming here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown, your station for NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs by day and the best in free-form community programming week nights and weekends.
I’m Maria Johnson, host of Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith, a progressive-minded show dealing with issues of faith and action every 1st, 3rd and, this month, 5th Tuesday from 4 p.m. to right before the Jive. The next show, on Jan. 29th, will feature, among other topics, an interview with Sr. Joann Ianotti of the interdenominational Wisdom House in Litchfield, Conn. She’s the author of a book of reflections for Lent. Thanks for tuning in.
Now let’s look at what’s going on in the community this week:
Over at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in New Haven this afternoon, a free Martin Luther King Day Celebration has just started. Sponsored by Music Haven and the St. Luke’s Steel Band, it also features the Haven String Quartet. Also planned are a hip-hop performance by spoken word artist Aaron Jafferis and remarks from New Haven Alderwoman Angela Russell. St. Luke’s Episcopal is at 111 Whalley Ave. in New Haven.
Here in Middletown, at the Buttonwood Tree, tonight at 8 it’s the weekly “Anything Goes” Open Mic.
Wednesday, it’s Karaoke with Deni from 7 to 9 p.m.
Friday brings Acoustic Ladyhips, performing rock, pop and jazz to the Buttonwood stage.
Then Saturday brings a double bill of balladeers to the Buttonwood, starting at 8 p.m.: Jeremiah Birnbaum and Ben Rabb.
Sunday, Food Not Bombs shares food about 1 pm in front of the Buttonwood. Anyone is welcome. Consider yourself invited to help us prepare vegetarian food at the First Church on 190 Court Street at 11:30 a.m.
Visit www.buttonwood.org for more of their offerings.
Tomorrow in the Russell Library’s Hubbard Room, it’s “Panic in Connecticut: Accused Witches Have Their Say!” presented by the Middlesex County Historical Society and Russell Library. Between 1642 and 1693, at least 40 people in the colony of Connecticut were tried as witches, and at least 10 of them were hanged. Most of them were women. The largest Connecticut Witchcraft Panic preceded the famous Salem Massachusetts Panic by some thirty years!
Who were these women? How did they come to be accused of witchcraft? What was life like for them? Travel back to 17th century Connecticut and hear what five women accused of witchcraft have to say. Actress Virginia Wolf brings these vibrant women to life.
The free presentation is at 7 p.m.
Saturday morning the Russell Knitters meet in the Russell Library of Middletown and invite you to join them for knitting tips and tricks. All levels of experience are welcome. www.russelllibrary.org
Also at the Russell Library, entries are being accepted for this year’s John W. Paton Storytelling Contest. In honor of Jack Paton, his family and Russell Library present an annual writing contest for people who have lived or worked in Middletown. You must be over 25 years of age to enter. This year, the suggested theme is “Food for Thought.” What is your favorite story involving food? All ideas are welcome. Entry forms are available in regular and large print. The entry deadline is Thursday, February 28.
Tomorrow at 7 p.m., it’s Tuesday Music at Klekolo World Coffee, 181 Court Street, in Middletown. The line-up changes weekly.
Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m., at One MacDonough Place, a retirement and assisted living facility in downtown Middletown, there will be an exhibit of art and poetry by the residents and select local artists. There will be live music, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a wine bar.
On Saturday and Sunday, there will be performances of Circophony’s Vaudeville Circus, the latest youth circus under the directorial eye of ARTFARM’s Dic Wheeler. Circophony is a co-production of ARTFARM and Oddfellows Playhouse. It combines the dazzling artistry of circus with the style and format of classic vaudeville. This hour-long performance, featuring 11 young performers between the ages of 13 and 18, will transport you back to the 1920s with fabulous flapper costumes, acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, magic, dance, melodrama and comic sketches. A fast-paced series of acts, all to a soundtrack of live and recorded classic jazz.
Performances will be at 7:30 pm at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street, Middletown.
Also this Friday, there will be a closing reception for the ART FOR HAITI EXHIBITION at the ARTSPACE GALLERY in HARTFORD at 6pm. All proceeds to benefit “Movin’ With The Spirit,” a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the people of the poorest part of Haiti. EXHIBITING ARTISTS include : Andria Alex ; Andres Chaparro; WESU’s own host of the Bauer Hour, David Bauer; Joyce Senesac; Paul Baldassini; Phil Ouelette; Pierre Sylvain; and Robert Charles Hudson. For information call Pierre at 860-808-9128.
Down in New Haven tonight, Café Nine presents its monthly FISTFUL OF JOKES COMEDY SERIES, hosted by the Morgan Brothers, Andrew and Jerry.
Tomorrow at Café Nine, the ELM CITY AMERICANA SERIES is hosted by Milksop:Unsung. Featured will be a local showcase of rising Elm City bands, featuring Murdervan.
Wednesday brings Loves It! Thursday, ODDBALL ENTERTAINMENT Presents SURF NIGHT, featuring The Vivisectors; w/ North Shore Troubadours.
Friday from 5 p.m. to closing, it’s Lonesome Billy’s Birthday Rockathon at Café Nine: featuring Torque; The Gene Gnomes; The Benders; Gary Heriot; Al Raebuck; Knot A Band; Taylor Joyner; Tommy Lourdes; and more.
Saturday from 4:30-7:30 pm, it’s the weekly SATURDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ JAM, followed at 8 by Day 2 of the 9th Annual Berfest – Featuring Dead Wives; Home Movies; Native Mode; and No Program.
Sunday, from 4 to 7 p.m., it’s the BLUEGRASS JAM AT CAFE NINE, hosted by Stacy Phillips. Then, starting at 8 sharp, it’s the SUNDAY-AFTER-SUPPER JAM: w/ host Dom Zullo and the Cafe Nine All Stars.
More can be found online at cafenine.com.
In New Haven at Toads Place tonight and every Monday night, it’s A Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & Friends.
Tomorrow brings CITIZEN COPE.
Wednesday is the weekly EDM NIGHT.
Thursday brings a local showcase: Burn Lexington; Drawing A Blank; Druthers; In Perspective; Loki; Maestro Thrust; The Recliner Pilots; and Torment the Dreamer.
Friday brings Shakedown, playing The Dead and beyond, to Toad’s, along with Full Spectrum and String Band.
Saturday, it’s the original Saturday Night Dance Party.
More can be found at toadsplace.com.
Up in Hartford at Blackeyed Sally’s, tonight is Jazz Monday. Tomorrow brings Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra, an 18-piece band.
Wednesday, it’s the Blues Jam with TOMMY WHALEN.
Thursday, it’s the Hoolios with the Weird Beards, which take traditional folk instruments like the ukulele, acoustic guitar and upright bass, and play them with the speed and force of a punk show. Even the musicians themselves have trouble describing the band’s style. Their consensus is that it’s “some sort of mix of alternative-anti-folk-tribal-punk,” though they prefer some of their fans’ and reviewers’ classifications such as “Muppets on acid,” “the anti-Peter Paul and Mary,” and “punk uke.”
Friday brings Popa Chubby to the Sally’s stage.
Saturday, it’s Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts, voted Connecticut’s “Best Blues Band” by the readers of the Hartford Advocate in 2005, 2007 2008 and 2011.
Sunday brings Downtown Rocks For Newtown to Sally’s, with Spark Plug; Forward Motion; Carnival of Thieves; Addison Station; and Frank Viele & The Manhattan Project.
Find the schedule online at www.blackeyedsallys.com
Now here’s a rundown of cinema off the beaten path here in Central Connecticut:
At Real Art Ways in Hartford “Chasing Ice” continues through Thursday. National Geographic photographer James Balog discovers undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Balog deploys revolutionary time-lapse cameras to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.
Also playing through Thursday is “The Rabbi’s Cat.” It’s an animated film, but not suitable for children. Based on the best-selling graphic novel by Joann Sfar, it tells the story of a rabbi and his talking cat – a sharp-tongued feline philosopher brimming with scathing humor and a less than pure love for the rabbi’s voluptuous teenage daughter. It’s a provocative exploration of (among other things) God, lust, death, phrenology, religious intolerance, interspecies love, and the search for truth.
Friday begins a run of “56 Up.” Starting in 1964 with “Seven Up,” the original concept of the UP series was to interview 14 children from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, renowned director Michael Apted, a researcher for Seven Up, has been back to talk to them, examining the progression of their lives.
From cab driver Tony to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the heart-breaking Neil, as they turn 56 more life-changing decisions and surprising developments are revealed.
An extraordinary look at the structure of life in the 20th century, The UP Series is, according to critic Roger Ebert, “an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium. Apted penetrates to the central mystery of life.”
More information at www.realartways.org.
Over at Cinestudio, Trinity College’s cinema in Hartford, “Holy Motors” runs tonight and tomorrow. It opens with an audience in a movie theater, fast asleep, and moves on to a mesmerizing narrative that follows the transformation of one actor (the amazing Denis Lavant) into 11 different characters.
Wednesday through Saturday brings “Flight,” with Denzel Washington playing a conflicted man who runs into trouble and isn’t sure how to get out. It doesn’t give anything away to say that Washington plays a commercial pilot who, Sullenberger-style, saves most of his passengers from a terrifying crash. The only difference is, he was high at the time. As the investigation zeroes in, his addiction threatens to bring down everything he has worked for. The outstanding cast includes John Goodman, Don Cheadle and Melissa Leo.
Sunday begins “Wake in Fright,” called “The best and most terrifying film about Australia in existence.” Gary Bond stars as a sensitive schoolteacher who ventures into the Outback, finding himself lured into a rural nightmare of debauchery and dread that exists far from any dreams of civilization.
Visit cinestudio.org to find out more.
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And now let’s take a look at tonight’s programming on WESU.
Right after the Jive at 5, from 5:05 to 6, it’s Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry, a well-rounded jazz show for true jazz heads.
Then at 6pm each weekday, it’s Free Speech Radio News from The Pacifica Network, your evening dose of alternative international news and reporting from the Pacifica Network.
From 6:30-8pm, it’s Life is a Killer with Johnny Analog, moving through the blues diaspora from front porch country blues and big city electric blues to jazz, R&B and soul.
From 8-9:30pm, it’s Rumpus Room with Lord Lewis, the best in vintage and contemporary heavy funk, soul, club jazz, reggae, ska, afro and latin dancefloor grooves.
Then the 9:30pm – 12:30am slot brings the return of “Aargh” with Tom Gatzen for three hours of bone crushing cosmic stoner rock, doom, and otherwise loud and slow music.
From 12:30 to 2:30 a.m., DJ Otto Nation will be playing an eclectic mix of music from the WESU Vaults.
From 2:30-3:30am, it’s Maximum Rock and Roll Radio, followed from 3:30-4am by DJ Vegetable Reads Missed Connections: You’ve lost someone, let’s find them.
Then the BBC World News Service kicks on at 4AM and we begin tomorrow’s broadcast at 5 a.m. with Morning Edition from NPR.
That’s all for today’s Jive at Five, if you didn’t get a chance to write down some of the information mentioned in our community calendar, the script is published online at www.wesufm.org/jive, and if you know of any events that you’d like to have announced on the Jive, send them tojive@wesufm.org If you tune in to WESU for information and music that you can’t find elsewhere, then we are counting on you to help support the service you depend on.
Please take a moment to make a donation of any size online at www.wesufm.org, every dollar counts and we need to hear from you. Thanks for listening!
The written form for what you’ve heard on today’s jive is online at wesufm.org/jive
Now stay tuned for Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry.
