Thursday's Jive

J-Cherry… producer and host of, ‘VOICE of the CITY’  Airing on WESU 88.1 FM Middletown Tuesdays from 8-9PM Live and local… This ain’t no commercial radio! jcherrypresents.com

Good evening, it’s Thursday, Jan. 24th and 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 J-Cherry producer and host of VOICE of the CITY,  Tuesday from 8-9PM, Showcasing live and local music, arts, and culture. WESU is now recording our live stream! Visit wesu.streamrewind.com to hear VOICE of the CITY, and other great shows recorded here on WESU! Thanks for tuning in.

Here is what’s going on in the community this week:


Tonight, 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.


At the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown 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 buttonwood.org for more of their offerings.

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. For more information, visit russelllibrary.org online.

 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.

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, Cafe Nine, 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  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 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 out the entire 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 tomorrow. 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.”; 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 can be found at www.realartways.org.

Over at Cinestudio, Trinity College’s cinema in Hartford, “tonight through Saturday brings “Flight,” with Denzel Washington playin
g 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-st​yle, 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.

Now here’s a run down of tonights programing here on WESU 88.1FM 
Right after the Jive it’s

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