12-04-12 jive

Good afternoon, it’s Tuesday, Dec. 4th, (Day two of The 8th annual Winter Holiday Pledge drive here at WESU) This is the Jive at Five – WESU’s Daily community calendar and run down 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. We ask you to give the gift of community radio as we kick off our 8th annual Winter Holiday Pledge drive! You can make a donation right now by calling 860-685-7700 or online at www.wesufm.org.Thanks for tuning in and please be as generous as you can.

Now let’s look at what’s going on in our area this week:
Over at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, throughout the month of December, photos by WESU’s own dj Bill Revill will be exhibited. It’s an eclectic selection of subjects that includes musicians, landscapes, seascapes, local agricultural fairs and more.
This evening at the Buttonwood, there will be a talk by spiritual and holistic counselor Annaita Gandhy titled “Shedding Ego and Materialism.”
Wednesday at the Buttonwood, the film “Genetic Roulette,” about the effects of genetically modified food, will be shown.  You’re asked to donate $5 and a can of food.
Thursday and every first Thursday, it’s Open Mic night with Bob Gotta.
Saturday brings Isra-Alien’s CD Release Tour to the Buttonwood Tree. With two guitars and a second-nature connection, Isra-Alien finds the deep ties that bind rock and jazz, Israeli music and global sounds.
Then Sunday, and every Sunday in front of the Buttonwood, Food Not Bombs shares food.  You’re invited to help prepare the vegetarian meal at the First Church on 190 Court Street at 11:30 am. you can always find out more about buttonwood tree events at www.buttonwood.org

Over at the Russell Library, the teen group Otakus, for fans of Anime, Manga and all things Japanese, meets at 7 p.m.

Tonight at 8, the music at Crowell Concert Hall continues with the WesWinds Winter concert, in which the Wesleyan Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Peter Hadley, performs music inspired by hymns, carols and more with works by Jay Bocook, Alfred Reed and Morten Laurdisen. Special guests Neely Bruce and other shape note singers.
Thursday at 7 p.m., the Center for the Arts presents Javanese Gamelan and Dance at World Music Hall.
Also Thursday, at Patricelli ’92 Theater, at 213 High Street, the Center for the Arts presents The Tempest, a Senior Thesis production of Nicholas Orvis, class of ’13, as well as a Graduate Composer Concert, at CFA Hall,  .
Friday, as part of Wesleyan’s Music & Public Life Series, Richard Kostelanetz, noted literary artist and author of the first biography of John Cage, will discuss the social dimension of Cage’s work.
That will be followed by The Wesleyan University Orchestra’s performance, in Crowell Concert Hall, of John Cage’s 1973 work “Etcetera,”  which was commissioned by Wesleyan for the inauguration of the Center for the Arts. The piece calls for three conductors to stand before stations of two, three, and four chairs, as orchestra members, seated around these stations and gently playing cardboard boxes, may elect to move to a station and submit to the direction of one of the conductors. This will be followed by a performance of “HPSCHD” by the Wesleyan New Music Alliance in Fayerweather Beckham Hall.
Relatedly, also in conjunction with the centennial of Cage’s birth, the university’s Special Collections & Archives at Olin Library has put up “John Cage Writes,” an exhibit of notebooks, manuscripts and photographs from the John Cage Papers, focusing on his literary works. The show also features artists’ books influenced by Cage.
On Friday night at the CFA Theater, there will be a performance of the Winter Dance Concert: Impulse.
Saturday at 8 p.m., at Crowell Concert Hall, the celebration of John Cage continues with a performance of his “Song Books,” sponsored by the university’s Music & Public Life series.
For more information on any of these Wesleyan events, go to wesleyan.edu/cfa.

At the First Church of Christ, 190 Court Street in Middletown, the Diversion presents two comedy improv shows, Hartford’s Sea Tea Improv, and Middletown’s Ben Topher and Friends, performing at 7:30 p.m. Reservations are suggested. Go to thediversion.com for details.

On Friday, at Wesleyan Potters Gallery Shop on South Main St. in Middletown, Kaia Pazdersky, the guitarist and lead female vocalist for the gorup Little Ugly, voted CT’s Best Group, will perform at the pottery’s Cafe Night.
Also on Friday, the Greater Middletown Concert Association celebrates its 45th anniversary year with a musical gala at the Wadsworth Mansion at the Long Hill Estate  in Middletown.
This fund-raising occasion will feature live musical entertainment, a buffet dinner and a
silent auction. For details, call Marcia 860-347-2035 or Gerry
860-347-5360.
Saturday, at Central Connecticut State University, an event titled “An Injury to One is an Injury to All: A Conference in Defense of Civil Liberties and to End Indefinite Detention” will be presented. Featuring journalists, activists and scholars from throughout the region, the conference is meant to be a step toward building a movement to defend those targeted for their speech, political activity, race, religion or nation of origin, and to protect basic civil freedoms.
For information, contact Dan by calling 860-985-4576 or emailing him at daniel.adam.piper@gmail.com. Or go to ctstopindefinitedetention.wordpress.com.

Now let’s look at what’s going on in New Haven.
Over at Toad’s Place, Wednesday is the weekly EDM Night.
Friday brings the Cosmic Dust Bunnies to Toad’s, with The Alchemystics; Lucid; and Mandrake Mechanism; with Blinding Yellow spinning between sets. That’s followed by Aspen Powers Presents: A HOLIDAY CONCERT SOIREE, with Rohn Lawrence & Friends; Ricky Alan Draughn; Jenna Welch; E.L.E.I.; Timmy Maia; and Trever Somerville.
More information about all Toad’s shows can be found at toadsplace.com.

At Café Nine in New Haven, tonight it’s BRASS CITY BOSS SOUND Presents: The Blood; w/ Absum; & No.
Wednesday brings The Saint James Jazz Band.
Thursday, MANIC PRODUCTIONS Presents: Pearl and the Beard; w/ Lucius; and You Won’t.
Friday, UNITED RIOT RECORDS and CHANNEL HATE PRODUCTIONS Present: the NY
/CT Hardcore Compilation CD Release Party featuring Hooks & Sinkers; Blastmat; and Progress.
Saturday’s Afternoon Jazz Jam is hosted by Gary Grippo and Friends, and is followed by The New Dirty; w/ Party Horse and Your 33 Black Angels. The SUNDAY-AFTER-SUPPER JAM at Cafe Nine is hosted by Kevin Saint James and the Legendary Cafe Nine All-Stars.
More can be found at cafenine.com.

Up in Hartford at Blackeyed Sally’s tonight brings Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra, an 18-piece band, to Sally’s stage.
Wednesday, it’s the Blues Jam, with BRANDT TAYLOR.
Thursday brings John Mayock & the Homesteaders, as well as The Country Trio to Sally’s.
Then Friday, it’s the Rich Badowski Blues Band.
And Saturday brings Gina Sicilia to Sally’s.
More at blackeyedsallys.com.

Now let’s take a look at cinema off the beaten track in Central Connecticut:

At Real Art Ways in Hartford tonight, GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS continues through Thursday.
Also through Thursday, the Loneliest Planet continues.
Then Friday opens with The Flat, and the Valtari Film Experiment.
Saturday, the late show brings a return of The Room.
This and lots more can be found at realartways.org.

Tonight over at Cinestudio, Trinity College’s cinema, the double-bill Searching for Sugarman and Neil Young Journeys continue.
Then Wednesday brings How to Survive a Plague to the screen.
Starting Thursday and running through Saturday, it’s The Perks of being a Wallflower.
Friday also brings The Dark Crystal.
On Sunday, Diffrent from the Others, with live musical accompaniment, is the matinee. The evening show is  Roman Polanski’s TESS in 4K.
More at cinestudio.org.
And now let’s take a look at tonight’s programming on WESU.

Right after the Jive At Five from 5:05 to 6:00pm it’s Finding Bliss: words and music with DJ Lauren “Bliss” Agnelli, an interview, free-form talk show about people who are following their hearts and living authentically.

From 6-6:30 is Free Speech Radio news from the Pacifica Network, your daily dose of alternative international news and reporting.

From 6:30-8:00 is Acoustic Blender with Bill Revill, an eclectic selection of Americana, country with root influence.

From 8-9pm is The Voice of the CITY with J-Cherry, your source for live and local Connecticut arts and music at its best.

From 9-10:30 is Wonderland with DJ Cheshire Cat, who has a song in his heart, a chemical imbalance in his head, and a musical library at his fingers.

From 10:30-11:30 is This Southbound Train, with Mary Barrett, featuring bluegrass, newgrass, and other acoustic sounds.

From 11:30pm-12:30 am is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass with DJ Sleepy Girl, the dulcet tones of bluegrass and folk–just not entirely.

Wednesday, 12:30-1:30am is Radical Roots, with Junkyard Augustine and KC-Gull, presenting lo-fi music with a message.

Wednesday, 1:30-2:30am is The Wayfaring Stranger with Lily Myers, bringing the newest and best in contemporary folk and folk-rock from around the country.

That’s all for today’s Jive At Five, tune in each and every weekday at 4:55 pm to hear about what’s going on in the community and on the air right here at 88.1 FM WESU, a community service of Wesleyan University since 1939.

The soundtrack  behind today’s jive at five is called “Tap Dancing Hens” and is a featured sound of MiddletownRemix <http://urbanremix.gatech.edu/content/middletown> , a collaborative, place-based sound project that enables participants to develop and express the acoustic identity of Greater Middletown, and to explore and experience the soundscapes of the city. You can find this sound as well as many more and learn how to participate yourself, online at www.Middletownremix.org

The written form for what you’ve heard on today’s jive is online at wesufm.org/jive
And if you value WESU as a source for information and entertainment in your life, how about supporting the station with a donation? You can make that donation online at wesufm.org anytime or by calling 860-685-7700 right now. Thanks for listening!