Thursday's Jive

Good evening, it’s Thursday, August 9th. 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. Thanks for making WESU your listener-supported source for NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs and free-form community radio. I’m J-Cherry producer and host of VOICE of the CITY airing on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8PM Showcasing live and local music, arts, and culture. Thanks for tuning in.

At the Buttonwood Tree on Tonight, every possible pathway of story, culture, and true grit meets at Writers Out Loud!—Connecticut’s premier literary prose open mic w/host Cocomo Rock & co-host Al Bower, Jr., with signups at 6:45 and performances beginning at 7:15.



Friday night at 8 at the Buttonwood Tree the soulful sounds of the young jazz group Mad Satta. Food Not Bombs shares food about 1 pm in front of the Buttonwood Tree every Sunday. All are welcome and invited to help prepare food at the First Church at 190 Court Street at 11:30 am. More information about all Buttonwood events can be found at buttonwood.org or by calling 860.347.4957


Tonight at 6:30 pm, Klekolo World Coffee is presenting In Pursuit of Some Things Trivial, where people will be split into teams of 2-4 and have their knowledge tested. Prizes will be given out to the top two teams.


Tonight and every Thursday night it’s Jazz on the river in Middletown at the Mattebesett Canoe Club. it’s Airborne Jazz. On Sunday night it’s

Becky Chace a  who critics call, “…steamy cauldron of music, purveying the sort of countrified roots/folk rock that hits with a gritty, earthy edge.”for more information visit the mattabesesttcanoeclub.com

Down in New Haven at Toads Place, tonight is the local hip hop showcase. Friday night jam out with the Reggae/Jam Fest 2012, including performances by Father Time, Full Spectrum and more.  Saturday night Toads hosts Summer Glow with speakers booming out electro, dubstep and house music all night long. More can be found online at toadsplace.com

Also down in New Haven tonight, there will Atrina’s turbulent rock n’ roll sound to the stage, and Friday Night will see Jazz Haven at 8, followed by Les Sans Culotte; w/ the Shelly Valauskas Experience at 10. • Café Nine’s Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam will be hosted by Gary Grippo and Friends. Saturday Night, River City Slim and the Zydeco Hogs; w/ Otis and the Hurricanes take the stage, and Sunday at 9 Tauk delivers a unique blend of funk, jazz, pop and rock with a fresh, experimental spirit. More can be found online at cafenine.com

Friday night in Hartford at Blackeyed Sally’s Grammy-nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen will take the stage at Sally’s, followed by Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts Saturday at 9. More can be found at blackeyedsallys.com.

‘Tis the season for farmers’ markets and here are a few in our area:

The Durham Farmers’ Market is open every Thursday on the Town Green on Main St,  from 3 to 6:30 pm, through September. The longstanding Middletown Farmers’ Market at the South Green is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 am to 1 pm through October. The Middletown North End Farmers Market is open 10 am to 2 pm every Friday and is located at the corner of Liberty and Main Streets in Middletown.


Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group

This Weekend at the Warner Theatre

Torrington, CT – Four time Grammy winner, Lyle Lovett returns to the Warner Theatre on Sunday, August 12 at 7pm.

Sunday it’s the First Annual Middletown Music Festival. Presented by J-Cherry Presents in association with the Buttonwood Tree and WESU. To be held at Middlesex Community College rain or shine! Featuring Open Mic with J-Cherry, Mr. Anderson, Two Virgins, Gigglejuice, J-Cherry and the Strawberries. Food and Vendors, and lots of fun! Live and local… this is great music! For more information visit jcherrypresents.com. 


That’s it for our community calendar. For the latest in local arts and entertainment beyond the Jive At Five, you can visit www.arts2GO.org – the City of Middletown’s new website for anyone interested in what’s going on in Middletown. You can access arts2GO.org for updated information.

Now here’s a quick rundown of cinema off the beaten path herein central CT this week. Tonight and running until next Tuesday,  Cinestudio, the Trinity College cinema in Hartford,  will be presenting a digitally restored version of Jean Renoir’s 1937 film, Grand Illusion. Show schedules and descriptions can be found online can be found at cinestudio.org.

Tonight through next Wednesday, Real Art Ways in Hartford will begin a viewing of Trishna, a modern take on the classic novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles. On Friday, Real Art Ways will continue the viewing of The Queen of Versailles, an epic documentary following billionaires Jackie and David and their rags to riches story. Tickets, times, and more can be found online at realartways.org.

Now stay tuned.  Here’s what’s playing on WESU tonight during our summer schedule.

Right after the Jive at Five Right stay tuned for, Homegrown, with Rob DeRosa. The best crop of Connecticut-connected music presented for a global audience.

6-6:30pm

Free Speech Radio News From The Pacifica Network

Your daily dose of alternative international news and reporting from the Pacifica Network.

6:30-8pm

Total Praise with Minister Latrecia

A diverse and inspirational blend of contemporary gospel music to uplift your spirit!

8-9:30pm

Evening Jazz with Bill Denert

Where hearing is the best experience. A broad range of swing, be-bop, and avant garde as well as a sprinkling of new releases

9:30-11pm

Art Projects with Aaron Berger

Going far in the name of artistic expression, but never losing hold of anchors in quality control and cultural relevance. Shoegaze and Garage meets Psych-Folk and Ambient Drone; HipHop and Soul meets 2-Step and Grime. It’s all fair game. Mixed with auditory bric-a-brac for optimal digestion.

11pm-12:30am

Alphabet Soup with DJ Blaze

An anti-genre, request-based melting pot. Each episode, we randomly select a letter from the alphabet, and play bands or artists whose names start with that letter. A wild romp through the annals of WESU’s music library, supported and guided by the interests of our listeners.

12:30-1:30am

Sunspot Loops

Let’s explore what’s new in the world and rearrange what exists into a form we can claim to understand. Listen to everything. Nothing gets hyped on. (micro-genres)

Friday, 1:30-4am

The Graveyard with DJ Otto Nation

An eclectic mix of music from the WESU collection of new releases.

The BBC World News Service kicks on at 4AM and we begin tomorrow’s broadcast at 5am 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 to jive@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. Stay tuned for Homegrown with Rob Derosa.