Mon., March 4 Jive

Good evening, it's Monday,  March 4 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. Thanks for tuning in.

Let’s look at what’s going on in the community this week:

Over at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown tonight at 7:30, it’s the “Anything Goes” open mic night.Tomorrow brings Laughter Yoga with Mimi Claire and a vegetarian potluck supper to the Buttonwood, beginning at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, it’s Buttonwood Film Night, with a screening of “Happy,”  a 76-minute independent documentary film about the art and science of happiness. It travels from India to Bhutan, Denmark, and Okinawa, Japan in search of some of the happiest people in the world. It combines real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with the leading scientists in happiness research.On Thursday, and every first Thursday, it’s Bob Gotta's longstanding acoustic Open Mic at the Buttonwood,  Sign-ups start at 6:30 p.m. On Friday,  award-winning Boston contemporary folk singer/songwriter Terry Kitchen comes to the Buttonwood. She  joins voices with acclaimed musicians Mara Levine and Gail Wade for a sound that’s described as both intensely dynamic and uniquely beautiful.Saturday, it’s Saturday Morning Qigong (Chi Kung) at 7:30 a.m., followed by community yoga for beginners and intermediates at 8:30.And on Sunday, Food Not Bombs shares food at about 1 pm in front of the Buttonwood. All are welcome to enjoy a free vegetarian meal and to help prepare it beforehand at First Church at on Court Street at 11:30 am. For more information about all Buttonwood events, visit www.buttonwood.org.

Over at Café Nine in New Haven at 8 tonight, it’s GET TO THE POINT! • Volume Four, the free monthly series of storytellings and readings, this month with various performers doing various kinds of readings. There’ll  be a one-act play; a reading from a memoir of a life in punk rock; a song/story known as a “sprechstimme,”; some sonnets and other poetry; as well as humor writing and readings from the classics.Tomorrow at 8 at Café Nine, Oddball Entertainment Presents: Anni; w/ the Nick Di Maria Quartet.And Wednesday at 7, Manic Productions Presents: The Spring Standards; w/ Golden Bloom; and The Backyard Committee . Thursday at 7:30, Fistful of Jokes Presents: Myq Kaplan; w/ Josh Gondelman; Andrew Morgan; Jerry Morgan, Derek Toombs; Craig Taylor; and Mike Finoia for a special night of comedy! The Friday happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. features Sal Paradise. That’s followed at 9 by  Chris Berardo & the DesBerardos . Saturday, from 4:30 to 7:30 at Café nine, it’s the Saturday Afternoon Jazz Jam w/ host Gary Grippo and friends, followed at 9 by The Manchurians; w/ Party Horse; and The Radiation. Sunday, at 4 p.m., it’s the St. Patrick's Day Party w/ The Butcher Boys and Bold Ruckus. That’s followed at 8 by the Sunday After Supper Jam: w/ the Cafe Nine All Stars. Learn more at www.cafenine.com.

Also in New Haven, over at Toad’s Place, tonight brings In Flames with Another Year, Another Tour, along with Demon Hunter; All Shall Perish; and Battlecross. That’s followed by A Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & Friends. Wednesday  brings the weekly EDM Night to Toad’s. Thursday, it’s Drive-by Truckers and The Whigs. Friday brings Talib Kweli to Toad’s, as well as Cory Mo and Mr. Council and the Dwight Street Players, featuring Sotorios of Political Animals. Also on Friday, in Lilly’s Pad, it’s Just One More, playing U2 and other Irish favorites, presented by New Haven St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and Youth Gaelic Sports Club. On Saturday afternoon at 4, it’s the New Haven Battle of the Bands in Lilly’s Pad, presented by Gorilla Music. Competing will be: Factors; Delayed Awakening; Stamps the Goat; Hot Chaos; Lion's Teeth; Destination Dimension; Kudra; Bellow; Dead and Gone; Skratch Happy; and Everybody Hates Me.  Later on Saturday, Riders on the Storm plays a Tribute to the Doors. Also performing: The Bonesmen; Eightfold; Agenda 21; Trag; and The Hell Catz. Then Sunday at Toad’s, it’s Every Time I Die, with The Acacia Strain; Vanna; Hundredth; and No Bragging Rights. For more information, go to www.toadsplace.com.

Up in Hartford at Blackeyed Sally’s, tonight is Jazz Monday, the best taste of live jazz in Hartford. Tomorrow brings Michael Palin's Other Orchestra, an 18-piece band, to Sally’s stage. And Wednesday it’s the Blues Jam, this week with Brandt Taylor. Thursday, The Skatalites plays ska at Sally’s. Also playing: The Excitement Gang. And Friday at 9, it’s Studebaker John & the Hawks playing blues. Saturday at 9 brings Avenue Groove, a Connecticut-based R&B, funk and dance band, to Blackeyed Sally’s.   www.blackeyedsallys.com for more info.

Back here in Middletown, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the Wesleyan University Center for the Arts presents a senior music recital  by Ashlin Arnin. Called “L'Orgue: A Dialogue with the French Modernists,” it will be performed at Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street. Details at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa. On Saturday and Sunday at Wesleyan, it’s the 14th annual Dancemasters weekend master classes, one of the most-anticipated dance events in the Northeast. The two-day dance immersion combines inspiring performances by premier companies with master classes by expert instructors. Go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa for details.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Middlesex Historical Society brings Trinity College Prof. Christopher Hager to the Russell Library’s Hubbard Room for a talk titled,  “Shock and Awe in 1862: American Writers and the Meaning of the Civil War.” This program is being held in conjunction with the Historical Society’s exhibit, “Hard & Stirring Times: Middletown and the Civil War,”  on display at the Society’s headquarters, the General Joseph Mansfield House on Main Street in Middletown. For more information, call the Historical Society 860-346-0746.

Also at the Russell Library, from Friday to Sunday, the Friends of Russell Library host their monthly Book Sale to help raise funds for library projects and services. Go to www. russelllibrary.org for details. And on Saturday at 2 at the Russell Library, former Congressman Bob Steele will discuss and sign his new novel, “The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction Of A Small New England Town.” The novel comes at a time when Connecticut’s casinos face the prospect of heavy new competition from New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and there is growing political pressure to legalize Internet gambling.

Now let’s check out cinema off the beaten track here in central Connecticut.

At Real Art Ways in Hartford, tonight through Thursday brings “Caesar Must Die,” about inmates in a Roman prison who are preparing to stage Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.  Tomorrow brings the added element of Real Board Games to the schedule; that’s at 6 p.m. Then Friday and Saturday bring “Crispin Hellion Glover Night One,” a one-hour dramatic narration of eight different illustrated books, projected behind Glover during his performance. Different slides will be shown each evening. Friday also brings a screening of “It is Fine! Everything is Fine,” a semi-autobiographical, psychosexual tale of a man with cerebral palsy fantasizing about a life in which society not only understands him, but finds him physically intimidating and sexually attractive. Then Sunday begins a five-day run of “Knife Fight,” an inside look at American politics with Rob Lowe playing a savvy strategist. Details about all events at www.realartways.com

Over at Cinestudio, Trinity College’s cinema, tonight through Wednesday brings the French drama “Rust and Bone,” about a marine mammals trainer who suffers a terrible accident, and an inarticulate but fundamentally decent boxer struggling to raise his young son. Thursday brings the Oscar-nominated “How to Survive a Plague” to Cinestudio for one showing. It’s a documentary set during the 1980s AIDS crisis in New York City. Then Friday and Saturday, it’s Life of Pi, winner of the Oscar for best director, original score, cinematography and visual effects. Sunday begins a three-day run of “John Dies at the End,” with Paul Giamatti. It’s described as “deeply amusing, in the sickest possible way.” Details at www.cinestudio.org.

Now let's look at what's on tap here at WESU tonight.

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 fans.

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 6:30-8pm, Bill Revill's Acoustic blender fill in for Johnny Analog's Life is a Killer .

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.

From 9:30-11pm, it’s The Attention Deficit Disk Jockey with Lee, the music of yesterday’s future, today.

Then from 11pm-12am, it’s A Hate Supreem with DJ AWOL, a mostly jazz and metal show.

 From midnight to 1 a.m., it’s Maelstrom of the Weird with Phil Void, surveying punk in all its innovation and abrasion.

That’s followed by Live From The Paris Hotel with The Sparrow, a  mercurial mixture of pop music and poetry.

From 2 to 3 a.m., catch Explorers’ Hour with Pickup Sticks, followed from  3 to 4 by 88 Keys with Mads, playing tracks hand-picked for their captivating piano features.

And then the BBC World News Service kicks on at 4AM followed at 5 by 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 sound bed for Today's Jive at Five is from the MiddletownRemix project, 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 learn more online at www.middletownnremix.org

Now stay tuned for Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry.