12-2-13 Jive

Good evening! It’s Monday, Dec. 2nd, and this is the Jive at Five – our 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 weeknights and weekends.  I'm Maria Johnson, producer and host of "Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith," which airs every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesday afternoon, from 4 to right before the Jive at Five. Tomorrow: A chat with the author of Is the Pope Catholic: A Journey Through the Strange World of Radical Traditionalism. And we do mean strange: self-appointed popes, people who claim to speak for the Virgin Mary about current events, anti-Semites who think they’ve got the truth. Mel Gibson was one of these characters, but he looks almost normal by comparison. Find the audio at www.reasonablycatholic.com.

Now for our rundown of some of what’s happening in our area this week.

Here in Middletown, at the Buttonwood Tree, tonight is the Anything Goes open mic night. Tomorrow at 6 p.m. is laughter yoga with Mimi Claire, complete with a vegetarian potluck. Wednesday evening at 7:30, it’s Kirtan, a musical form of yoga, with Shubalananda. Thursday at 7 p.m., it’s open mic night with Bob Gotta. Friday at 8, it’s Nor’easter Noel Songwriter Sessions at the Buttonwood, a stellar cast of emerging songwriters from the Northeast celebrating the season with original holiday songs as well as classics. Featured performers will be Lara Herscovitch, Lisa Martin, Marc Douglas Berardo and duo Michelle Rubin and Rick Gedney of Open Book. Saturday morning, it’s Qigong (Chi Kung), Tai Chi, community yoga and an empowerment workshop. From 1 to 4 on Saturday, it’s the Free Poets Collective. That’s followed at 8 by trumpeter and vocalist Ricky Alfonso with a showcase of tight, joyful and uplifting jazz music guaranteed to please the well seasoned and casual jazz fans alike. And on Sundays, Food Not Bombs serves food outside the Buttonwood at 1 pm, as Rumpus, an invitation to express the rhythm inside you, takes place inside. All are welcome. You are also invited to help prepare the vegetarian meal beforehand at 11 am at First Church Congregational on Court Street. www.buttonwood.org

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts offers a jam-packed calendar of events this week. It starts tonight at 8 with the Ebony Singers Winter Concert, conducted by one of New England's leading authorities on gospel music, Dr. Marichal Monts,  class of '85, at Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Ave. Tomorrow at noon, the Wesleyan Chamber Music Concert is at Crowell. Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Crowell, it’s the WesWinds Fall Concert, under the direction of Sarah Bouchard Stockton. Wednesday at 7 p.m., it’s the Wesleyan Choir Fall Concert, at Memorial Chapel. Also Wednesday night, at 8 in Crowell Concert Hall, the Center for the Arts presents the Braxton Ensemble Concert. Thursday afternoon at 1:30, John Cage’s “Musicircus” will be performed at Crowell. Thursday evening at 7, the Center for the Arts presents Javanese Gamelan at World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Ave. Also on Thursday, at 9, at Crowell, the Mandé Music Ensemble presents the musical traditions of Mandé (Maninka and Bamana) peoples of western Africa, performing on guitars and ngonis (traditional lutes) under the direction of Wesleyan graduate student Samuel Dickey, class of '14. Friday evening at 7, the Center for the Arts brings West African Drumming to Crowell Concert Hall, featuring a full chorus and drumming ensemble of students in the "West African Music and Culture" courses directed by Master Drummer Abraham Adzenyah. More info is at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Tonight at 7, at the Russell Library,a group of local actors under the direction of Myron Gubitz will present Scrambled Eggs by Robin Amos Kahn and Gary Richards. This piece is a funny, poignant play about a woman re-evaluating her life at a time of crisis, revisiting her choices and the people who have influenced those choices.  Saturday afternoon at 2, at the library, a panel discussion titled, “Mental Health Matters: Living Successfully with Mental Illness,” will feature people who live with a mental health diagnosis, sharing their experiences of Hope in Recovery.  The program will include successes in moving from homelessness to independently living in the community, experiences of working in a competitive job, creating and enhancing personal and family relationships and living a life that is thriving and not just surviving. www.russelllibrary.org.

Down in New Haven at Toad’s Place, tonight brings A Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & Friends.  Friday, Shakedown plays The Dead and Beyond, along with Disable Time and Relative Souls. Also on Friday, Buku plays, as well as Big IC, Phenom, FWG, and Teratoid. Saturday brings the Original Saturday Night Dance Party to Toad’s. www.toadsplace.com.

Also in New Haven, at Café Nine, tonight is the one-year anniversary show of Chris Arnott’s Get to the Point writers’ showcase. Tomorrow, Dan Rice performs, along with Izzy Furlo, Daniel Kalwhite, Stan Mikita, Shawn Murray, and Darren Sechrist. Wednesday, Department of Jazz and Rollaway hit the Café Nine stage. Thursday, DrinkDeeply presents The Dialtones and The Royal Swindle. Friday, Sean Conlon performs. And on Saturday, Manic Productions presents The Melodic, with Vikesh Kapoor and Bird Courage. The Saturday afternoon jazz jam is with the Mike Coppola Group. Saturday night, Go Kat Go presents The Throttles and Lynette and the Longshots. Then on Sunday at 8, the Original Sunday Night Jam features the George Baker Band. www.cafenine.com.

Manic Productions brings several shows to nearby venues this week. It joins with The Needle Drop to bring King Krule and Ratking to The Space in Hamden tomorrow night. On Wednesday, Manic Productions brings Grandchildren, Snake Oil and Sway to Bar in New Haven. Thursday at the Spaceland Ballroom in Hamden, Manic Productions presents Eugene Mirman, Kurt Braunohler, and Derek Brown. And Sunday, at the Outer Space in Hamden, it’s Frontier Ruckus, with Brother Burnet. www.manicproductions.com

Up in Hartford, at Blackeyed Sally’s, tonight is Jazz Monday, with the Sean Clapis Trio. Tuesday, it’s Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra, an 18-piece band working out new material. Wednesday’s Blues Jam, one of the longest running in New England, is with Gene Donaldson. Friday brings Mixed Signals, a 5-piece rocking machine, to Sally’s. Saturday, it’s Mark Mercier & the Big Yams, an evening of swampy New Orleans funk and soul. www.blackeyedsallys.com.

Also in Hartford, at Sully’s Pub, tonight is Acoustic Open Mic Night. Tuesday features Pete Scheips. Wednesday is karaoke. Thursday is Sully’s First Thursday Comedy Series. And Friday is the Fat Guy Friday Happy Hour, after which it’s The Great Hip Hop. www.sullyspub.com

Back in Middletown, on Friday, at the new Scatz Restaurant and Jazz Lounge, 139 Main Street Ext., Middletown, Saskia Laroo performs. Saturday brings the Alvin Carter Project to Scatz. www.scatzrestaurantandlounge.com.

Now here's a rundown of cinema off the beaten track in Central Connecticut:

At Real Art Ways in Hartford, tonight, the documentary “Muscle Shoals” continues, telling the story of the unlikely breeding ground for some of the most creative music in American history. The film The Motel Life, about a pair of brothers working odd jobs, drinking hard and drifting from motel to motel, runs through Thursday. Opening Friday is Mother of George, an enlightening look at immigrant life in the Crown Heights' Yoruba community. www.realartways.com.

At Cinestudio, the Trinity College cinema in Hartford,  Wong Kar-wai’s latest film, The Grandmaster, the action packed historical look at Bruce Lee’s legendary martial arts teacher, continues through Wednesday. On Thursday, Out Film CT’s First Thursday series presents C.O.G, based on an essay by David Sedaris. Friday begins a two-day run of Rush, director Ron Howard’s take on Formula One racing. And Sunday begins a run of the 1956 French classic, Pig Across Paris, a dark comedy set in WWII Paris during the German occupation. www.cinestudio.org.

And now let’s take a look at tonight’s programming on WESU.

5:05-6pm

Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry

From classic bop to smooth contemporary sounds. A well-rounded jazz show for true jazz heads.

6-6:30pm

Feature Story News

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

6:30-8pm:  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.

8-9:30pm: Rumpus Room with Lord Lewis

The best in vintage and contemporary heavy funk, soul, club jazz, reggae, ska, afro and latin dancefloor grooves. Pure Dynamite Mojo Explosion!

9:30-11pm: The Attention Deficit Disk Jockey with Lee

The music of yesterday’s future, today.

11-12am: Declan MacManus: International Art Thief with DJ Jeffrey and DJ Moe

Each week portrays a different part of Costello's vivifying and varying musical persona.

12-1am: Maelstrom of the Weird with Phil Void

Surveying punk in all its innovation and abrasion – be it first wave, hardcore, post-punk, or noise.

1-2am: Songs Without Words with Jacob Feder

Songs Without Words offers an eclectic assortment of instrumental musics both new and old.

2-3am: Background Appreciation with Clip

A lyric-less hour: experience how much no words can say as "accompaniment" takes center stage. Featuring post-rock, electronica, and everything else.

3-4am: RootsWorld Radio with Cliff Furnald

Introducing you to music from far flung places and sometimes from right in your own backyard. www.RootsWorld.org

The BBC kicks on at 4, followed by NPR's Morning Edition at 5.

And 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 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? This is our kinder, gentler winter pledge drive. As a special incentive, all donations received today will be entered to receive tickets to the MGMT concert at the Oakdale Theater next Friday! 

Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for Charles Henry.