03-18-14 Jive

Good evening! It’s Tuesday, March 18th –  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 Marianne O’Hare, producer of Conversations on HealthCare. Thanks for joining us!

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

Tickets go on sale this week for a Hunger Awareness Banquet, sponsored by the ECO Club at Coginchaug Regional High School. The event will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 28. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students with i.d. Tickets are available in advance by calling 860-759-0085.

Tonight at the Buttonwood Tree on Main Street in Middletown,  at 6:15, it’s the Happiness Project meeting, followed at 7 by Laughter Yoga with Mimi Claire. Thursday evening at the Buttonwood, the Free at Last Players, a nonprofit performance troupe that advocates for the mentally ill, will perform skits, songs and poems. Friday brings John Pray & Dan Pelletier to the Buttonwood stage, performing original compositions. Saturday morning brings qui gong (chi kung), yoga and an empowerment workshop to the Buttonwood; then on Saturday evening at 7:30, it’s a One Book One Middletown Event, featuring the Zydeco music of the Bayou Brethren, and Author Rita Leganski, who wrote The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow. On Sundays, Food Not Bombs serves food outside the Buttonwood at 1 pm; all are welcome. You are also invited to help prepare the meal beforehand at 11 am at First Church Congregational on Court Street.  Details about all Buttonwood events at www.buttonwood.org .

Up in Hartford, at Blackeyed Sally’s, on Tuesday nights, Michael Palin's Other Orchestra, an 18-piece big band, works out new material. Wednesday’s weekly blues jam will be hosted by Tommy Whalen. Friday at 9, the Lustre Kings with Mark Gamsjager play rock and roll at Sally’s. Saturday, The Beehive Queen, Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez return to the Sally’s stage for a night of rock and soul. www.blackeyedsallys.com

Down in New Haven, at Café Nine, tonight you can catch The Wagon Riders, Some Such Things, and Tim Parrish. Wednesday, it’s Dane Scozzari and The Human Race, with the Dan Arcamone Trio. Thursday brings a night of Hip Hop to Café Nine, featuring Political Animals, with Fugitive 9, Mertz, Chachi, DJ Neb, and Zak G. On Friday, Go Kat Go presents The Di Maggio Connection, with The Clams. Saturday’s Jazz Jam session is with the George Baker Band, followed by the rescheduled All I’ve Got is a Photograph. Then Sunday at Café Nine, the original Sunday night jam is with The Morris Trent Band. Details at www.cafenine.com 

Also in New Haven, at Toad’s Place, it’s Drive-By Truckers, with Blitzen Trapper. Wednesday brings to Toad’s the All I Wanna Do Tour, starring T. Mills, with Mod Sun. Thursday, it’s Bass Off: the EDM DJ Battle. Friday at Toad’s, it’s the Sweet Beats EDM Party. The Slaughterhouse concert originally scheduled for Friday has been canceled; refunds will  be given. Saturday at Toad’s, it’s the Original Saturday Night Dance Party. Details at www.toadsplace.com .

Also in New Haven, at Bar this Wednesday, Manic Productions presents Wess Meets West, with Ports of Spain and Breakthrough Frequencies. www.manicproductions.com

Back in Middletown on Friday, at Scatz Restaurant and Jazz Lounge, 139 Main St. Ext., Sez Zion performs. On Saturday, it’s Rahsaan Langley. And Sunday brings Ol’ School Soulful Sundays.www.scatzrestaurantandlounge.com. That’s scatz with a z.

On Saturday morning at Middletown’s Russell Library, 123 Broad St., members of the Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society will show you how to research your Irish family history.  They will focus on starting family research and learning to use available Irish records, including online documents.  The program benefits beginners and seasoned genealogists alike.  Although this workshop is free, registration is requested.  You can find more details or reserve your place by calling the library’s Information Department at 860-347-2528, or go to www.russelllibrary.org .

Also in Middletown, on Saturday evening from 5 to 7, the second annual Passionate Waters art show will celebrate World Water Day at the MAC650 Gallery on Main Street. The event will feature a water-themed art exhibit, presentations by local legislators and water activists, music and dance performances and a water blessing ceremony. Appetizers, wine and spring water will be served, and proceeds from the $10 ticket will benefit the Connecticut River Watershed Council’s 18th annual Source to Sea Cleanup. More information can be found atwww.mac650.com/passionate-waters. You can also learn more at ctriver.org or by contacting Jacqueline Talbot atjtalbot@ctriver.org.

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

At RealArtWays in Hartford, The Great Beauty, winner of the Oscar for best foreign film has been extended through Wednesday. Also running through Wednesday is the Romanian drama Child’s Pose, about a mother’s attempt to keep her son out of jail for being implicated in a hit and run accident. Opening Friday at Real Art Ways is Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, a documentary using rare archival footage and cinema verite to chronicle the life of the 87-year-old Broadway legend. www.realartways.org has details.

Tonight, Cinestudio, the Trinity College cinema in Hartford, concludes a run of the documentary Afternoon of a Faun, featuring Tanaquil Le Clercq. It’s the true story of a dancer who’d captured the imagination of both Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, but who fell ill with polio and was unable to dance – or even walk – again. The film, in which she’s celebrated  by her friends and fellow dancers, is said to touch upon the mystery of human personality with uncommon grace. Opening Wednesday and running through Saturday at Cinestudio, it’s Her, the Spike Jonze film in which Joaquin Phoenix falls for the voice of his phone’s operating system, played by Scarlett Johansson. Opening Sunday is the Belgian film Broken Circle Breakdown, in which a woman’s idyllic life in the countryside is disrupted by her daughter’s illness. www.cinestudio.org for details.

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

Right after the jive at Five stay tuned for Explorers Hour with DJ Pickup Sticks for an hour of indie pop rock and experimental music.

At 6pm, Bill Revill is in the chair for a 2hrs of Americana roots music on Acoustic Blender Tonight, singer/songwriter/blogger Sharon Goldman is Bill's guest, live in the studio beginning at 6pm.

J-Cherry and the Strawberry’s host an hour of live local arts and entertainment from 8-9pm.

At 9pm  DJ Cheshire Cat offers presents a free form music show called, Wonderland. 

At 10:30-catch This Southbound Train with Mary Barrett for bluegrass, newgrass, and other acoustic sounds. 

At 11:30pm Young & Restless with DJ Sleepy Girl asks: You know what the Midwest is?  Plunge in dressless, young and reckless, shun the feckless.  Run and catch this dumb and fretless fun-filled funk that’s swung with less stress.  Hold your questions: only yeses. Come and get it.

At 12:30am  Theme Party with Peninz and Stormin’ Norman is a radio show centered on a specific idea, time period, region, or subgenre every week.

At  1:30 Excursions on a Wobbly Rail with DJ Shoelace, DJ Sandwich, and $pace Cadet will discuss a person/animal/phenomenon/historical event and play music tangentially related to the subject.

From 2:30-3:30 Carpe Noctem with “DJ Struggles” and “DJ Animal Ad” is where music meets the real world. The program will present a variety of music accompanied by commentary on related social affairs (both historical and contemporary).

From 3:30-4am its How We Met the Mother with Mizael Robledo features the diverse music that is background to the story of the television show, How I Met Your Mother.

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 

2014 marks 75 years of alternative music, public affairs, and community service for WESU. Look for information on special programming and events online at www.wesufm.org 

Thanks!

Now stay tuned for Explorer’s hour with Pickup Sticks!