11-30-15 Jive

Good evening, it's Monday, November 30th, and this is the Jive at Five, our daily community calendar and rundown of night time programming here on WESU 88.1 FM 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 joining us! 

I'm Maria Johnson, producer and host of "Reasonably Catholic: Keeping the Faith," which airs every first, third and fifth Tuesday, from 4 to right before the Jive at Five. Tomorrow: we shine a spotlight on "Spotlight," the gripping new film about the Boston Globe's investigation into the sexual abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. We'll hear from the executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, as well as from Commonweal film critic Richard Alleva. Can't listen live? Find the audio archived at wesufm.org or at www.reasonablycatholic.com.

I also want to mention that we hope you’ll take your relationship with WESU one step further by supporting our Fall 2015 community pledge drive. WESU depends on listener support for over a third of our annual budget and we our listeners to do their part to keep this community station on air! We’ve hit the halfway mark but we still need over $9,000 in community support to meet our needs. Donate online at www.wesufm.org/pledge

I'd also like to mention that anyone who gives any amount to WESU's pledge drive and references "Reasonably Catholic" can choose from a list of Catholic-themed books that I've posted at www.reasonablycatholic.com and that I'll send to you with my thanks. Okay! Now here's some of what’s happening in our area this week:

In New Haven tonight at 8pm, Manic Productions & Cafe 9 present a night of loud rock with THE 4-ON-THE-FLOOR. Death Black Birds and Mike June open the show. On Tuesday, HELLRAZOR VERY FRESH, LEA, and WITCH HAIR play at The Nine.  Wednesday you can catch a COMEDY OPEN MIC HOSTED BY DAN RICE at Café Nine. On Thursday it's Americana and punk folks with Kingsley Flood and Goodnight Blue Moon. Friday's early show features Tom Hearn at 5 pm.  You can also catch Café Nine’s First Friday Artist in Residence Series with Photographer Kathleen Cei’s photos of local bands and other compelling characters, taken with a totally old-school, fully-manual Nikon FM2 film camera. Later Friday night, PORTS OF SPAIN Holy Tunics, Dead Painters, Procedure Club, and Dan Soto and The High Doses take the Café Nine Stage. Saturday’s weekly Jazz Jam Session is with Mike Coppola & Friends. Saturday night brings The Night of The Living Banjo at Café Nine An evening of banjo-powered music from singer-songwriters, old-timesters, bluegrassers & innovators. Hosted by Lys Guillorn and Elisa Flynn with special guests  Paul Belbusti of Mercy Choir, Chica Non Grata, Dangbats, Elisa Flynn, Julia Friend, Dave Hogan, Bret Logan, No Line North, The Sawtelles, Shaka's Root Hog Duo, Brian Slattery, Them Damn Hamiltons, +more. Sunday night there’s a Blues Open Mic with OFF THE TRAX.  www.cafenine.com 

At Toad’s Place in New Haven, tonight you can catch a Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & friends. Thursday night Heavy Duty Rapper, DMX takes the Toad’s stage. Friday night, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic return to Toad’s Place toadsplace.com

Up in Hartford, Black-eyed Sally’s continues it’s the usual Jazz Mondays series at 8 pm. On Tuesday at 8 pm, Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra works out new material. This Wednesday Sally’s weekly Blues Jam features Ed Bradley.  Friday night The Sauce Boss returns to Black-Eyed Sally’s for a night of blues, gumbo, slide guitar, and hot sauce!  Saturday night  Poppa Chubby brings his classic blues rock to Sally’s.  blackeyedsallys.com

Tonight, at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, you can catch their weekly Moments of Gratitude meditation at 7:45. That’s followed by their weekly Anything Goes Open Mic. Signups are at 7:30pm. Tomorrow and Every first Tuesday of the month, The /Buttonwood hosts Laughter Yoga at 6 pm followed by a 7pm Vegetarian Potluck. This Thursday (and Every First Thursday), Bob Gotta hosts his long running acoustic open mic at the Buttonwood.  Friday night, Jazz composer Vince Guaraldi’s timeless themes from Charlie Brown’s Christmas will be played by The Eric Mintel Quartet on the Buttonwood Stage.  Saturday mornings at the Buttonwood Tree bring the Aligned with Source meditation workshops. This Saturday night Connecticut’s own Darren Sechrist brings together some of New England’s top comics for a night of comedy at the Buttonwood Tree featuring: David Hintz, Jess Miller, Matt Walley & Paul Gregory. Throughout December at The Buttonwood Tree, Artists for World Peace  presents  the exhibition "ART for LIFE" featuring photographs of Tanzania and Uganda by Claudia Paul and Lonzo Lowery,as well as paintings by Lorelei Chang and Kamar Thomas. buttonwood.org

Also tonight here in Middletown, Resonant Motion, Inc. and the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Wesleyan University present an evening of discussion and performance of the music of jazz innovators Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus. In conjunction with the GLS course "The Cutting Edge of Jazz," Noah Baerman's trio will demonstrate elements of and field questions about the m  usic of these two important artists. Then they will play a full set of Monk and Mingus compositions. A reception will follow. Location: Russell House, 350 High Street www.arts2go.org

Manic Productions brings several shows to area venues this week, including Tom Hamilton's American Babies and The Backyard Committee at Bar in New Haven Wednesday night.  Manic Presents San Fermin and Sam Amidon at the Ballroom at the Outer Space in Hamden Thursday night. Sunday night Manic presents Brandi Carlile at College Street Music Hall in New Haven.  manicproductions.org

The Middletown Scottish Country Dancers meet every Wednesday at First Church on Court St. You can also catch Their Holly Fair This Saturday.  Call 860-347-0278 for details.

At Infinity Hall Hartford this Thursday night you can catch HBO Live: An Evening with Richard Plepler, the CEO of HBO. Javier Colon takes the Infinity Hall Stage in Hartford Friday night.Saturday night brings an opportunity to check out Neko Case with Special Guest Natalie Tuttle.  Details at infinityhall.com

Thursday night here in Middletown, Mac 650 gallery presents an Opening Reception for their new gallery show, The Back Alleys of Paradise - Horrifically Beautiful works by Tab Hujar inspired by the Tim Burton classic "Nightmare Before Christmas" movie with  Music by Lizzienrose  www.mac650.com/ for info 

The Middletown Symphonic Band will be performing a holiday concert on Friday, at 7:00 PM at Westbrook High School - Admission is free. www.middletownsymphonicband.org for details.

On Saturdays, the Middlesex Community College Department of Arts presents a series of Art Therapy workshops in Snow Hall at 2 pm. www.arts2go.org

This Saturday from 10:00am - noon at Wesleyan University’s Russell House, you can check out the panel event Indigenous Middletown: Settler Colonial and Wangunk Tribal Histor y featuring historians, educators,  and activists. This event is Free and open to the community ~ all are welcome! For more information, contact J. Kehaulani Kauanui 860-685-3768 or email: jkauanui@wesleyan.edu

Also on Saturday here in Middletown, The Artists for World Peace holiday open house happens at The DeKoven House on Washington Street. You are invited to see what AFWP has accomplished this year and what is upcoming. artistsforworldpeace.org/

Middletown’s holiday on main street 2015 activities continue on Saturday. Complete details and added activities are published online at holidayonmain.com

Middletown's new Poet Laureate Susan Allison will read poems old and new on Sunday, December 6th, 2015 at the Hubbard Room of the Russell Library. She will be available to sign copies of her book, “Down by the Riverside Ways”. www.rrusselllibrary.org  

Here’s what’s happening at The Wesleyan University Center for the Arts this week: Wednesday night, The Chinese Music Ensemble presents traditional and contemporary repertoire under the direction of graduate music student Joy Lu at The World Music Hall.

Also on Wednesday the CFA presents Winter Songs: Koliada and Music from the Carpathian Mountains at 8:00pm in The Memorial Chapel  featuring five male singers from the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine, singing traditional winter, accompanied by trio) of instrumentalists, and special guests including bandurist Julian Kytasty, members of Hartford's Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble, and Wesleyan’s own a cappella group Slavei. 

Thursday night Violinist, composer, educator, and technologist Todd Reynolds will perform music written for him by R. Luke DuBois, Assistant Professor of Music Paula Matthusen, and Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lang, augmented and amplified by the live, performance-responsive video art of Mr. DuBois. at The CFA Hall, this is a Free event!

Friday night brings the Annual West African drumming and dance concert. This year the West African Drumming and Dance Concert takes on special significance, as master drummer and Adjunct Professor of Music Abraham Adzenyah celebrates his final performance with his students. Mr. Adzenyah is retiring in December after 45 years of sharing the vibrancy of West African music with generations of Wesleyan students.

Saturday evening The Wesleyan University Orchestra and Concert Choir present a selection of popular holiday classics under the direction of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina. In Crowell Concert Hall. This event is Free and open to the public!

Also on Saturday night at Wesleyan, you can Experience the culture of Java with beginning students of the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble. The concert will include a prelude by the Wesleyan Youth Gamelan Ensemble. This event is free  and open to the public and happens at The World Music Hall. Free!

Wesleyan’s "Introduction to Dance" and beginning dance students will perform works of various styles, including Bharata Natyam at Crowell Concert Hall Sunday afternoon at 2. More information at wesleyan.edu/cfa    

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

Up in Hartford at Real Art Ways, on Tuesday it's Marshland, a film about a small town in 1980 Spain targeted by serial killer. Showings run through Thursday. With a brand-new reel of over 100 videos, The Internet Cat Video Festival screens Friday through Sunday. Tomorrow/Tuesday, you can catch Theeb, a coming of age movie about a young boy in the Ottoman empire d uring World War I as he guides a British officer across the Arabian desert. Theeb  runs through Thursday. Blow-out, a 1981 film about a sound recordist who accidentally catches a murder on tape, has a single showing Wednesday. Later in the week, from Friday to Sunday, The Wonders and Heart of a Dog show play in the theater. More info at www.realartways.org

Trinity College’s Cinestudio ends its run of Finders Keepers, a kickstarter-funded documentary about a custody battle for a mummified leg,  Tomorrow/Tuesday. Beyond Measure plays Wednesday and Steve Jobs starring Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet runs Thursday through Saturday. Starting Sunday, 99 Homes opens, a movie starring Andrew Garfield about a recently evicted construction worker who falls into criminal work with a real estate shark. Details and show times at cinestudio.org.

Now here's what's on the air tonight on WESU:  

Right after the Jive, stay tuned for an hour of Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry.

From 6-6:30 its The Production Report with Kiley and Allis for a 30 minute rundown of entertainment industry news,  reviews, interviews and predictions.

Then at 6:30-8, it’s 75% Folk with Michael Benson, offering contemporary folk along with a mix of blues, jazz, world music and movie soundtracks. 

From 8 to 9:30 p.m. it’s Rumpus Room with Lord Lewis, with the best in vintage and contemporary heavy funk, soul, club jazz, reggae, afro and Latin dance floor grooves.

Then stay tuned for an hour of Scandinavian Sounds with DJ Northern Lights, bringing you music from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland, and showcasing Eurovision artists, folk, and genres in-between.

From 10:30-11 it’s Romancipation with Dr. Love and DJ Smooth, where you can hear advice on dating, love, and all of the above.  

From 11 to midnight it’s Sleep Paralysis with Erin and Ethan, who chat about dreams, float on sounds, and poke around in the subconscious.

At Midnight catch Your Turn with Rachel Day, where a different guest each week will chronologically share songs that were fundamental in shaping who they are. 

Next up at 1 a.m. it’s an hour of Word on the Hill with DJ Breej, providing a platform for silenced minorities on campus to discuss a specific struggle and how it relates them to Wesleyan and beyond.

From 2 to 3 a.m. stay up for Fear Factor with DJ Korean Queen for a radio show about fears, phobias, and music!

From 3 to 4 a.m. it’s Maximum Rock and Roll for a late night dose of loud rock and roll!

BBC World news comes your way from at 4 and we begin tomorrow’s broadcast day with Morning Edition from NPR at 5am.

That’s all for today’s Jive At Five. If you missed anything, you can find the script online at wesufm.org/jive. And tune in each and every weekday at 4:55 p.m. to hear about what’s going on in the community and on the air right here at WESU 88.1 FM, a community service of Wesleyan University since 1939.

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 help us meet our goal and end this pledge drive as early as possible with your donation online at wesufm.org.  Thanks so much - Now stay tuned for Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry (and if you like his show, let us know by making a donation!)