Monday, February 29, 2016

2-29-16 Jive

Good evening, it's Monday, February 29th. This is the leap year edition of the Jive at Five, our daily community calendar and rundown of nighttime programming, here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown. By day, WESU offers a diverse program of NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs. Each night and weekend WESU offers the best in free-form community programming. That noise you hear in the background is the sound of your donations at work: we're having asbestos removed from the station. Music to our ears!

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: with last night's Oscar telecast still resonating, we bring you a chat with one of those documentary filmmakers whom Louis C.K. pointed out do such good work for peanuts. Rebecca Parrish, Wesleyan class of '06, produced the documentary film Radical Grace, about how three American nuns dealt with a Vatican inquisition and crackdown. Can't listen live? Find the audio archived at wesufm.org and www.reasonablycatholic.com.

Now here's a rundown of what's happening in our area this week: Here in Middletown, at the Buttonwood Tree, Monday nights you can participate in their weekly Anything Goes Open Mic and Moments of Gratitude meditation. March 1st, this Tuesday, Laugher Yoga + Vegetarian Potluck and a coloring event for adults, Color Me Calm. This Thursday, it’s the Acoustic Open Mic with Bob Gotta. Friday evening you can catch saxophonist Charles Neville and bassist Avery Sharpe for an evening of live jazz. On Saturday, it’s the morning class of Transitional Tai Chi followed by the Aligned with Source mediation, this week guided by Annaita Gandhy. Saturday afternoon at the Buttonwood features the Woman Scream International Poetry and Arts Festival and Saturday evening, blues and folk band Peregrine Road takes the stage. Sunday rounds out the week with the Great Make Believe Society Improv Show. www.buttonwood.org

Down in New Haven, at Café Nine, tonight it’s the Leap Year Lounge! hosting Jazz with Kevin St. James. Tomorrow (Tuesday) features New Haven alternative R&B artist Moonchild. Wednesday brings blues artists, Gina Sicilia. On Thursday, it’s The Jaws, This Criminal Soul and The Clams take the stage. Friday afternoon, you can catch the Weekly Wind Down Happy Hour with Paul Panamarenko. Manic Productions and Café Nine’s  present Go!zilla and The Roaring 420’s on Friday evening. The weekly Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam Session is with Mike Coppola and Friends. Saturday evening it’s New Haven’s longest running side show Circus Delecti at Café Nine. The Sunday matinee features the Sarah Borges Band the Sunday evening  Open Jam Session! this week is with Off the Trax. www.cafenine.com 

Also in New Haven, at Toad’s Place, tonight and every Monday you can catch a Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & Friends. On Thursday DMX performs and on Friday you can catch the Cosmic Dust Bunnies. www.toadsplace.com

This Wednesday, Manic Productions in New Haven present garage-pop, surf-rock, punk band Jacques Le Coque with Worn Leather and Lea at BAR. www.manicproductions.org

Up in Hartford at Black-Eyed Sally’s, tonight’s Jazz Monday’s the Jonathan Barber Trio. Tomorrow (Tuesday) Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra gets funky and works out new material. Thursday evening, it’s the first night of Strange Creek “Battle of the Bands”. This event runs for the next four Thursday’s. Funk/jam band Phonosythesis takes the stage at Black-Eyed Sally’s this Friday. On Saturday it’s the first New England blues Guitar Summit showcasing a variety of top, world class Electric Blues Guitarists. www.blackeyedsallys.com

This month, Real Art Ways hosts the 5th CT Printmakers Invitational exhibition, Multiple Impressions featuring 23 artists who use a variety of printmaking processes. Also open this month, is the exhibition, Keleti Station. Artist Alina Gallo has painted a life-sized egg tempera mural directly on the walls of Real Art Ways depicting a train station in Budapest where thousands of Syrian and Afghan refugees were stranded in route to Germany during 2015. The mural is open through April.

This Tuesday, Russell Library here in Middletown hosts several workshops. In the morning you can practice interview skills with Bob Carlson and in the evening Dr. Helen Evard, producer/host of “Your Mind Matters” presents a Career Workshop on Depression and Unemployment. Also tomorrow (Tuesday), there will be a Foreclosure Prevention Clinic. On Wednesday, you can catch the Teen Advisory Council. The Great Reads Book Discussion with Hedda Kopf also meets Wednesday. This and every Thursday, The Job Group meets mornings for a chance to network with other job seekers and professionals and the Veteran's Writing Group meets in the evening. Also this Thursday you can catch and Irish Step Dancing Workshop. Saturday will host a Resume Review session and a Hula Hoop Fitness class in the morning. www.russelllibrary.org

The Middletown Scottish Country Dancers meet every Wednesday at First Church on Court St. Call 860-347-0278 for details.

On Friday, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the MAC650 Gallery on Main Street in Middletown, there will be an opening reception for  "Local Color: Seven Female Artists," an art exhibit to mark the 18th birthday of Durham artist Cas White-Ryan. The other artists are: Jan Wenzel, Marjee Wolfgang, Karen White, Linda DaSilva, Anastasia Andrews and WESU's own "Reasonably Catholic" host Maria Johnson. Details at www.arts2go.org.

On Tuesday, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts hosts The Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble for a live-electronic music show. On Wednesday, the Anchiskhati Church Choir present a concert of sacred music from the Republic of Georgia. This Saturday and Sunday, is the versatile DanceMasters Weekend featuring an array of Master Classes and Choreographer Conversations by dancers of varied backgrounds. 
www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

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

Up in Hartford at Real Art Ways, you can catch the 2016 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts and Rams, winner at the Cannes Film Festival about two estranged brothers in Iceland reuniting to save the family sheep. Showings through Thursday. www.realartways.org 

Tonight and Tuesday Trinity College’s Cinestudio is showing Black Orpheus (35mm), winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1959. Starting Wednesday, it’s a showing of the stop-motion animation film Anomalisa, directed by Charlie Kaufman. Anomalisa runs through the week. On Thursday, the National Theater Live perform Hangmen. www.cinestudio.org

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

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

From 6-6:30pm stick around for Brass Tacks with Emmet Teran and Alec Shea presenting news stories from around the world through interviews with experts and newsmakers on topics not covered elsewhere.

From 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.

At 8pm, Lord Lewis hosts Rumpus Room, the best in vintage and contemporary heavy funk, soul, club, jazz, reggae, ska, afro and Latin dance floor grooves.

From 9:30-10:30pm, Scandinavian Sounds with DJ Northern Lights discovers music old and new from a variety of genres -Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.

At 10:30, Romancipation with Dr. Love and DJ Smooth who offer advice on dating and love. You can submit questions to the experts at www.romancipation.org 

Sleep Paralysis is on from 11-midnight with Erin and Ethan, chatting about dreams, floating on sounds, and poking around in the subconscious.

From 12-1am, it's Your Turn with Rachel Day featuring a new guest each week.

1-2am features Third Waves with Georgia O'Queef and Madam Ovary, a show of eclectic music by queer and female artists, quirky commentary and a critical look at women in the world's news.

From 2-4am it's The Witching Hour with DJ Hex Girl and DJ Tanner playing an eerie, dark and brooding mix of shoegaze, 80's Goth rock, lo-fi music and chatting about occult topics.

BBC World news comes your way at 4 and then 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.

Now stay tuned for Afternoon Jazz with Charles Henry.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Friday's Jive 02-26-16

Good evening, it's Friday, February 26th and 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, your station for NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs by day and the best in free-form community programming week nights and weekends. I'm Stephan Allison, host of River Valley Rhythms heard Thursdays at 4 pm here at WESU. Thanks for tuning in.
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Now, here’s a rundown of some of what’s scheduled in the community this weekend.

Here in Middletown, at The Buttonwood Tree tonight, Switch Factory takes the stage for musical improvisation and down-home vocal harmonies. On Saturday, you can catch a new class of Transitional Tai Chi, in the morning and the weekly Aligned with Source guided meditation workshop right after. The Jolly Beggars bring a blend of Celtic folk music and storytelling to the Buttonwood Saturday evening. 
Visit buttonwood.org

Tonight New Haven's Café Nine offers Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen for soulful and funky pop tunes. The weekly Saturday afternoon Jazz Jam Session is with the George Baker Band and Saturday night Manic Production and Café Nine present Greyhounds with Tracy Jo and the Toads. The Sunday matinee features Snake Hill Blues playing a wide range of blues standards with a rock edge while Sunday evening showcases Drag Bingo with Robin Banks. cafenine.com has the details. 

Also tonight at New Haven's Toad’s Place, you'll find the Bright Night Winterfest 2 where Ragepak, Daps, DJ I95, Gringo Loco and Jorce perform. Also this evening, Afton Present the Get Your Bread University, Interstate Underground, Lawnchair Pilots, Madman, Savage Panda and Yesteryear. Learn more at toadsplace.com

Saturday night Pacific Standard Tavern in New Haven hosts the bands Consider the Source, Mushroom Cloud, & Polluter in a night of Middle Eastern scales, psychedelics jams & hard rocking rhythm. Learn more at pacificstandardtavern.com

At Hartford's Black-Eyed Sally’s tonight you can catch the traditional blues and progressive blues-rock of the Nick Moss Band originating form Chicago. Saturday evening, it’s Henricks plays Hendrix, a musical homage to Jimi Hendrix. 

The 5th Connecticut Printmakers Invitational exhibition, Multiple Impressions continues showcasing various fine artists and designers in Hartford. Artist Alina Gallo has painted a life-sized egg tempera mural directly on the walls of Real Art Ways depicting a train station in Budapest where thousands of Syrian and Afghani refugees were stranded in route to Germany during 2015. The mural is open through April. Visit realartways.org

On Saturday The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, or The Kate, has Broadway star and Tony-winner Betty Buckley in concert. The Kate’s annual red-carpet Oscar Party is Sunday evening. Visit katharinehepburntheater.org

Tonight Wesleyan University Center for the Arts presents, Tales from a Small New England Town by performance artist Yan Xing in connection with the exhibition We Chat: A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art. This Saturday is a panel discussion, China’s Youth: Another Cultural Revolution Special. Also this Saturday it’s the Orchestra Children’s Concert and Musical Petting Zoo. And rounding out the weekend, This is It! The Complete Piano Works of Neely Bruce Part VIII is being performed by the composer Sunday afternoon. wesleyan.edu/cfa has details.

At Russell Library here in Middletown, Saturday they offer Says Who: A Steven Liskow Writing Workshop on character creation and screenwriting techniques. The last week of Tai Chi lessons is this Saturday and on Sunday, the Hip Hop Culture Slam comes to Russell Library. russelllibrary.org has your details.

This Sunday at the Cypress Restaurant in Middletown, is the release party for Eric Kuhn's new album Politics and the kickoff of Eric's campaign for the presidency. The album is a satiric romp through American politics from 1776 up to today, focusing on the Obama years. 

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

Up in Hartford at Real Art Ways, you can catch Oscar nominated Live Action Shorts tonight through Thursday and Animated Shorts Saturday and Sunday. The film Rams, a winner at the Cannes Film Festival about two estranged brothers in Iceland reuniting to save the family sheep opens tonight and runs through Thursday. Details at realartways.org 

Trinity College’s Cinestudio is showing Joy! through Saturday. National Theater Live in HD performing Shakespeare’s comedy, As You Like It is on Sunday and the provocative 1959 film by Marcel Camus, Black Orpheus begins a run. cinestudio.org provides details.

For the latest in local arts and entertainment anytime you're not hearing it on our Jive, go to arts2GO.org – the City’s website for what’s going on and what’s to do with a highlight on the arts in Middletown. That's arts2GO.org
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And now let’s take a look at tonight’s programming on WESU and to be safe, it's best to check the WESU website for the up-to-date schedule.

Right after the Jive At Five from 5:05-6 pm, it'll be Wild Wild Live with Ethan and Rachel. A sneak peek into the magical live music scene of Wes. Tune in for in-station sets from campus bands and recordings of up-and-coming artists' campus shows.

From 6 to 6:30pm it's Progress for the Planet w/Eric Hagen. Environmental news with a pro-green stance, including some environmentalist music from a variety of genres.
          
From 6:30-7pm it's the Middletown Youth Radio Project. A weekly radio program featuring the thoughts, voices, creativity and talent of the kids in the WESU neighborhood.

At 7 until 8:30pm we have the Universal Sound Wave with Sistah Tee - offering listeners a wide range of music including African, reggae, gospel, R&B, Latin, and blues. Plus health, nutrition, and stress reduction tips.

Next up until 10pm, we take it From the Otherside with Rok-A-Dee where 60% of the show is love songs of different genre and the others Reggae Dancehall, R&B, and new artiste.    
                                                        
Then from 10 to 11pm it's People, Places and Things with jackalope. Each week brings a new theme, each theme brings an exciting smorgasbord of songs relating to it.

That's followed until Midnight by Easy List-ening with DJ Rebag whose lists, particularly at their most strange and offbeat, can be some of the best ways to organize countless songs. He tackles something new each week.

At Midnight until 3am Saturday we go into OVERDRIVE w/Clarence & Shantay Scott - offering Urban Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Traditional gospel music.

And then, from 3 until 5am you are taken to Wonderland with DJ Cheshire Cat, who has
a song in his heart, a chemical imbalance in his head and a musical library at his fingers. From krautrock to post-rock, grunge to garage, novelty to New Romantic, punk to prog, Wonderland has a place for it.

And we bring in the daylight from 5:00 to 6:00am with the 
BBC World News 
- a daily News roundup from the British Broadcasting Corporation

And staying on the other side of the big pond, from 6:00 to 7:00am it’s
 the Celtic Café
 with Pat Laffan and Mark Gallagher presenting traditional and contemporary music with a Celtic connection.

And now that the coffee’s hot enjoy Caffé Italia from 7:00 to 8:00am, serving up a slice of Italy every Saturday morning. You don't have to speak Italian to taste it: just relax, listen, and enjoy!

That’s all for today’s Jive At Five, tune in each and every weekday at 4:55 pm to hear about what’s going on in the community and on the air right here at 88.1 FM WESU, a community service of Wesleyan University since 1939.

The Music behind today’s Jive At Five is the title track from Talking Drums' Some Day Catch Some Day Down, re-issued and re-mastered as a cd on the innova label in 2011. The original vinyl was released in 1987.

The written form for what you've heard on today’s jive is 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? You can make that donation online at wesufm.org anytime. Thanks for listening!