1-6-14 Jive

Good evening! It’s Monday, Jan. 6, 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: part two of a year’s-end highlights show. Enjoy again or for the first time, an array of thought-provoking commentary on subjects you won’t hear discussed anywhere else, all of it punctuated by excerpts from Pope Francis’ favorite music!  If you can’t hear the show in real time, you can find the audio at www.reasonablycatholic.com. 

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

Up in Hartford, at Blackeyed Sally’s, tonight’s Jazz Monday featured performers are the Kris Jensen Band. Tomorrow, Michael Palin’s Other Orchestra, an 18-piece band, works out new material. Wednesday’s Blues Jam is with Brandt Taylor. Friday, the Bruce Gregori Trio takes the Sally’s stage. Saturday, it’s the Alexis P. Suter Band, playing roots, blues 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 brings Brett the One Man Band to Sully’s. And Friday is the Fat Guy Friday Happy Hour, after which it’s the Arc City Angels. Saturday brings the Jen Durkin Band with Paulie Ethnic’s Boogie Rock Boys, and Sunday it’s the Electric Open Mic. www.sullyspub.com

Down in New Haven, at Café Nine, tonight is Chris Arnott’s Get to the Point writers’ showcase. Tomorrow Manic Productions presents Potty Mouth, with Radiator Hospital and Ovlov. Wednesday, DrinkDeeply presents Long Live the King, a Tribute to Elvis. Thursday, DrinkDeeply brings Kindred Queer, with Sam Perduta. Friday’s Weekly Wind Down Happy Hour at 5 is with Buzz Gordo’s Ski Lodge. That’s followed at 9 by Sarah Borges and  Girls, Guns, and Glory. Saturday afternoon’s Jazz Jam session at 4:30 is with Gary Grippo & Friends. At 9, The Iguanas bring New Orleans roots rock to the Café Nine stage. Sunday afternoon at 4, there’ll be a free pre-release listening party for the original cast recording of The Devil Plays Poker.  That’s followed at 8 by The Original Sunday Night Jam, with the George Baker Band.  www.cafenine.com.

Also in New Haven, at Toad’s Place, tonight brings A Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence & Friends. Wednesday, it’s Against Me, with The Sidekicks and The Shondes. Thursday brings a local rock showcase to Toad’s, including Auburn Row, Breathe, Broadcast Hearts, The Cody Bondra Band, Disable Time, The Hell Catz, Mack Jovin, The Rips, The Sindicate, The Sound Junkies, Standby and Switchblade Serenade. Friday at Toad’s, it’s Riders on the Storm, a Doors tribute, with Action Potential and Annie Nirschel, Circadian Rhythm, Eightfold, INK, the Nate Moore Band, Stephen Gonza, Terra Firma and Trag. Saturday, it’s Keeping Company, with Aye-Jay, Metasine, J Crow, Dr. Ink, Scats and Ysanne & Guests. www.toadsplace.com.

Manic Productions brings several shows to nearby venues this week. On Wednesday, Free Time and the Hiya Dunes play at Bar in New Haven. Thursday, Lee Ranaldo and The Dust play The Spaceland Ballroom in Hamden.  And Friday, David Dondero and Jay Prince play The Outer Space in Hamden. www.manicproductions.com.

Back here in Middletown, on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Art Guild of Middletown invites you to a demonstration by sculptor Wendy Swain, who works in clay. Information can be found by emailing evagdykas@gmail.com.

Also in Middletown, at 8 p.m. on Friday, the Buttonwood Tree presents music by singer/songwriter Ellen Bukstel. Opening for Ellen will be an old friend of the Buttonwood,  Eric Kuhn, who has been on the Middletown music scene since the early 1980s. His most recent release is called Eden@ the Coffeehouse, and was recorded right here in Middletown at Coffeehouse Studios.  Saturday morning, it’s Qui Gong, community yoga and an empowerment workshop. At 8 p.m. Saturday, it’s Noise in the Key of Bliss  with trumpeter Saskia Laroo and pianist/vocalist Warren Byrd. www.buttonwood.org

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

At RealArtWays in Hartford, Go for Sisters, about a mother’s search for her son who went missing along the Mexican border, plays through Thursday. Also running through Thursday is Bastards, a French thriller about a man’s determination to exact revenge for the violence done to his family. Opening Friday is Bettie Page Reveals All, an intimate look at the rise, and fall, and rise again of one of the world's most recognized and controversial sex symbols. With her razor sharp wit and Tennessee twang Bettie Page emerges from decades of seclusion to reveal her secret past and narrate her life story. www.realartways.org.

At Cinestudio, the Trinity College cinema in Hartford,  tonight and tomorrow are your last chance to catch the Norwegian documentary Liv and Ingmar. In all of the love affairs between directors and their muses, few were so passionate - or resulted in so many great movies - as the one between legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Norwegian actress Liv Ullman. This new documentary traces both their stormy relationship and the art they collaborated on: twelve groundbreaking (now) classics including Persona, Cries and Whispers, and Autumn Sonata. Ullman is fearlessly honest in her conversations with director Dheeraj Akolkar, tracing their great love from passion and creativity, to Bergman’s increasing jealousy and possessiveness, and finally, to a friendship that lasted until his death. Opening Wednesday and running through Saturday is All is Lost, starring Robert Redford, alone in the ocean. Sunday at Cinestudio brings a special week-long premiere of The Great Beauty, which has been both hugely popular and sharply dividing audiences with its overarching question, Is Italy in Decline? www.cinestudio.org.

And now let’s take a look at tonight’s programming on WESU, which includes a new addition and also some pinch-hitters because Wesleyan dj's are on their winter break.

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

That's followed by World Socialist Website News.

6:30 to 8:  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!

From 9:30 to midnight, it's The Attention Deficit Disk Jockey with Lee, playing the music of yesterday’s future, today.

That’s followed by a selection of very cool music in the free form mode you’ve come to love, until, from 3 to 4 a.m., it’s RootsWorld Radio with Cliff Furnald.

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.

WESU’s winter pledge drive was a success, thanks to you. If you haven’t made your pledge of support yet, you can do so at www.wesufm.org. Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for Charles Henry.