T his week in New Haven has us seeing double: two pie contests, a double-feature bundling 20+ local short films, a couple strong jazz shows and several pairs of deep soulful canine eyes looking for someone to take them home.
Monday, July 28
Chenot and David Keith, the sister/brother members of dancey electro pop/trip hop duo Mission Zero—ring a bell?—are back in town following two weeks of touring between Maine and Virginia. Starting at 6:30, outside the Mitchell branch of the NHFPL (37 Harrison St, New Haven), they’re performing at the second installment of the five-week Beecher Park Summer Concert Series and Hi-Fi Pie Fest, which also stars “savory” pies laid out on tables (to enter the contest, bring two same-flavor home-baked pies; to taste them, bring spare cash for buying slices) and sweet Lil’ NoRA cupcakes from the baking company’s shiny black truck. Free to attend.
Tuesday, July 29
23 1/2 hours later, it’s a different get-up-and-dance situation during the final show in the 2014 Woodbridge Summer Concert Series. Shaded Soul—a “high-energy dance band performing R&B, Motown, rock, swing and soul music”—sets up in the shade of the gazebo on the town green (4 Meetinghouse La, Woodbridge). Free.
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Wednesday, July 30
The New Haven chapter of the national 48-Hour Film Project had 25 teams of movie makers running all around the city this past weekend. The challenge? To make a short film in just two days, with plenty of curveballs thrown in. First, each team has to make their film in a different genre, which isn’t known until the 48-hour period commences. Also unknown until then are the second, third and fourth curveballs: a line of dialogue (this year’s is, “You’ve got to do it.”), a prop (ice cream) and a character (a plastic surgeon, first name Charles or Carla, last name Hollandaise), which each team must work into its film. Tonight at Criterion Cinemas (86 Temple St, New Haven; 203-498-2500), the fruits of this wild endeavor get premiered on the big screen, with one group of filmmakers showing at 7 p.m. and the other showing at 9:30. Tickets—which you can purchase here—are $11 for one, or $20 for both.
Thursday, July 31
Before the Arts Council of Greater New Haven rekindled its ArtSpot! happy hours this past spring, New Haven had made roughly six revolutions around the sun without one. We aren’t having to wait nearly that long for the next gathering, which happens tonight at the Yale University Visitor Center (149 Elm St, New Haven) from 5:30 to 7:30. An acoustic set featuring the lilting “garage-folk,” “stoner soul” stylings of Sam Perduta, singer/guitarist of local band Elison Jackson, provides the soundtrack with special guest Daniel Eugene. To access the artsy hobnobbing, the entertainment and the “two free drinks and refreshments” that get bundled in, tickets are $15, with Arts Council members earning a special $10 rate.
Jazz Haven’s 2014 Jazz Week is set for mid- to late August, but things are already getting started, with two Jazz Haven-sponsored shows this week. The first, starting at 6 p.m. tonight, is intimate and elevated—literally, since it’s taking place on the rooftop of Briq (266 College St, New Haven)—and features guitarist Glenn Roth. The event honors Jeff Fuller, who gets the group’s Unsung Heroes award for his “commitment, dedication and contributions” to the local jazz scene. RSVP by emailing [email protected]. The second event is big and ground-level—a free concert on the green this Saturday, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra Jazz Sextet opening at 6 p.m. and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet headlining at 7:30.
Friday, August 1
It’s baaaack. Last year, Pie On9’s all-you-can-eat pie contest and block party attracted 86 pies from home bakers vying to see who would take the cake. During tonight’s sequel at Orange and Crown Streets, awards go to the prettiest and the tastiest (with fruit and savory kinds judged separately, and with additional awards for the pie that makes the best use of state-grown ingredients and the best pie made by a baker under the age of 15). There’s also a cash bar from 116 Crown, ice cream from Ashley’s and music from DJ TootSkee. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children aged 6 to 12, or free if you bake a pie. Register to attend the 6 p.m. event here; proceeds, by the way, benefit CitySeed’s Food Stamp Double Value program.
Saturday, August 2
When it comes to animals, Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter implores us to “adopt, don’t shop.” Find out why, plus enjoy the company of some attention-deserving doggies, during a pet adoption event today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Broadway Island, near the corner of York Street and Broadway. It’s okay to bring your dog as well; in fact, according to host The Shops at Yale, there’ll be “free dog treats for your four-legged friend.”
The instant Wes Anderson classic The Grand Budapest Hotel (screen-capped above) gets a couple of airings tonight at a venue befitting its quirky grandeur. Lyric Hall is the place, 7 and 9:15 are the showtimes and $10 is the price of a ticket. 827 Whalley Ave, New Haven; (203) 389-8885.
Sunday, August 3
Yale Summer Cabaret’s 40th-anniversary season continues with Will Eno’s Middletown, which it says “contemplates the big questions of existence, reflecting on birth, death and the messy middle in-between.” The play features characters named by their occupations—Mechanic, Librarian, Cop, Female Doctor—who thankfully defy the tropes we’re so used to seeing associated with those professions. Directed by Luke Harlan, the show’s run opened last Thursday and continues through Sunday, August 10, with tonight’s show starting at 7 p.m. 217 Park St, New Haven; (203) 432-1566. $25, or $20 for Yale faculty/staff and $15 for students.
Written by Dan Mims. Image is a still from the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel.
