T he marching orders are pretty tight this week, between heady exhibits and technical concerts. Or they’re pretty loose, between a weeklong farce and a freaky Friday. Or they’re both, during an annual parade that walks the line between regimentation and revelry.
Monday, March 7
With the Yale Center for British Art closed for renovation, YCBA staffers are keeping calm and carrying on. The latest example is in the Memorabilia Room of Sterling Memorial Library (120 High St, New Haven; 203-432-1775), where YCBA assistant librarian Beth Morris has curated an exhibit opening today. Moving Earth: ‘Capability’ Brown, Humphry Repton and the Creation of the English Landscape, it’s called, and it “explores the creation of the English Landscape through the advent of landscape gardening and the pioneering work of Capability Brown and Humphry Repton.” Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., through June 3.
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Tuesday, March 8
Today through Saturday at 8 p.m.—also, Sunday at 2 p.m.—Southern Connecticut State’s Crescent Players present An Absolute Turkey, an adaptation of French farce master Georges Feydeau’s Le Dindon. Directed by Chris Mirto, the Players’ teaser goes like this: “Slamming doors, stolen kisses, lots of accents and quick exits! A new twist on a classic French sex farce where everyone wants it…but will anyone get it?” $10.
Wednesday, March 9
Music isn’t the only art form the Yale Institute of Sacred Music cares about. Starting today, group exhibit Between Clock and Bed—inspired by Edward Munch’s painting Self-Portrait: Between the Clock and the Bed, in which “the artist depicted himself standing between two symbols of death” (a clock and a bed)—hopes the work, from six artists, will prompt visitors to “investigate the motif of mortality through six distinct artistic explorations” and, more personally, to “consider [their] own life’s work.” The opening reception for the exhibit, which is up through the beginning of June, happens tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. at the ISM. 409 Prospect Street, New Haven. (203) 432-5180.
Thursday, March 10
“Cinematic Rock” band Earthside (pictured above) is, more specifically, New Haven-side: its Facebook page lists New Haven as its hometown, and guitarist/songwriter Jamie Van Dyck is a graduate of the Yale School of Music. Earthside’s music, meanwhile, is out of this world, delivering big, beautiful, technical, emotive stuff whose units are more like movements than songs. (Example: “Mob Mentality”.) Despite being unsigned, the band’s debut album, A Dream In Static, features collaborations with heavy hitters of heavy music like Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer of Sevendust, and was produced by David Castillo, who’s previously done work for Opeth. The album garnered a pair of North American Independent Rock Music Association (NAIRMA) Awards and gets a release show tonight at Toad’s Place (300 York St, New Haven; 203-624-8623), where the first of three opening acts gets things started at 7:20. $12, or $10 in advance.
Friday, March 11
Things get a little wobbly tonight. At 7:30, Never Ending Books (810 State St, New Haven) hosts the second “Lys Guillorn and the Mercy Choir present Wobbling Roof Revue,” an all-ages variety show featuring “short sets” by rotating artists each Friday in March. This occasion features storytelling (Chris Arnott), poetry (Karen Piconet Ponzio) and live music (Goodnight Blue Moon, La Tunda, Lys Guillorn, Oberon Rose and Brian Rose of The Tet Offensive), with proceeds from a $5 suggested donation going to the Connecticut Food Bank.
Over at Stella Blues (204 Crown St, New Haven; 203-752-9764), Boston-based band Wobblesauce offers a fascinating fusion of electronica, jam rock and ’80s FX meant to get bodies wobbling. Using synths to carry most of the melodic weight, live drums to drive things forward and live bass to flesh it all out, the $10 show officially starts at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
Bodies stiffen up and straighten out as the U.S. Navy’s Concert Band sails into Woolsey Hall for a 7 p.m. show tonight. Comprising “56 performers on flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, horn, euphonium, trombone, tuba, string bass, harp and percussion,” the band’s repertoire spans “marches, symphonic selections, patriotic works and popular favorites.” Admission is free, though only those who reserve seats in advance are guaranteed entry. 500 College Street, New Haven.
Sunday, March 13
It’s time to get wobbly again. Though many will have already begun celebrating at local bars, the 1.5-mile Greater New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade officially “steps off” at 1:30 p.m. Starting at the corner of Sherman Avenue and Chapel Street, the parade’s marching bands and classic cars and bagpipers and various cultural organizations are set to proceed down Chapel until Church Street, where they’ll hang a left and then a right onto Grove Street for one last block. Parade organizers call it “the largest single-day spectator event in the state of Connecticut,” and though it’s hard to confirm the truth of that claim, there’s no doubting that downtown New Haven gets utterly blitzed by the parade crowd, much of which is itself getting utterly blitzed.
Written by Dan Mims. Photograph, depicting the band Earthside, taken by Ian Christmann. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
