Turn your gaze to outer space with Yale astronomy professor Michael Faison, head over to The Outer Space to catch Chrissy Gardner (pictured above) and friends, and escape winter’s last gasp with a trip to Sou
Monday, March 5
Why restrict the treasured music on your iPod for your own ears only? Lose the earbuds and share your tuneful bounty at Café Nine’s Open iPod DJ Night (250 State St., New Haven; 203-789-8281, www.cafenine.com). You’ll be allowed to program your own 15-20 minute DJ set right off of your portable listening device. We once dared a friend to play The Carpenters’ pro-extraterrestrial ditty “Calling Occupants (of Interplanetary Craft)” at one of these events, so honestly anything goes. The $5 cover charge allows you to get drinks for $1 each all night. (If you’d rather not drink or prefer to pay the regular prices, no cover charge is required.)
Tuesday, March 6
Paul McCartney & Wings sang of “Venus and Mars.” Now Mars has got some hot competition. “Venus and the Sun: Together at Last.” Michael Faison of the Yale Astronomy department will speak at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall of Leitner Observatory (355 Prospect St., New Haven) about “the rare alignment of Venus and the Sun, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.” The talk is preceded by a 6 p.m. planetarium show, and—weather permitting—followed by a telescope viewing. www.lfop.squarespace.com
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Wednesday, March 7
A toast to the great outdoors! The Trailblazer outdoor clothing store has involved one of its neighbors, the proud “American bar & grill” known as Box 63, in a “Pint Night” to benefit CitySeed, the non-profit organization which runs farmer’s markets throughout New Haven. Go to Trailblazer (296 Elm Street , New Haven; 203-865-6244) from 6:30-7 p.m. tonight and buy a $5 pint glass; you can also take part in a raffle and a gift-card giveaway at the store. From 7-9 p.m., bring the glass down the street to Box 63 (338 Elm St., New Haven; 203-821-7772), where your first beer in it will be free of charge. There are also “discounts on selected drafts.” (CitySeed, by the way, holds farmer’s markets even in wintertime: there’s one this Sunday, March 11, on the Westville side of Edgewood Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Thursday, March 8
There is no show like South Pacific to make you forget the slush and chill of early March. The national tour of the 2008 Broadway revival of the 1949 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic (based on the James Michener novel Tales of the South Pacific) comes to the Shubert this weekend, with performances Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 & 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The revival was directed by Bartlett Sher, who before his Broadway fame served as Associate Artistic Director of Hartford Stage in the 1990s and directed productions of Craig Lucas’ The Singing Forest and A Prayer for My Enemy at the Long Wharf Theatre. 247 College St. New Haven. (203) 562-5666, www.shubert.com. $15-$78.
Friday, March 9
It’s a night of expressive local solo singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarists at the Outer Space (295 Treadwell St., Hamden, www.theouterspace.net, 203-288-6400): the bluesy wails and good humor of Chrissy Gardner (originally from Chicago, now a New Haven resident who’s scored shows for the A Broken Umbrella theater troupe), the contemporary pop of Amanda Kaletsky and the karmic, contemplative community-building of Linda Bonadies. 7 p.m. $8.
Saturday, March 10
The-Dream (note the hyphen) has co-written or produced songs for Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Jesse McCartney, L.L. Cool J, Gym Class Heroes, Jamie Foxx, Ciara and Justin Bieber. That’s some range. Yet he also finds time to run a record label and maintain a lovely solo career. His Kill the Lights tour is anchored by material from The-Dream’s new album The Love IV: Diary of a Madman. It hits Toad’s Place tonight. 9:30 p.m. 300 York St., New Haven. (203) 624-TOAD, www.toadsplace.com. $25 at the door, $22 in advance.
Sunday, March 11
You can still see traces of the green lines and shamrocks painted on the streets from last year, but here comes the the annual New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Haven all over again. The floats, bands, societies, beauty queens, DJs, and top-hatted civic leaders all head down Chapel Street (from Sherman Avenue to the Church Street end of New Haven Green) at 1:30 p.m. Wave, smile, cheer and go Green! Info is at www.stpatricksdayparade.org. Daily Nutmeg will be there, and will be posting photos at our Facebook page the day following the parade.
Written by Christopher Arnott. Photograph by Beatrix Berei Grinage.
