Yale’s back in session today and, in addition to greater competition for parking spaces downtown, that means medical library exhibits, curious-minded stargazing and a classic, violent, profanity-laced film screening. But that’s not all; the city’s also got compelling live music, a dressy hotel party and a world-premiering circus show to keep us entertained.
Monday, January 12
It’s Yale’s first week back, but it’s the last week to see two exhibits that’ve been posting up inside Yale’s Cushing/Whitney Medical Library since September. One of them is Dangers of Underage Drinking and Other Historical Posters, starring a set of stylized PSAs from 1971, with messages like, “The first thing that dissolves in alcohol is your dignity.” The other is The Body as a Machine, featuring posters that attended the release of science popularizer Fritz Kahn’s Das Leben Des Menschen (“The Life of Man,” 1922-6), which used arresting illustrations (like the one pictured above) and memorable metaphors to make biology—particularly human biology—more accessible to the masses. Both exhibits close on Friday, so see ’em while you can. 333 Cedar St, New Haven. (203) 785-5354. Free.
Tuesday, January 13
Look out—into space. Tonight, following a monthlong winter break, Leitner Observatory (355 Prospect St, New Haven; 203-285-8840) resumes its Tuesday tradition of public planetarium shows and, weather permitting, telescopic observations. The show in the planetarium—playing twice, at 6 and 7 p.m.—is called Tour of the Universe, and the ’scopes looking up into the actual heavens get set up at dusk—so, about 5 p.m. Free; donations accepted.
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Wednesday, January 14
Monogold might be gold, but it’s hardly mono. Every song on the Brooklyn band’s new EP, This Bloom, journeys some distance from the last, with each new destination feeling exciting and picturesque. The opening track is an instrumental saxophone feature that bleeds into track two, which is both uptempo and time-taking, waiting two minutes to unleash the drums. The third song—probably the single of the bunch if you had to pick one—starts out a capella for about nine seconds, when the drums plus a simple synth-ed atmospheric kick it up. The first half of the fourth track is a ballad; the second half is a double-time syncopated breakdown. Song five lulls you into complacency, then takes a melodic turn that flirts with genius. The final track, number six, is a slow, calming guitar feature that’d be instrumental if it weren’t for celestial ooohs and oooh-ahs from time to time. This isn’t just another indie band being cool; this is art, and it’d be a dream come true if the live sound matches up to the record. Judge for yourself during tonight’s free 9 p.m. show at BAR, which opens with synth-y hooks, electronic beats and velvety smooth vocal lines from local digital-age duo Child Actor. 254 Crown St, New Haven. (203) 495-8924.
Thursday, January 15
PULSE, the 40-and-under professionals group within the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, celebrates its fifth birthday tonight at The Study at Yale (1157 Chapel St, New Haven). The dress code is swanky, calling for gowns or dresses and tuxes or suits, but the price is right: $0 for members and $10 for non-, which includes “appetizers, a complimentary drink, raffles and great networking.” 6 to 8 p.m.
Friday, January 16
Tonight (8 p.m.) and tomorrow (2:30 and 8 p.m.), instructors and students at Air Temple Arts, the local contemporary circus school, swing over to ECA’s Arts Hall (55 Audubon St, New Haven) for three performances of Special Relativity, whose narrative surrounds two lovers cleaved apart by a “space/time accident.” Using “Chinese pole, aerial dance, acrobatics, contortion, Spanish web and more” to tell the tale, Special Relativity is special for many reasons, including its rarity: the last time conceivers/performers Stacey Kigner and Allison McDermott collaborated on something like this, it was 2012. Tickets go for $25, or $18 for students and $15 for those under the age of 12.
Saturday, January 17
Whaddaya mean, “I’m funny?” Joe Pesci hasn’t acted much this millennium, but we still remember his scene-stealing turn as the hot-tempered, laughing-until-he-wasn’t Tommy DeVito in the 1990 mob movie Goodfellas. The Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-0670) refreshes that memory with a 7 p.m. screening tonight, which is fundamentally different than catching the film during the cable TV rounds it sometimes makes. For one thing, WHC’s isn’t the edited-for-television version; for another, it’s on the big screen. Free.
Sunday, January 18
The Peabody Museum of Natural History’s annual MLK Day celebration, emphasizing environmental and social justice, begins 12 hours before the holiday’s officially underway, with programming between noon and 4 p.m. today that’ll pick up again tomorrow morning. Today’s schedule includes live jazz at 1 p.m., a drill squad show at 2 and West African dancing/drumming at 3, all in the Peabody’s Great Hall of Dinosaurs. Meanwhile, a “teen summit”—an issues-oriented talent showcase for local teens, plus a “pizza lunch”—is happening in the museum’s 3rd-floor auditorium from 12 to 3:30. Free. 170 Whitney Ave, New Haven. (203) 432-8987.
Written by Dan Mims.
