Watchers have a lot of lookers to see; listeners have a lot of sounders to hear; and the two camps have more than one reason to get together, this week in New Haven.
Monday, January 4
Master guitarist Rohn Lawrence’s jazz is so smooth he’s performed on “romantic” mood records. Every Monday night at Toad’s Place’s Lilly’s Pad, where he’s been anchoring “A Night of Smooth Jazz with Rohn Lawrence and Friends” for years, he and his friends get New Haveners feeling differently frisky, with jazz, sure, but also with funk and fusion, including the occasional pop remix. 9:30 p.m. $5. 300 York Street, New Haven. (203) 624-8623.
Tuesday, January 5
With Eyes Closed/With Eyes Wide Open gets one final look today at the Yale School of Art’s 32 Edgewood Avenue Gallery. Curated by YSA’s dean, Robert Storr, the show features historic and contemporary photographs, drawings and etchings from the collection of portrait and architectural photographer Jack Shear—including an in-progress series of men with their eyes closed, which Shear himself snapped. Free to visit, the glassy rectangular space is open from noon to 6 p.m. today. (203) 432-2600.
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Wednesday, January 6
As rumors that Joker’s Wild Comedy Club is on the ropes make the rounds, Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281) gives the city its giggles tonight with a no-cover open mic hosted by local observational humorist Dan Rice. “Think you can make us laugh? Now’s your chance to prove it,” organizers say. Signups start at 8 p.m., with the comedy getting going at 9.
Thursday, January 7
Featuring work by Susan Newbold, Tom Peterson and Paulette Rosen, City Gallery’s new Three Outdoor Views—“an exhibition of drawings, mixed media and photography
Friday, January 8
CT Folk’s 2015-16 “Folk Fridays” series proceeds tonight at 7:30 with local favorite Goodnight Blue Moon, whose rich, harmony-heavy “New England Americana” seems like it’d be especially warming on a cold winter night. All the better that the show’s taking place inside the First Presbyterian Church (704 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-562-5664)—a log cabin of a chapel, with round wood pillars, and a chapel of a log cabin, with a tall, angled ceiling to receive those harmonies and let them swirl. Regular tickets cost $20 at the door or $15 in advance, or $10 for students.
Saturday, January 9
From 5 to 7 p.m. at idiom boutique (260 College St, New Haven), local fitness maven Shana Schneider is throwing a release party for her new “mini-book” FitStyle Your Life: 5 Simple Keys for Taking Exercise Off Your To-Do List. The $25 admission price includes “hors d’oeuvres and beverages” while you’re there and a goodie bag, including a copy of the book, to take home.
Giampietro Gallery’s new exhibit New Geometry is eight-sided. Opening today, with an artists’ reception from 6 to 8 p.m., contributors “Power Boothe, Anoka Farquee, Will Lustenader, Gary Stephan, Robert Storr, Blinn Jacobs, Celia Johnson and Don Voisine all share a fresh perspective of geometric abstraction through their individual vocabulary,” the gallery says. Free to visit. 1064 Chapel Street, New Haven. (203) 777-7760.
Sunday, January 10
“On a Tuesday April morning, his brilliant brain stopped working. / My brothers, Mom and I all sat ’round cryin’ / when it occurred to me that I’d do well to lead our little pride / and so I tried to find my roar and be a lion.” So goes a quick-sung bit of “The Lion,” the presumptive title track of The Lion, “a wholly original musical experience of one man’s gripping coming-of-age story” that’s no doubt been pumping big tears and big smiles out of Long Wharf Theatre audiences since it opened this past Wednesday. Starring its singing, guitar-slinging writer Benjamin Scheuer, whose voice is all the more affective for its lack of affectation, there are two performances today, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. More helpfully (since nearly all of today’s tickets are sold out), it’s playing most evenings through February 7, with seats costing $30.50 at the low end and $65.50 at the high. 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven. (203) 787-4282.
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
