Remarkable sights and sounds mark this midsummer week. There’s a movie involving the value of movies; an exhibit of photographs that play with realism; and musical performances running the gamut from exploratory and experimental forms to old-fashioned and classic ones.
Monday, July 14
In 1700s France, the French king issued lettres de cachet ordering extrajudicial imprisonments of political dissidents. Injustices like these fomented a people’s backlash that would reverberate throughout history: the French Revolution, which began in Paris on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille, where some of those prisoners were kept. Tonight at the Ives Branch (133 Elm St, New Haven; 203-946-8835), the New Haven Free Public Library marks Bastille Day with a more docile event: a screening of Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinémathèque, which chronicles the trials and successes of the Frenchman considered the world’s first film archivist. 5:30 p.m. Free.
Tuesday, July 15
Audubon arts district upstart Silk Road Art Gallery (83 Audubon St, New Haven; 203-772-8928) just opened an exhibition featuring work by an artist who’s been in New Haven quite a while. Exposure: The Photography of Paul Duda features some of the photog’s long- but also underexposed work, which has a knack for evincing rich colors, shadows and blurs that turn realistic scenes dreamy (like the one pictured above). Catch the exhibit, which is up through September 9, while you can; the gallery says “this may be Duda’s last in New Haven,” reporting that he’s planning to move to Thailand in the near future. Free. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Wednesday, July 16
Mostly instrumental New Haven band Wess Meets West brings a wall of sound to the free Wednesday show at BAR (254 Crown St, New Haven) tonight, punctuating happy, buoyant chord progressions with hard drums. Second on the bill is Shy, Low, a “downtempo” post-rock band from Richmond, VA, that tends towards mellow, ambient soundscapes, occasionally launching out of them into strong grooves. The opening band And The Traveler is even tougher to pin down; for example, the song “Underground” evokes a theatric mash of mid-career Incubus, stripped-down The Mars Volta and chanting oompa loompas. Music starts at 9:30.
Thursday, July 17
Two more CitySeed farmers’ markets are hitting strides today and tomorrow after opening for the summer last week. Today from 3 to 6 p.m. it’s the Fair Haven market, located at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Front Street, a.k.a. the upper end of Quinnipiac River Park. Tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. it’s The Hill market, taking over a parking lot at Park and South Streets not far from Yale’s medical school campus.
Friday, July 18
Round sounds emanate from within Harkness Tower’s sharp Gothic Revival facade tonight between 7 and 8 p.m. Inside that tower is a carillon comprised of 53 bells—43 tons’ worth—connected to a “console that resembles a simple organ, with batons and pedals” for ringing them. This is the fourth weekly show in a series of eight put on by the student-run Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs during its annual summer concert series. A different carillonneur plays the massive instrument each time; tonight the honor belongs to Michael Solotke. The public is invited to lounge upon the grassy courtyard of Branford College (74 High St, New Haven)—lawn chairs and/or picnicking encouraged. Free.
Saturday, July 19
The first of this year’s two Music on the Green concerts puts some Motown in downtown tonight at 7 p.m. The source is The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, who joined the legendary R&B act The Temptations as a lead singer in 1968, fronting the group through its funk and disco evolutions. A legal dispute with one of the original members keeps Edwards and team from performing under the name The Temptations, but it doesn’t stop them from drawing from the group’s classic 60s catalog, including “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination.” New Haven Green. Free.
Sunday, July 20
Summer is a great time for do-it-yourself projects, like performing at an open mic night. Doing that tried-and-true format one better, “The Original Sunday Night Jam” at Cafe Nine (250 State St, New Haven; 203-789-8281) gives people with something to play some people to play with. The Langley Brothers Band is the house band to fill in whatever instrumental gaps need filling. “Amps, P.A. and drums are provided so just come down, sign up and plug in.” 8 p.m. Free.
Written by Dan Mims. Photograph, courtesy of Silk Road Art Gallery, by Paul Duda.
