Christmas is nigh, bringing with it all the overwhelm of shopping and concerts and benefits (including a couple of local hardcore punk reunions, like 76% Uncertain, shown here).
Monday, Dec. 16: Recital, Then Recess
Those who subsist on a steady aural diet of free classical concerts at Yale know that this time of year is marked with School of Music end-of-semester student recitals. Tonight, baritone Daniel Moore is singing at 8 p.m. in Sprague Memorial Hall (470 College St., 203 – 432-5062). The Yale winter recess begins Tuesday, so it’ll be a month before there’s another spate of recitals.
Tuesday, Dec. 17: Brain Food
Rebecca Coffey’s meta-psycho-lit-geek cookbook Friedrich Nietzsche’s Angel Food Cake really takes the cake. Here’s step nine from the title recipe: “Gaze into the überbatter. The überbatter will gaze into you.” You also find instructions on how to cook such delicacies as “The Coen Brothers’ Christmas Goose” (a whole lot of Fargo references), “Geoffrey Chaucer’s Stinking Bishop’s Tart” and “Ernest Hemingway’s Battered Testicles.” Coffey presents the book for the “intellectually famished” 6 p.m. tonight at the main Ives location of New Haven Free Public Library (133 Elm St.).
Wednesday, Dec. 18: Summers Sojourn
The free Wednesday rock show at BAR is an eclectic mix of styles. Headliners Eternal Summers, from Virginia, have recently switched up their aesthetic from stripped-down duo to indie “dream punk” power trio. The Brooklyn-based Starlight Girls acknowledge influences from every decade of the 20th century, not omitting cabaret moodiness, klezmer-style clarinet and dance-pop. Also on the bill is Daphne Lee Martin, the Connecticut crooner best known for her fetching Country & Western songs but whose versatile vocals and down-home intimacy have led her to explore numerous other genres as well. The all-free show starts at 9:30 p.m. at 254 Crown St.
Thursday, Dec. 19
Merry Mart
This is the last week of the Holiday Mart at Project Storefronts, 756 Chapel St. Local artisans and craftsfolk exhibit their wares. These are one-of-a-kind artworks, ranging from jewelry to prints to clothing. The mart is open Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
“One Christmas was so much like another…”
Colin Lane, who’s performed locally with Elm Shakespeare Company as well as Off Broadway and elsewhere, reads Dylan Thomas’ seasonal remembrance A Child’s Christmas in Wales, with musical accompaniment from Becca Zaretzky. 6 p.m. at the main (Ives) New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St. (203) 946‑8835.
Friday, Dec. 20
Haven a Party
Music Haven—haven for the Haven String Quartet, which brings music instruction courses to New Haven public schools — had a great year. The organization earned local, state and federal grants, played concerts everywhere from New Haven Green to local churches and the backs of trucks, and is currently helping 75 students master their instruments. Hear those kids (and their teachers) play, bring a potluck dish, and help celebrate in general at the Music Haven Winter Performance Party, 6 p.m. at Southern Connecticut State University’s Charles Garner Recital Hall (Engleman Hall Room C112 on the school’s 501 Crescent St. campus).
Ho, Ho, Ho
Sexy Santas is a late-night female comedy show featuring tri-state area stand-ups Morgan Wolfe, Julia Melin, Madison Malloy, Chablis Quaterman and the sole male in the line-up, Danny Mahar. It’s a special event for New Haven’s full-time comedy club Joker’s Wild (232 Wooster St., 203 – 773-0733). $20 and a two-beverage minimum.
Saturday, Dec. 21
The Chains I Forged in Life
The Yale Center for British Art is holding its annual free public screening of the 1951 British movie version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Alisdair Sim as Scrooge. You can find this classic film easily online, but watching it with a crowd of other people makes Scrooge’s humbuggery so much more enchanting. 1080 Chapel St.
Supernova
Jeff Terranova was a New Haven hardcore icon of the ‘00s, playing in several punk and hardcore bands, running the Smorgasbord Records label and hosting the Anti-Emo Empire radio show on WNHU. He moved to the West Coast a few years ago to start a vegan restaurant, which closed in August. Terranova’s now back in Connecticut, and his old friends and supporters are rallying to show their appreciation for all he’s done in the past (and might well do in the future) with an Anti-Emo Empire Benefit/Reunion Show tonight at Café Nine. The night includes reunions of No Image and 76% Uncertain as well as sets from The Black Noise Scam, The Mistaken, Malcolm Tent and The Coquettes. There’s also a fundraising raffle and doubtless lots of talk about how cool Jeff Terranova is. $5. 250 State St. (203) 789‑8281.
Sunday, Dec. 22
An Art Break
The Yale campus may largely be closed for the winter recess, but the Yale Art Gallery is still open (except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day), and is still holding its weekend “Highlights Tours” of the museum every Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Free. 1111 Chapel St.
http://artgallery.yale.edu
Dashing Through
One-horse open sleigh, meet Slayer. The New Haven Jingle Bell Rock & Metal Fest boasts two stages and nearly three dozen bands, making spirits bright from 3 p.m. until closing time at Toad’s Place (300 York St.; 203 – 624-TOAD). Acts include Black Heart Heroes, Loque, Burn Lexington, Simple Machinery, Answers & Echos, The 30th of February, Lyra, Funk You Up, The Foresters, Styll Remains, Cables & Confessions, Saving Skylar, The Distractions, Disable Time, Ellis, A Will Away, Balkun Brothers, Safe Bet Secret, Chocolate Panda, Backdoor Boys, Great Blue, Mojo, Runamuk, Dystopia, Comeback of the Year, Odd Man In, Meet Emily, The Green Invaders, Breathe, Houston…, Vision Within, Grizzlor. That covers everything from pre-teen pop-punk (brother-act The Foresters) to electronic screamo (Burn Lexington, the Glastonbury band known for “Blondie’s Got a Lead Foot”). $15, $10 in advance.
