Saturday, in the park, I think it was the 29th of April.....

You can't get there from here, but once you do, it's a great setting for a Spring Daffodil Festival! Brother Bones Jones and I obediently set out to park/shuttle (as instructed in the event info), but there was no place to park to GET the shuttle! Not to worry, we discovered a nice tavern lot at the bottom of Hubbard Park hill (thanks, Maloney's Pub!) and hiked up to the festival. This was, as it turned out, an EXCELLENT move on our part for we later observed (smugly) that it would take much longer to get a shuttle back than to walk down the hill. Not to mention the health benefits!

Hubbard Park's hills, walkways and ponds provide a perfect natural stage for this community event. Lots of food and music. The plan was to see Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez followed by the Turtles, both appearing at the James Barry Bandshell stage, but we arrived early, which allowed us to sample some of the other offerings. A quick hike over the hill to the Food Tent stage had us listening to a few songs (The Band/Kingston Trio covers) by Meriden's Gonkus Brothers. Enjoyable. We then ambled over to the Jeff Crooms Welcome Stage (I knew you were going to ask - I don't know who he is, so cut me some slack, okay?) to catch the Sawtelles, a male-female duo of middle-age St. Paul-Travelers types with purple (he) and orange (she) hair. They were quite good. This stage seems to be the local indie-scene stage. We stopped back later to see another group, but didn't care for them as much.

Christine Ohlman doesn't sneak up on you - big blond beehive, dark sunglasses, hot pink rhinestone-laced outfit, stiletto heels. And she delivers the goods. We hoof it back over the hill to grab some open lawn in front of the bandshell. George and Trish, fresh from some heavy bushpulling with Johnny Gumbo, join us. Gumbo does not. Love Christine's act. Lots of blues and blues-based rock with gritty, sexy vocals and Rebel Montez (Michael Colbath-bass, Larry Donahue-drums, Eric Fletcher-guitars) backing her up with some fire of their own. Throw in a guest harmonica and you have yourself a very interesting, enjoyable set under a cloudless sky. George astutely observes, later confirmed, that she was with the Scratch Band in the 70's. Prefacing her new song The Cradle Did Rock, she explains that she has recently returned from New Orleans, "...the cradle of American popular music", where there is a continuing need for support; she appeals to the crowd to write a check to the Red Cross (personally, I'd be wary of that organization's ability to monitor the funds given their recent track record, but I agree with the sentiment). The song itself is a good one, not falling into the trap of "We Are the World" slop. To close the show, Ohlman picks "...one of the top ten love songs of all time" and breaks into a rousing version of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. I'm a fan - good show, Beehive Queen.

While Brother Joe and I venture back to the Welcome Stage, George/Trish go over to check out Christine's CD's and grab her live Radio Queen. Back in position for the Turtles set, I decide to grab a CO&RT CD for myself, a different one since we can burn/trade. I catch her in the parking lot and ask her if she's still selling. Smiling wryly, she directs me to the trunk of her station wagon where I select her latest, Strip, upon which she pens "To Johnny K - Rock on, Christine Ohlman".

The Turtles were just okay, a little too much banter (some surprising drug references that must have gone over just great with the families in attendance) and lots too much "we are the Turtles" (yes, we KNOW!), but they did really nail Elenore (vocally) toward the end of the show. Flo and Eddie are the only real Turtles in the band (some cynics would say they were the only real Turtles anyway), so the other bandmembers were essentially just a backup band. Still, it's all good fun and the very large crowd enjoys them. We cut out just before the inevitable "Happy Together" and scoot down to Maloney's for a thank-you-for-the-parking-spot beer. Good day at the Fest.

What better way to end the day than dinner at Sam the Clam's with The Reet and The Nance - where we AGAIN met George and Trish, fresh from their day at the Daffodil Fest!!!!

Mardi Gras thoughts from the Beehive - Thanks to Christine Ohlman for the heads-up about her Mardi Gras diary carried as the cover story of the New Haven Advocate this past March. - here.