Karen Ponzio Photos
Qween Kong share the love.
While many were getting ready for the last big football game of the season this past Sunday, a local music series was getting restarted over on Elm Street, as Three Sheets welcomed back the first of its popular Unplugged shows in a long while. Presented by Booger Z. Jones in conjunction with series creator Sara Scranton, two bands — on this day, the New Haven-based Hell Fairy and Qween Kong — would present a selection of their songs in a more stripped-down fashion than usual, acoustic and accompanied by stories of how they were made and what inspired them.
“It’s Sara’s brainchild,” said Andrew Zumwalt-Hathaway (a.k.a. Andy, a.k.a. Booger Z. Jones). “We’re merging,” added Scranton. “It’s our music baby.”
Hathaway said he made it a point to come to Unplugged events at Three Sheets back before pandemic shutdowns ceased all shows everywhere.
“I love songwriters. If I can hear a favorite song in a different light, I’m all up on that,” he said.
The plan for the series is to have two local bands play the second Sunday of every month at 4 p.m. with free admission. Hathaway said they are looking to book bands “that wouldn’t normally play together … cross pollinate the fan base and see how their songs sound back to back.”
In the spirit of the occasion, Scranton came up with a signature cocktail for the event called the Qween Fairy, made with Foggy Harbor gin, a splash of grenadine, lime juice, and tonic. Garnished with a slice of lemon and a cherry spun in edible red glitter, it was as delightful to look at as it was to drink.
The Qween Fairy. Cheers!
Hell Fairy came to the stage with the fans already cheering before a note was even played.
“Wow, that energy, that’s amazing,” said vocalist and guitarist Elizabeta. She introduced the band — Kiki Van Damn on acoustic bass, Dexx on guitar, and Joe 66 on guitar — adding that they were “from the portal of hell right here in New Haven” and were excited to be playing at this series.
Their first song was introduced by Elizabeta as “a song I wrote about love,” that she said would be their first single and was going to be released on Valentine’s Day. (The video for that song, which received a rousing response, is below.)
The crowd ate up the entire energetic yet intimate 10-song set, which saw a few fans dancing along and even had some singing along to their song “Partners,” which she said “you may have heard before but we will do it a little different here,” adding that the song was written on the way to the club Partners in New Haven.
“I was grateful to have a place near home where we can be ourselves without fear,” she added and received cheers in agreement. The difference in the song on this day ended up being the replacement of the name Partners with Three Sheets toward the end of the country-flavored tune.
“Speaking of country songs, this one is about me as an alien trying to seduce a cowboy,” Elizabeta said before the next sexy and fun tune that had her egging that cowboy on with lyrics like “hey Mr. Cowboy, I see you down there. Come into my space ship, show me your hair.” The dancers weren’t shy during this one.
The next song, “Likewise,” saw Elizabeta and Kiki trading off vocals while facing one another. Before it began, she said it was about the night their “souls intertwined through dance.” It ended with a kiss between the two, with Kiki adding afterward, “that was an acoustic kiss.”
Hell Fairy performing "Likewise"
Kiki added harmonica to the slowed down song “There’s a Ghost,” which Elizabeta said was about one night when they were jamming; something happened with the lights, and “spirits were traveling through.” Before that they did a cover of The Cramps’ “All Women Are Bad,” which saw Elizabeta come down off the stage to dance and sing her way through the crowd. When she got back up on stage she said “I know this is an acoustic set but you can come up close to me.” The crowd did just that and she asked them to yell bad along with her for the rest of the song. They honored that request as well. I was pretty sure they would have done anything else she had asked. The room was warm and humming with the band’s deliciously devilish energy.
Qween Kong came to the stage next with vocalist and bassist Cara DeLucia, vocalist and guitarist Gillian Basilicato, and percussionist Melody McCarthy, all seated (McCarthy on the cajon), smiling and laughing as they got ready to play.
“We don’t know,” said Basilicato with a laugh about playing an acoustic set. “We’re extremely electric.”
The set may have not been electric, but the band created a vibe that was a shock of raw and rugged sound. They began with “Reverse Cowgirl,” which DeLucia said had been the band’s first single and was about “how much it sucks to hook up with men.” The crowd loved it and kept on showing them love through the next five songs, which included “Two Brains,” which they said was about “having really bad nightmares,” and “I Got It,” which DeLucia said “we probably shouldn’t be playing acoustic but we will.”
DeLucia also commented on the “chill vibe” of the event before the band played its last two songs “Green” and “Beg,” which they said was actually based on a book that was about “a dude who obsesses over a girl and follows her.”
“Don’t stalk girls,” added DeLucia. “There’s a theme to all of these songs.”
Fans gathered close to the stage as DeLucia sang lyrics such as “follow closely, keep on searching” and “she doesn’t want to be found. It’s all for nothing” with depth and intensity. The crowd responded with cheers and did not want them to leave or the show to end. But that’s the best part of being part of a series: There’s another one only a month away.
The Unplugged series at Three Sheets continues on Sunday, March 17, and will continue every second Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. For more information, visit the Three Sheets website or Instagram page or the Booger Z. Jones Instagram page.
