When Robert Plant wanders in the desert, let’s say to find inspiration for “Big Log 2: Even Bigger Log,” he takes the stage at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace. That is where Fogelfoot will play June 19.
Pioneertown was founded as a vast western movie set in 1946 by Hollywood investors including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, and more than 50 movies were shot there before the nation lost its heart to “Free Willy.” Pioneertown simply couldn’t compete. But now the town is a vibrant piece of meta-Americana and Pappy’s, which opened as a cantina in 1972 has been host to hundreds of acts, including Plant, Cracker, and Eagles of Death Metal.
The occasion is a benefit for Roy’s Desert Resource Center and four bands will be playing, including Fogelfoot and Sons of the Lawless, a band whose drummer is Jake Busey.
I said to Jake Busey, I said: “If your band kicks the fraction of ass you and Michael Ironside did in ‘Starship Troopers,’ well, it’s gonna be a good show.”
Now Pappy and Harriet’s is one of those places with license plates covering the walls, sawdust covering the floors, and an enclosed, open air performance area that resembles a rectangular bullfighting ring, with the stage at one end and a bar (Thank God) at the other, with Joshua Trees on either side, coyotes in the distance, and the California stars wheeling overhead. Also? An even bigger log.
The group is staying in nearby Desert Hot Springs for a vision quest.
The show begins with a band called The Bullfighters at 6:45. Suggested donation is $10.
These Fogelphotos were recently snapped by our good friend Paulina Merekiova.
Fogelphiles