By Josh Herwitt //

Death from Above 1979 //
Pappy and Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA
October 11th, 2024 //

It’s easy to be spoiled by all of the opportunities to experience live music when you grow up in a city like Los Angeles. So much so, in fact, that it can often be difficult to find a good reason to venture outside of LA County for a show or festival.

Even though one of the world’s major entertainment capitals can provide endless options for fans from January to December, there’s something special about escaping the hustle and bustle of my hometown once in a while to catch a concert out in the wild.

Over the years Southern California’s Hi-Desert region has become one of those places for me that has served as a rather quick and easy getaway. Of course, sharing the same first name as the one-of-a-kind Yucca brevifolia — more commonly known as the Joshua tree — that dominates much of the landscape throughout the region might seem like the obvious reason for yours truly, but it’s no secret that interest in the area has skyrocketed globally since the invention of social media. Just look at how much an average Airbnb rental in Yucca Valley costs these days if you don’t believe me.

But ever since that first backpacking trip during my freshman year of high school, I have always held a deep connection to Joshua Tree National Park. The otherworldly feel of its rock formations and unique vegetation set against the backdrop of a stunning desert sunset is unmatched and something you can’t find anywhere else on the planet. The park, however, is only one of the Hi-Desert’s multiple attractions these days. Whether it’s a visit to The Integratron for a sound bath, Noah Purifoy’s outdoor museum or the seven-story Giant Rock that’s the largest freestanding boulder in North America and purportedly on Earth, there’s plenty to see and even more to do than one might think.

Pioneertown

What we would be remiss to not have on that to-do list is a trip to Pioneertown where actor Dick Curtis built things from the ground up in 1946. Constructing a movie set for Westerns like “The Cisco Kid” and early TV shows, it would also become a regular filming location for the late Gene Autry until 1955. Both commercial production and photography are still allowed although only by permit, but many locals and visitors who turn onto Pioneertown Road from California State Route 62 and make the four-mile drive have one destination in mind: Pappy and Harriet’s.

The honky-tonk, California-style barbecue restaurant (think trip-tip sandwiches, ribs, burgers and more) where a cantina set was originally conceived during the town’s inception was ranked several years ago as one of the 100 greatest American music venues, ahead of other legendary rooms such as Radio City Music Hall and the Troubadour. Initially it was purchased in 1972 by Francis Aleba and became a biker bar serving Mexican fare that was named The Cantina before closing after a decade. In fact, it was not until Aleba’s daughter Harriet secured ownership of the building with her husband Claude “Pappy” Allen about 10 years later that Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace as we know it today was officially born. While it continued to be a favorite watering hole for two-wheel riders with a menu featuring family-size Tex-Mex cuisine, it did not take long for fans of live music to also fall in love with different acts gracing their stage every week. It’s why top-notch artists and bands across the spectrum — Paul McCartney, Queens of the Stone Age, Lorde, Robert Plant, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Eagles of Death Metal, Band of Horses, Grizzly Bear, Rufus Wainwright and Alvvays to name a few — have shown up there to perform no matter how many times Pappy’s, as it’s commonly referred to now, has changed hands and who is currently running operations. That trend hasn’t slowed down either, with Phoenix, Slipknot, Modest Mouse, Patti Smith, Coheed and Cambria, Belle & Sebastian, Built to Spill, Orville Peck, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Pete Yorn, Wynona Judd, Violent Femmes, Sylvan Esso and more all dropping by over the past few years and earning the roadhouse stop a spot on the Los Angeles Times list for the 101 best California experiences in 2022.

After making visits on my own for food and drinks but having never previously taken in a concert, I can understand the appeal and how Pappy’s has turned into a well-oiled machine after more than 40 years. There’s something to be said about feeling like you have teleported back in time, and you get that sense as soon as you drive past the Pioneertown sign, pull into Pappy’s dusty parking lot and take in the smell of smoked meat. But it’s more than just aesthetics that creates the old-timey vibes at Pappy’s. On some days — usually weekends — you can find more than one show booked, and when that happens, it can certainly create for an interesting scene as fan bases collide outside at the bar and merch stand. And if one performance runs behind schedule, you can be assured that any ensuing events won’t be starting on time either. If you ever went to see a friend’s band play a local bar in high school or college, Pappy’s is not removed much from that sort of situation besides its saloon-like setting.

In addition to its diminutive indoor stage with a 350-person maximum, Pappy’s has expanded to include an outdoor stage that can host bigger names and accommodate as many as 850 folks when it’s not too cold at night. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure that my first show was inside those wooden doors to get the true Pappy’s experience.

Death from Above 1979

So when a band I have followed for more than a dozen years announced that it would be playing a gig inside Pappy’s to make up for the 2024 edition of Desert Daze being canceled, I finally felt moved to hit the open road and travel 140 miles east regardless of the small investment in time and resources that I knew came with my decision.

After all, this was not any performance. The first time I ever saw Death from Above 1979 in the flesh was not that far from Pappy’s. At the time, the dance-punk duo from Toronto was reuniting on the main stage at Coachella more than five years after breaking up despite the positive reception its debut LP You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine received in 2004. Jesse F. Keeler (bass, synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals) and Sebastien Grainger (drums, vocals) have gone on to release three more full lengths since then, but this year has been dedicated to celebrating the album that gave them the chance to tour with Nine Inch Nails and QOTSA back then.

Based on the way things were unfolding at Pappy’s that evening with the preceding show not starting on time, the special midnight performance DFA 1979 booked had turned into more like a 1 a.m. set when it was all said and done, leaving me and others to wait in line and among a sold-out crowd for close to two hours. Of course, with the state’s 2 a.m. curfew in effect, the last performer of the night is always the one that pays the price — or at least its fans do — and in this case, there proved to be only enough time left on the game clock for Keeler and Grainger to run through You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine from start to finish before wrapping with a two-song encore consisting of lead single “Freeze Me” on 2017’s Outrage! Is Now and “Dead Womb” off the 2002 EP Heads Up that marked the group’s very first studio release. We might have been packed in there like sardines, but I did my best to take it all in while holding onto the rail in front of the stage for dear life — as well as my camera equipment — and trying not to stare into the red eyes of that patriotically bizarre, three-headed horse mural on the back wall.

Was it disappointing that we only got about an hour of raw, impassioned punk rock? Sure, we can’t say we would have minded hearing material from 2014’s The Physical World and the Canadian outfit’s most recent effort Is 4 Lovers that dropped more than three years ago at this point. But there’s no doubt going to a show at Pappy’s is not like any other concert experience you have had before. You don’t have to put on a pair of cowboy boots and/or Stetson hat to feel like you belong either, though it wouldn’t be frowned upon if that’s your thing. Anyone and everyone are welcome, and the same ethos has seemingly applied in showcasing all styles of music there. At one moment you might be listening to indie folk, and the next, you’re headbanging to some heavy metal — that’s what really makes Pappy’s so fun and cool. Because while it might not be a hidden gem in the desert anymore after previously hosting Coachella sideshows from Future Islands to Glass Animals, you won’t find anything quite like it to this day.

Setlist:
Turn It Out
Romantic Rights
Going Steady
Go Home, Get Down
Blood on Our Hands
Black History Month
Little Girl
Cold War
You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine
Pull Out
Sexy Results

Encore:
Freeze Me
Dead Womb