An all-American eatery for two, nestled in the middle of an empty lot on Main Street in Hudson, NY, where we wandered the streets last weekend before settling into our seats at Time and Space Limited to watch a documentary film on the history of the rock poster, American Artifact, produced and directed by Merle Becker. We even got to sit and chat with her after the screening. (Rock, Hudson; get it?) We would have had dinner at this one-of-a-kinder, btw, but there were three of us.

Tags: Arts, Documentary film, Filmmakers, Filmmaking, Main Street, Movies, New York, United States

It appeared for a while there that my concert-going days were over; but that long musical drought ended last night when I walked through the doors of a dusty old saloon in Pioneertown, California. Once part of a western movie set and now a biker’s bar and local watering hole, Pappy and Harriet’s is nestled high in the desert mountains just outside Joshua Tree National Park. I felt like I had arrived on another planet; and in some ways, I probably had.

Just a few days earlier I had heard that Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Chili Peppers, Carmen Electra), were going to appear at the Muddy Waters Cafe in Santa Barbara. I thought, this can’t possibly be true; these guys could fill a stadium and this little blues bar only seats about fifty people. But it was true, and by the time I had heard about it (minutes after word hit the street, probably), it was sold out. I then checked their fan site and lo and behold, Pioneertown was on the list and tickets were still available.

Originally scheduled to appear indoors at the saloon, they decided to move it outside at the last minute to accommodate more people, thereby making it pure magic: a tiny wooden stage overlooking an enclosed sandy square and a few picnic tables, surrounded by looming silhouettes of boulder-strewn mountains, black against the night sky. There were coyotes out there, of course, and I couldn’t help but think they must have been stunned into silence when Corgan, Navarro and Spirits in the Sky began howling at the moon…

It started fairly quietly, though, with an acoustic set of mostly new material by Corgan, plus a few “Pumpkins” tunes thrown in there somewhat reluctantly by the master of indie metal pop. He seemed to relish his bantering conversation with the crowd – not surprising, either, when you consider that he had intentionally set up this six-concert mini-tour as a way to “get back to the music” and to reconnect with his audience – something I assume you lose track of when you have the power to fill a stadium. The audience in this case was an eclectic mix of old bikers, artists, cowboys, the odd wizard or two and an assortment of local desert rats. One of the things I love about this neck of the woods is that it harbors some of the most colorful, free-thinking rugged individualists in the world. It ain’t borin’ up here, honey.

In the second hour, though, as we approached the midnight hour and the moon was high above the stage, they let it rip. Billy and Dave strapped themselves onto their stratocasters and that rocket headed straight up. All the elements of the setting – the sky, the moon, the mountains, the air, the heady mix of people – came together inside the music, creating a pulsating scene that could never be duplicated. It was unique, it was electric, and it was deeply personal and very moving. Two of the best guitarists on the planet were taking us all to the moon; it was an unforgettable ride.

You can check out some of the fan-provided photos and videos of the event and of Pioneertown itself at the Smashing Pumpkins website. Photos above by enutune.

Tags: Billy Corgan, California, Carmen Electra, Dave Navarro, Joshua Tree National Park, Pioneertown California, Santa Barbara, Smashing Pumpkins

Rommel the Desert Fox may have swept through the deserts of North Africa back in the day, but that was nothing compared to our tumultuous arrival in the deserts of Southern California earlier today….

As soon as we pulled off Route 10, we heard a strange sound coming from the front of the car, which seemed to get louder as we drove. When we arrived at the house, we discovered that someone had cut down all the trees in the back and left them there like so many corpses after a massacre. I then went over to see my neighbor, whose wife had died recently, and he didn’t look too good. After talking with him for a while, I drove downtown to find a car repair shop, and found a guy who said to bring it back in the morning. I then returned home to learn that Liz had left her suitcase back in Santa Barbara with all of her clothes in it.

While we were still discussing this development, the alarm system went off and continued going on and off intermittently until the fire department arrived. They brought in a variety of gear and proceeded to check the house for signs of heat, smoke or fire, while China barked incessantly in the background (the sound of the alarm and the alarming appearance of the firemen must have set him off). One of the firemen was actually a woman, btw, and a very attractive one; even more actually, she was the fire chief. I was dying to ask them if they watched Rescue Me on FX, but restrained myself. Nothing to do now but wait for the alarm company repairman to come out and fix it.

Did I mention that the temperature is 115 degrees down here? If it weren’t so damned hot I’d go out and start cutting up those trees in the backyard. No choice left but to kick back with some Cheez-its and wait for the next emergency.

Due to the sudden explosion of activity in the art world of Chrome Underwood, I have decided to put all of my energy into working on his site, Chrome Never Sleeps, for the foreseeable future. Once that settles into some sort of managable groove, I’ll be back at work here reporting on the human side of my two lives here in the local universe. In the meanwhile, try and can keep up with the Chromester, and when I’m back up and running as fast as I can over here, I’ll let you know over there. Thanks, guys.  – Mick Brady