Saturday, September 19, 2009
Pappy & Harriet’s
Pioneertown, California

Story by Lauren Lunstrum
Photos by Cathy Jardine.

To see more Cathy Jardine photos of Dandy Warhol at Pappy and Harriet’s, click here.

A cool desert breeze and a hip crowd brought a rockin’ time to Pappy and Harriet’s Palace in Pioneertown, California, for the Third Annual Clean Air Clear Stars Event Fri.-Sun., Sept. 18-20, 2009.

Clean Air made a strong come back this year after the terrible experience of high desert cold weather in October 2008. The weather was absolutely wonderful, and yes, the stars were certainly clear in the night sky throughout the weekend. The environment is actually the event's primary focus, and the festival coordinators have connected the event to Global Inheritance, an organization that puts money towards raising environmental awareness.

Event highlights included performances by a band called Tree House who had the Door’s original bassist Robbie Krieger perform on stage. Acoustic performances included Jay Aston of '80s new-wave band Gene Loves Jezebel, and Nick Jaggo of alternative rock group Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Last but not least, The Dandy Warhols, a grunge-based alternative band, was the major attraction of the event.

The Dandy Warhols, who happen to be the most famous band Clean Air has managed to get so far, were very excited to perform on Saturday night in the rugged desert. The band was laid back throughout their performance as they threw out their alternative grunge beats, including their hit song “Bohemian Like You” that is still played on modern rock stations to this day.

The crowd was surprised when a man wearing thick, black-framed glasses and a hat confidently walked out on stage in the middle of the performance. The guest musician was David J, original member of classic Goth band Bauhaus and also of Love and Rockets. The Dandy Warhols and David J did a great performance of “No News Tale to Tell,” a famous Love and Rocket’s song. David J eventually left the stage and The Dandy Warhols finished up their set.

“I know that this is a night that we will remember forever,” said Zia McCabe, who plays percussion, keyboards and bass for The Dandy Warhols.

The close of The Dandy Warhol’s performance was not the end of the festival for Saturday. Acoustic performances took place later on from mellow musician Early Dolphin. Jay Aston, singer of Gene Loves Jezebel, eventually took the stage to play a few of his songs, including Gene Loves Jezebel’s hit song “Desire.” Aston cracked witty jokes throughout his performance, and crowd members danced to his music whether the beat was fast or slow. He eventually asked the dancers for their names, and made up sentences in his songs that included the names of his dancers.

Unfortunately Aston’s performance had to come to a close early due to neighborhood residents complaining about the noise. The acoustic performances were scheduled to go until 3 a.m., but residents established a new end time of 1 a.m. Nick Jaggo of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club hadn’t even done his scheduled performance, and had to negotiate with residents for an extra 20-minute set time. Despite the crazy schedule change, listeners still laid down on the desert sand in the center pathway between the historic Western sets in Pioneertown.

The three-day festival included performances from more than 25 bands that are mainly from the Los Angeles area. Not only did festival attendees get to listen to such incredible bands, they were able to listen for free! Clean Air managed to get enough funding from its sponsors to put on a free music festival.

Beautiful weather, amazing musicians and a welcoming crowd made Clean Air Clear Stars no less than amazing. The festival’s increasing number of connections with outstanding musicians over the last three years has brought the event to an impressive level. Clean Air Clear Stars should be a definite event to attend next year in 2010.

To see more Cathy Jardine photos of Dandy Warhol at Pappy and Harriet’s, click here.

For more about Global Inheritance, click here.

For more about The Dandy Warhols, click here.

For more about the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, click here.

For more about Pappy & Harriet's Palace, click here.