Planning for my "weekend" (you'll recall that my crazy work schedule means my days off are Thursdays and Fridays), I was considering walking down to the Glendale Galleria to see what all the fuss was about, and maybe having movie night later that Thursday. Then I saw a myspace posting for Pappy & Harriet's music schedule, and saw that Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter was playing Thursday night. Suddenly, I remembered that I hate malls, and that a trip to the desert might be in order.

But, Darlin,' you're probably wondering, didn't you just see Jesse Sykes open for Sparklehorse last month? Yes, in fact, I did. I went to see Jesse Sykes do an awesome show, while Wanda stayed home and made Valentine's Day cards. And Jesse did such a great job at that show, that I wanted to see her again, and not just to spite Wanda. I had never been to Pappy & Harriet's, and have wanted to for the longest time, and it just seemed like Gram Parsons' oasis would be the perfect setting to see Jesse play again.

Driving through the badlands along the 60, I almost reconsidered, thinking, "This is crazy. You're going to drive out to the middle of nowhere to see a band?! What if you break down? What if you get lost? What if it starts raining like it looks like it's going to? What if your mother's right about the crazy people that live in Pioneertown?" But then I saw a rainbow, remembered that I like crazy people, and took it as a sign that I was on the right path.

And I did, even though it DID start raining, and even though I DID miss Pioneertown Road, once I arrived at P & H's, I knew I'd found heaven. Everything that you've heard about this place is true - it really is THAT cool. I ate the best chicken tacos I've EVER had outside of Austin (and only for $5!), which Darren, a very nice (and very cute) local explained that the reason they were so damn good was because all the meat is cooked outdoors on a mesquite grille. Uh-may-zing.

Jesse was brilliant, of course. It's impossible to describe her sound, although "country noir" seems to best fit her, but who the hell knows what that means? Even Jesse struggles with it, eventually just saying, "It's just American music." Like the name of her band implies, there's an "other world" quality to Jesse's sound (which is for the most part guitar driven ballads - kudos to Phil Wandscher formerly of Whiskeytown for his fantastic licks - with titles like "Lonely Still," "Troubled Soul," "The Dreaming Dead," "Spectral Beings," and "The Open Halls of the Soul"), and with her sweeping waist-length pitch-black hair, one wonders about the possibility of Jesse casting potent spells. But Jesse smiles easily, and is as sweet and personable as you could ever imagine. Pioneertown was Jesse's last stop after being on the road for six weeks, followed by a week at home in Seattle, then on the road again for another five weeks. Her third CD has just been released, and Like, Love, Lust, and the Open Halls of the Soul is a beautiful continuation of the haunting songs she's delivered in her previous two albums.

It's a long way to Pappy & Harriet's, but definitely worth it.