Desert Daze at Institute of Mentalphysics, Joshua Tree (14 Oct 2017)
This is the mystical Desert Daze music festival that took place in the high desert of the wondrous Joshua Tree, California. Rock bands, artists, hippies and music enthusiasts gather here for a weekend of spiritual enlightenment and psychedelic tunes that make you wonder if we’re indeed in the middle of a revolution; if it’s 1969 all over again but this time evolved in a new paradigm shift of consciousness…and without the over-saturation of LSD and pot (though, of course, there was LSD and pot). Since it first started in 2012 it’s been the land of octagon-shaped tents, tea ceremonies and tarot readings. It’s a village filled with artist instillations and children running a muck through cacti and tiny tents made out of tapestry and bird feathers. It’s Burning Man meets Coachella, sans pretentiousness and debauchery.
Desert Daze (14 Oct 2017) Institute Of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree, CA
Lineup:
|
This is the mystical Desert Daze music festival that took place in the high desert of the wondrous Joshua Tree, California. Rock bands, artists, hippies and music enthusiasts gather here for a weekend of spiritual enlightenment and psychedelic tunes that make you wonder if we’re indeed in the middle of a revolution; if it’s 1969 all over again but this time evolved in a new paradigm shift of consciousness…and without the over-saturation of LSD and pot (though, of course, there was LSD and pot).
Since it first started in 2012 it’s been the land of octagon-shaped tents, tea ceremonies and tarot readings. It’s a village filled with artist instillations and children running a muck through cacti and tiny tents made out of tapestry and bird feathers. It’s Burning Man meets Coachella, sans pretentiousness and debauchery.
From what I experienced (and I immersed myself in all things DAZE), it was nothing but smiles, kindness and a deep, deep love and respect not only for the artists who graced us with their talent, but all the other humans who came together to create this special event that gave people one of the best weekends of our lives.
Saturday the highlights were definitely Frankie and the Witch Fingers, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Iggy Pop.
JJUUJJUU also rocked out (lead singer Phil Pirrone is the festival’s founder, I was soon to hear) to fans and friends while expressing a sincere appreciation to the crowd, thanking everyone from the bottom of his heart and saying what a big family everyone has turned out to be. His band was solid and pretty girls dressed in unicorn tassels and headgear danced in front of the stage to the raging tunes.
Iggy Pop, 60’s The Stooges frontman and who some would call the Godfather of Punk, came out in all his shirtless glory and opened up with (I mean of course) I Wanna Be Your Dog, spitting bottled water and flipping off the crowd and cameras. He was bold and delightful in his punk charm, right into Gimme Danger and The Passenger, then more Stooges’ classics like 1969. It’s sincerely hard to believe this man is in his 70’s. He had more energy than most of the bands combined, and I felt happy that I got to see him in that setting before…I mean who even knows anymore what can happen to these legends. Somewhere somebody must have kicked Iggy around some…and he’s kicking back.
To Be Concluded…
