Pop Break Live: Desert Daze 2022 (aka Desert Daze X) at Moreno Beach in Lake Perris, California on September 30-October 2, 2022
Words + Photos by Andrew Howie
I can’t believe it’s already been over a month since Desert Daze. The 10th anniversary of the southern California festival, nestled in the campground at Lake Perris, was a trip like no other. Desert Daze has a reputation for providing an experience that’s difficult to replicate with each iteration of the yearly ritual.
Returning to form a year after the pandemic still had most larger events closing their gates, this gem of the indie/psych rock/weirdo circuit left the crowd exhausted but fulfilled after a high-octane weekend. It was my fourth trip to the festival, and it continues to reside at or near the top of my most-grateful-to-have-attended get-togethers of the year.
After catching our bright and early flight out of O’Hare in Chicago, my brother and I arrived at camp on Thursday afternoon, met with our friends (a bunch of us met at Joshua Tree in 2017, we added some in 2018 and 2019, and have all kept in touch ever since – in fact the group grew by quite a few this year as well!), and got everything set up and handled. It felt good to be back under the California sun after not having been to DD since 2019.
Before long, the welcoming committee had begun; Thursday night I caught Hooveriii, Meatbodies, and an exceptional performance by HOTT MT (featuring the Bob Baker Marionettes) of a live score set to the film, Escape to Witch Mountain. Afterwards I called it a relatively early night sometime around two in the morning; it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Friday morning I woke up bright and early to hit the showers and went for some tea. Within a few hours, everyone else at camp was up and about, and we prepared to hit the festival grounds once the gates opened. Fast forward a couple hours and we were off, some heading to the lake to cool off, some heading to the merch booth (if you didn’t pick up one of the Kikagaku Moyo posters, I feel so sorry for you), some heading to the stages. Cymande on the Block Stage was a real treat, everyone was grooving hard and the vibe was off the charts. John Carroll Kirby’s set on the Beach Stage was similarly full of manic energy, carrying the crowd through the transition from day to night and setting off a beachside dance party the likes of which we’ve never seen.
From there it was time for a brief trip back to camp to recharge before heading back for Cortex; the smooth-as-silk French outfit transported us back to the ‘70s with lounge grooves that just melted into your bones and stuck a grin on your face. I meandered over to the Moon Stage to check out the end of Chicano Batman and was pleasantly surprised; having never heard them before, I didn’t know what to expect, and thoroughly enjoyed the bit of their show I managed to catch. Then it was back to the Beach for Duster; hearing them live is what I imagine it feels like to be an astronaut. Basically an out-of-body experience.
Then came one of the real scheduling conflicts of the weekend: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard vs. Perfume Genius vs. clipping. I meant to catch a bit of all three, but ended up staying at King Gizzard to catch my breath. This proved rather difficult as, with my eyes closed vibing out, I happened to open them just in time to see the crowd barreling towards me carrying Stu Mackenzie towards the lake. I escaped with my life intact, though it was quite perilous and I only just barely made it. Either way, King Gizzard debuted the track ‘Iron Lung,’ which is one of their best songs I’ve heard in a long time; they also played one of my favorite classic tunes of theirs, ‘Float Along – Fill Your Lungs.’ I have no complaints.
The closing show of Friday night for me was a group I’ve been dying to see since first being turned on to their music last year: Snapped Ankles. For the uninitiated, the group maintains anonymity in interviews and performs live in ghillie suits, so their identities are a mystery, and their instruments seem to be handmade out of trees and other assorted bog material. They play a mixture of high-energy post-punk and krautrock dipped in psychedelic atonal earthen prog. Their set was one of the best I’ve ever seen, let alone in recent memory. The way they whipped the crowd up into an absolute frenzy was mesmerizing, and they must have played at least 30 minutes past their set time. It was the most fun I’ve had in a very, very long time at a show anywhere, festival or otherwise.
Exhausted but full in my heart, I trudged back to camp, where everyone was returning from their respective late shows. We all had a few drinks and called it a night, eager to get to the next day.
Saturday morning brought with it a brisk walk around the campground before grabbing an iced coffee and returning to camp to wait for the group to arise. Once everyone was up and ready we all made our way over to the stage grounds again.
Noteworthy Saturday highlight: a friend tried the Meat the Beetles food shindig; you signed up for a set time, and when you arrived there would be a prepped course of dishes made from insects prepared by a well-known insect chef Joseph Yoon. I missed signing up as I was trying to catch as much music as possible, and I regret not getting to try the scorpion option.
Musically speaking, I started my Saturday by splitting the sets of L’éclair and Lady Wray, Swedish space disco and psychedelic R&B respectively. Afterwards, I headed back to the Beach to catch the insanely groovy Australian quintet Surprise Chef. They were one of my top discoveries from the Desert Daze lineup this year (one of the main reasons I love this festival is it always introduces me to new music), and their live show was impeccable. Also, check out my interview with their guitarist Lachlan Stuckey!
After catching just a bit of Shame and Frankie & the Witch Fingers, I headed to Slift; the French trio was another must-see for me, and their crushing brand of high-flying outer space psych rock just blew my hair back. Their sound was earth-shaking and they had tremendous stage presence. Absolutely one of the top highlights of the weekend.
Just after Slift was another big conflict: Australian outfit Mildlife vs. the outrageous Swedish group Viagra Boys. Strangely, this was one situation where I found stage bleed to be acceptable, as with the proper vantage point you could hear the song being played at the Moon Stage by Viagra Boys, and between songs you could take in the sumptuous, buttery grooves of Mildlife. Both groups are amazing and you should listen to them.
I should mention at this point that I had misplaced my phone somewhere Friday night. My wife, who was in Illinois, called my phone and someone answered, and actually took it to the lost and found. I managed to get it back right after Viagra Boys, and before Kikagaku Moyo, so my spirits going into the rest of the night couldn’t be higher. If you’re reading this and you returned a Google Pixel 3XL for someone named Andrew to the lost and found, thank you, you’re a legend.
Speaking of Kikagaku Moyo (Japanese for geometric patterns), let’s talk about them.
If you’ve even dipped your toes into the modern-day psych rock scene, you’ve most likely heard of this Tokyo quintet; they’ve been the subject of widespread critical acclaim since bursting onto the scene with monster appearances at both early Desert Daze events and Austin Psych Fest (now Levitation). The group announced earlier this year that the album Kumoyo Island would be their last, in addition to this being their final tour; they would be breaking up afterwards. They’ve been touring the world and giving everyone one last chance to take in their stunning live show. My first time seeing them was Desert Daze in 2018; I saw them again earlier this year in Chicago, and seeing them one last time at Lake Perris was exhilarating and emotional. I’m just so grateful to have seen them even once, let alone thrice. Their set on the Moon Stage was a towering inferno of monstrous improvisation, levitating harmonies, brain-tingling sitar, and infectious grooves. They could have played all night and I wouldn’t have left.
After such a truly psychedelic experience, I took a breather and listened to a bit of Shannon & the Clams from afar; I knew I was going to be out late though, so after about 20 minutes I headed back to camp to refuel.
The main event of the evening was Tame Impala performing their 2012 album Lonerism live in full in celebration of its tenth anniversary. In addition, as attendees of DD 2018 will know, Tame Impala was driven off stage by a major storm on Friday night that year, vowing to return in the future. They made good on that promise in fine form; having been an on-and-off fan of theirs over the years, it was a very pleasant set. I brought my blanket out to the beach and lay down near the water, just hanging out by myself and taking it in. It was very peaceful, and I’m a sucker for full-album performances, so I give it a thumbs up. The fact that Lonerism contains several songs that up until this performance had never been played live also added to the cool points for the show.
As the final notes of ‘Sun’s Coming Up’ faded away, I picked up my blanket and headed over for the last 20 minutes or so of Show Me the Body. The sheer brutality was a nice pick-me-up after the terminally chill vibe of Lonerism. Show Me the Body reminded me of Shellac, but with a more hip-hop oriented edge to their sound. I highly recommend catching them if you can, they are great.
Back at camp afterwards, most of us were dragging a little bit (it’s Saturday night of a festival, it’s your third night, you’re starting to feel it), but we all shared different stories of a wonderful day at the fest. We gradually drifted off to our tents, ready for one last day of music.
Sunday morning, rise and shine! As usual, most of us were up and at ‘em early. A couple friends and I hit the Outer Space to grab some tea/coffee and watch Grave Flowers Bongo Band. Back to camp for some beers and herbs, a brief conference with the group on what shows we were hitting, and it was off to the festival grounds once more.
I split my first hour on the beach between Inner Wave and Vanishing Twin. Inner Wave’s future-funk rattled my very soul and was exactly the spark I needed to get going, and Vanishing Twin eased the transition into the melty party of the day, where the sun was relentless and it was all you could do to stay hydrated.
Over the next couple of hours, I split my time catching bits of a few different sets: JPEGMafia, Noura Mint Seymali, and Automatic, before finally landing at BADBADNOTGOOD. It was a real whirlwind. Noura Mint Seymali’s voice moved me nearly to tears; I may not speak her language, but I’m in awe of her voice. JPEGMafia was bizarre and confusing in all the right aways, and Automatic was a pulse-pounding electric motorik machine. BADBADNOTGOOD dazzled the crowd with a sparkling concoction of acid-tinged psychedelic jazz.
As we entered the home stretch of the night, I made sure to catch at least part of DakhaBrakha’s set. Their earthy, haunting melodies echoed out over the lake and induced a trance on the crowd, which was difficult to break, even though I knew I had to head back to camp to gear up for the rest of the night (after grabbing some victuals from Flavors of East Africa) to nourish my tired body).
After taking care of business, I headed back to the stages for the last time. I headed straight for the Block, where the sheer distortion and electric dynamite of Fuzz felt like being struck by lightning. Far and away my favorite Ty Segall project, my jaw was on the floor the entire time.
After I picked up my face, I gathered my blanket and once more found myself sprawled out on the beach by the Moon Stage, this time drifting away to Beach House. I had heard their music before, but hadn’t checked out their newest record, Once Twice Melody. I’m now a full-fledged fan after their performance at DD and listening to that record. Their texture is just delicious, and their songs (particularly set closer ‘Over and Over’) elicit exactly the kind of fall vibe I crave these days; that coziness in the living room with the bleak gray sky, that dash of melancholy as we know winter and death are just around the corner. Lying under the stars, feeling Beach House wash over me, knowing these moments are fleeting, made my heart swell with gratitude at my good fortune of being part of something so special.
With the final notes of Beach House drifting into the sky over the lake, I meandered slowly over to the Block for Pond, the last show I planned on checking out. Their wacked-out futuristic psych pop put a grin on my face and I stood there, taking in the scene, trying to etch it into my brain before I headed back to what was left of camp; unfortunately, several of our group had to leave at various points during the day and night, resulting in the camp getting smaller and smaller every time I returned. Nothing wrong with people having to leave of course, but the vibe understandably gets less and less fun with each friend that departs – we’re a tight-knit group despite the massive distances between us, and most of us only see most of the rest of the group at this festival (though that has begun to change!).
Monday morning brought with it a cloudier sky at first, as if mirroring the mood of those who remained as we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I’ve camped at festivals all around the country, and Monday morning is always a bummer, because the party’s over. Desert Daze always has this added sense of sadness at parting ways though. Also, due to an unfortunate situation involving our rental car company, my brother and I had to get dropped off about an hour away from the festival grounds and Uber back to Santa Ana to catch our flight back to Chicago.
It could’ve been worse though, we arrived with plenty of time at the airport to have breakfast and a drink before boarding. This is our second Desert Daze together, and it’s always a major bummer the day after; apart from getting the big sad from no longer being at the festival, surrounded by music and art, and most importantly seeing our amazing friends, we have to get back to central IL, and there are just so many steps. It’s always worth it, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t devastating on the body.
Desert Daze X was an inter-dimensional affair of intimate yet epic proportions, to use a descriptor applied to the festival on their website. Performances ranging from solo acoustic acts to sprawling galactic tunes from beyond the stars, artwork from another planet, and a vibe like no other are just a few of the reasons DD continues to set the standard for camping festivals, at least in my experience. Throw in the free, clean, brick-and-mortar shower/bathroom facilities and you’ve got the perfect psychedelic getaway if you play your cards right.
I can’t recommend this festival enough. It’s an endeavor, for sure. Once you get there though, all of that melts away in the face of the sheer vibe of the place. It’s irresistible, and once you go and see for yourself what it’s all about, the thought of not going every year just doesn’t make sense. It becomes one of those aspects of life that simply is. I hope to see you there in the future.
