Desert Daze Music Festival: Sincere, Surreal & Free-Spirited

JOSHUA TREE, CA – Under the dry desert sun, I stood in line behind a barefoot, dreadlocked couple who, to say the least, didn't believe in wearing deodorant. That pungent smell was my introduction – an initiation of sorts – to Desert Daze, an intimate, three-day music festival held at the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree. With headliners Iggy Pop, Kurt Vile & Courtney Barnett, and Spiritualized, the smaller crowd size left room to create larger-than-life experiences.

Camping was a free-for-all, just like the free spirits roaming around the festival grounds. As my group (comprised of college radio friends) started to set up, we quickly realized that E-Z Up is an oxymoron – "Are the legs supposed to click into place, or...? I'm too short." Luckily, the "nice, intelligent people" festival founder Phil Perrone spoke of proved to be true; a group of 20-somethings walking by put the "E-Z" back in E-Z Up, and we were set. All other campground happenings were fairly mild; highlights include choosing outfits based on how much it would (or wouldn't) make us sweat, stuffing toilet paper into pockets before heading to the porta potties and politely declining to buy "LSD in bulk" from a bug-eyed, fidgety stranger.

The strong smell of spices had wafted in and out of my nostrils each time I walked through the row of food vendors, making me drool, so again I followed my nose (this time toward the smell, instead of away from the stinky couple), and it led me to an East African food vendor. I ate dinner at a picnic table with strangers, where we exchanged stories and laughs while our noses dripped from the heat of the curry. The people at Desert Daze were the most eclectic, inviting group I've ever seen gathered in one place – infant to elderly, shaved heads to dyed hair, metalheads to hippies, had all gathered in the middle of the desert to celebrate life, listen to music and build a cohesive community.

As expected, the music was the defining factor of the festival. Smaller bands like Spaceface, a retro psychedelic group from Memphis, Tennessee, left a large impression on their audience, making new fans in the process. Larger names like Iggy Pop, the godfather of punk rock, hosted sizable audiences that, due to the nature of Desert Daze, somehow never felt crowded.

Although they weren't technically headlining the festival, Australian psych-rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard drew headliner-sized hordes of fans and amped up the energy, setting the tone for the rest of Saturday night. The tongue-twister band is comprised of seven members, including a dueling drum duo, who are all wildly talented at their instruments; its show was so precise it was almost robotic. The organized chaos of Stu Mackenzie's intermittent flute playing and microtonal guitar left everyone wanting more. In fact, the band's song "Rattlesnake" is still stuck in my head.

In a white tank top, matching arm bands and a long, fluffy tutu, Angus Andrew of Liars serenaded the room with an upbeat performance. A dedicated fan (whose sobriety was questionable) stood alone in the throng of people, hair covering his face, head-banging and spinning around into oblivion. My eyes dodged back and forth between the singer and thrashing dancer; the purity of Andrew's all-white get-up was a stark contrast to the faceless, flailing man.

Thurston Moore, legendary frontman of Sonic Youth, played a humbling midday set amidst the desert heat. A toddler, nestled into his dad's left arm, wore orange headphones way too big for his head and bobbed to the harsh sounds of Moore's guitar. Although I was impressed by the baby's mature music taste, I was silently worrying about his inevitable hearing loss. Alas, the kid's more punk rock than I'll ever be.

Aside from music, Desert Daze also offered a variety of activities to just, for lack of better words, chill out. The Sanctuary Hall offered hours of Christopher Cichocki's art exhibit "Circular Dimensions: Live Laboratory," where meditative music played as moving petri dishes projected onto the walls of the room. Visitors were encouraged to grab a pair of 3-D glasses, lay down, stare at the ceiling and veg out.

The Noble Hall played various movies, animations and episodes of Adult Swim shows like "Tim & Eric” and "Off the Air" to a room full of beanbag chairs, pillows, and teepees to lounge in. There was an outdoor reading area secluded by trees, along with morning yoga classes and meditative sound baths – each small detail made the festival that much more enjoyable than its competitors.

Video by Patch staffer Emily Holland; Photos by Matthew Goulding