Oct 11th-13th- Lake Perris, CA
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Animal Collective Setlist
Stereolab Setlist
DIIV Setlist
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Crowds gathered seamlessly this year into the Moreno Beach area of Lake Perris for the autumn ritual of camping, yoga, swimming and the hottest bands you’ll see all year. In its 8th go-around, this was a vast improvement from the insane parking situation and nasty weather of 2018, thanks be to the gods. Desert Daze is quite often referred to as the greatest festival ever, and in all my years of music festivals (and believe me, there have been many) I have to concur that this one undoubtably tops the charts. From art instillations that will dazzle your mind to tea ceremonies in tents under the desert morning sky, this festival is for the light of heart, the TRUE music lovers, and the seekers. While I was mesmerized by the first DAZE I attended at the Metaphysics Institute in Joshua Tree in 2017, there is something magical about the festival continuing on with its desert theme while adding a sparkling lake that you can drift in whenever you please. It’s also an hour and a half away from sunny Los Angeles, so fellow Angelenos should consider themselves pretty blessed 🙏.
FRIDAY
Los Angeles psych rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers played Friday afternoon at The Block Stage. Most of the set consisted of songs from their newest album ZAM, which came out in March. These guys are funky and amazing to see in the daylight because you can really get lost in the goofy faces of frontman Dylan Sizemore. Lead guitarist Josh Menashe donned a dope Canadian tuxedo while slaying away on his solos, and bassist Alex Bulli rocked an 80’s-esq mohawk. Dylan yelled to the crowd towards the end of their set “Thanks for putting this on Phil, it’s the greatest festival in the world!” They ended with the single ‘Tea’, a heavy-hitting single that perfectly topped the performance.
Zachary Cole Smith of Brooklyn’s DIIV announced as they came out on the Moon stage that their new album Deceiver dropped on Friday. “We’re gonna play the whole album. This is kind of a nighttime record…kind of funny to be playing it here…” as the sun was blazing down on the crowd. They went right into Horeshead, the slow, grungy track with the slightly-more-than morbid lyrics “Horsehead…I’m never quite enough…I wanna breathe in and never breathe back out…” Laughing one of the members exclaimed, “Every song is in a different tune.” Skin Game, one of the more dance-worthy songs on the album, is like if Elliot Smith, Silverchair and Explosions in the Sky had a baby, with its transcendent vocals and catchy chorus. “Thanks for coming out guys, you’re being real nice, we thought there’d be like 50 people here,” exclaimed bassist Colin Caulfield, before ending their set with Acheron.
Jessica Pratt came out decked in a black suit wearing dark shades, her blonde hair shaggy around her face as she clutched her acoustic guitar. I had never heard her music before this festival, and after giving her latest album Quiet Signs a solid listen I was beyond thrilled to find this lady. She’s a 70’s folk dream, a lullaby and a haunting figure as she strummed her guitar and mesmerized the crowd with her breathy tunes. Accompanied by Matthew McDermott on piano, the set was slow and soft, a nice sigh of air as festival goers sipped on their coconut waters and beers. Ya gotta stay hydrated in the desert, people.
Atlas Sound’s Bradford Cox came out onto the Moon stage in all of his androgynous glory in a mustard yellow blouse and Mr. Roger’s style trousers. The golden hour sun hit his shaggy brown hair just right as they went into ‘The Light that Failed’, off the album Logos. This is one of my favorite albums of all time so I was beyond stoked that they played mostly the whole thing. The crowd went nuts as Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab came out to join them in the song Quick Canal. This was one of the coolest moments in DD history, in my humble opinion…it was beyond legendary. Afterwards Bradford reapplied his lipstick and sang the lyrics ‘Everything was bathed in light…everything loved its way…everything makes sense when you look at it from another way…’ to end the set.
The group Crumb from New York was a super rad show to see as the sun started to finally give relief over the campgrounds. I believe they mostly played songs from their album Jinx, the song M.R. seeming to be the biggest hit in the crowd. Lila Ramani is hypnotic and a definite stunner, and their music is melodic and super synth-heavy thanks to Brian Aronow. These guys definitely seem to be on the rise and they had just ended a several month tour prior to the festival.
Stereolab was as delightful as I’m sure they were in the 90’s. Laetitia swayed about the Moon stage in a multi-colored dress yelling to the crowd “Let’s ping pong now!” going right into the song off the Mars Audiac Quintet album. She kept saying cute little quips to introduce songs, such as “This is, yes, it’s a love song!” or “Are we all on an extension trip? Yes, this is the future of illusion. Fantasy.” These guys rocked out while still keeping it dreamy with a sort of sprinkling of mod 60’s pop. This upbeat set under an almost full moon was otherworldly and something that is a once in a lifetime experience. Come and Play in the Milky Night and French Disko neared the end of the show, with Lo Boob Oscillator capping it off.
Although I was dying to hear My Girls, electro-psych band Animal Collective’s set did not disappoint. They opened up with the old school tune from 2005’s Feels, Banshee Beat, fronting stunning visuals of disco dancing girls and hearts. These guys played a bunch of new material, a few being “Gem and I”, “Bolder”, and “Strangers”. Another, “DownDownDownDown” was one that was rare and unreleased. The trippy background art was ridiculous, the one with hands almost holding onto each other being my favorite. Their encore performance was “For Reverend Green”, which they hadn’t played in 12 years.
[ To be Continued … ]
FRIDAY
Los Angeles psych rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers played Friday afternoon at The Block Stage. Most of the set consisted of songs from their newest album ZAM, which came out in March. These guys are funky and amazing to see in the daylight because you can really get lost in the goofy faces of frontman Dylan Sizemore. Lead guitarist Josh Menashe donned a dope Canadian tuxedo while slaying away on his solos, and bassist Alex Bulli rocked an 80’s-esq mohawk. Dylan yelled to the crowd towards the end of their set “Thanks for putting this on Phil, it’s the greatest festival in the world!” They ended with the single ‘Tea’, a heavy-hitting single that perfectly topped the performance.
Zachary Cole Smith of Brooklyn’s DIIV announced as they came out on the Moon stage that their new album Deceiver dropped on Friday. “We’re gonna play the whole album. This is kind of a nighttime record…kind of funny to be playing it here…” as the sun was blazing down on the crowd. They went right into Horeshead, the slow, grungy track with the slightly-more-than morbid lyrics “Horsehead…I’m never quite enough…I wanna breathe in and never breathe back out…” Laughing one of the members exclaimed, “Every song is in a different tune.” Skin Game, one of the more dance-worthy songs on the album, is like if Elliot Smith, Silverchair and Explosions in the Sky had a baby, with its transcendent vocals and catchy chorus. “Thanks for coming out guys, you’re being real nice, we thought there’d be like 50 people here,” exclaimed bassist Colin Caulfield, before ending their set with Acheron.
Jessica Pratt came out decked in a black suit wearing dark shades, her blonde hair shaggy around her face as she clutched her acoustic guitar. I had never heard her music before this festival, and after giving her latest album Quiet Signs a solid listen I was beyond thrilled to find this lady. She’s a 70’s folk dream, a lullaby and a haunting figure as she strummed her guitar and mesmerized the crowd with her breathy tunes. Accompanied by Matthew McDermott on piano, the set was slow and soft, a nice sigh of air as festival goers sipped on their coconut waters and beers. Ya gotta stay hydrated in the desert, people.
Atlas Sound’s Bradford Cox came out onto the Moon stage in all of his androgynous glory in a mustard yellow blouse and Mr. Roger’s style trousers. The golden hour sun hit his shaggy brown hair just right as they went into ‘The Light that Failed’, off the album Logos. This is one of my favorite albums of all time so I was beyond stoked that they played mostly the whole thing. The crowd went nuts as Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab came out to join them in the song Quick Canal. This was one of the coolest moments in DD history, in my humble opinion…it was beyond legendary. Afterwards Bradford reapplied his lipstick and sang the lyrics ‘Everything was bathed in light…everything loved its way…everything makes sense when you look at it from another way…’ to end the set.
The group Crumb from New York was a super rad show to see as the sun started to finally give relief over the campgrounds. I believe they mostly played songs from their album Jinx, the song M.R. seeming to be the biggest hit in the crowd. Lila Ramani is hypnotic and a definite stunner, and their music is melodic and super synth-heavy thanks to Brian Aronow. These guys definitely seem to be on the rise and they had just ended a several month tour prior to the festival.
Stereolab was as delightful as I’m sure they were in the 90’s. Laetitia swayed about the Moon stage in a multi-colored dress yelling to the crowd “Let’s ping pong now!” going right into the song off the Mars Audiac Quintet album. She kept saying cute little quips to introduce songs, such as “This is, yes, it’s a love song!” or “Are we all on an extension trip? Yes, this is the future of illusion. Fantasy.” These guys rocked out while still keeping it dreamy with a sort of sprinkling of mod 60’s pop. This upbeat set under an almost full moon was otherworldly and something that is a once in a lifetime experience. Come and Play in the Milky Night and French Disko neared the end of the show, with Lo Boob Oscillator capping it off.
Although I was dying to hear My Girls, electro-psych band Animal Collective’s set did not disappoint. They opened up with the old school tune from 2005’s Feels, Banshee Beat, fronting stunning visuals of disco dancing girls and hearts. These guys played a bunch of new material, a few being “Gem and I”, “Bolder”, and “Strangers”. Another, “DownDownDownDown” was one that was rare and unreleased. The trippy background art was ridiculous, the one with hands almost holding onto each other being my favorite. Their encore performance was “For Reverend Green”, which they hadn’t played in 12 years.
[ To be Continued … ]
Atlas Sound |
Frankie and the Witch Fingers |
DIIV |
DIIV |
Jessica Pratt |
Stereolab |
Atlas Sound |
Crumb |
Crumb |
Animal Collective |
Animal Collective at Desert Daze, Lake Perris (11 Oct 2019) |
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