Temples
Here we are, almost 6 months after the Desert Daze festival took place at The Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree and we still can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the type of experience that AEG exits are made of. A festival that is rich with so many memories of once in a lifetime sets and lifelong friendships that began that weekend are burned in our brains forever.
related content: Desert Daze 2016- Quantifying the Physics of a Good Time
The folks at Moonblock are not your stereotypical musicians and artists. You know, the ones from paradigms past that lived off their stripper girl friends and never had a job. No, they are part of this new, global artist community renaissance that is characterized by entrepreneurship and hustle. They fill the vacuum left in the ruins of the major record labels with a balance of bands, indie record labels and booking agencies like Phil and Julie Pirrone have with Desert Daze, The Space Agency and their respective bands, JJUUJJUU and Deap Vally. They are filled with family.
It’s in this vein that the Pirrone’s put together the Desert Daze Caravan that has been touring since February and are currently stopped in Austin for SXSW. The Caravan features JJUUJJUU, Froth, Deap Vally, Night Beats and Temples.
I was excited to go to the show for multiple reasons and make a night of it. Unfortunately, we had a contributor fall out in their commitment to cover The Brian Jonestown Massacre at The Fonda so I split my time that evening. I was never a huge fan of Temples but was super bummed to miss Night Beats and Deap Vally in exchange for what I thought was going to be a good time ripping what I heard as the trainwreck-ishness of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Both JJUUJJUU and Froth deliver on the hard side of psych rock. The resurgence of psych rock itself isn’t a pure form of the psychedelia that first tripped us out in the 60’s and 70’s but rather a mutt of rock music that seems to draw on multiple era’s. Much like Thee Oh Sees, early Ty Segall, Meatbodies first album and so many more of the endless bands popping up all across the world that draw from harder edged music as well as it’s tripped out cousins.
The Mad Alchemist was in the house at The Regent Theater and on the road with the Caravan to lend his analog light show to the ambiance of traveling side show.
related: Mad Alchemy Drip Liquid Light Shows Live- Interview w/ Lance Gordon
Froth played some new material that stood out for my brief time at the Regent Theater. The songs from Outside (briefly) helped me make my point about the harder edge of psych with it’s progressive vibe and prodigious arrangements, Froth should be on a lot of radars in 2017.
Words: Danny Baraz
Photos: Grace Dunn
