REVIEW: ‘Desolation Center’
Photo: Desolation Center was a series of desert concerts in the 1980s, events that attracted the likes of a young Perry Farrell. Photo courtesy of Desolation Center / Provided by press kit with permission.
Before Coachella, Lollapalooza and Burning Man there was a little-known desert music festival called Desolation Center, produced by Stuart Swezey, in the mid-1980s. These pop-up concerts, which took place in various locations around Southern California, proved quite prophetic and culturally important, harnessing the musical power of such bands as Sonic Youth, the Minutemen, Redd Kross, Meat Puppets, Einstürzende Neubauten and Savage Republic.
Now these influential shows are being celebrated in a new documentary by Swezey. Desolation Center is now available virtually and features tons of footage of what it was like to head to the desert in the middle of the night to hear punk rock.
Most of the film’s narrative structure is built around taped talking-head interviews of band members and audience members who helped make Desolation Center a true happening. The story is told chronologically and mostly focuses on the difficulty of putting on the concerts (no permits, bus transportation from Los Angeles, the cold, the sound, the pyro, the drugs) and how fascinating and important the music turned out to be.
The performances in the documentary are truly special. There is a lot of time devoted to having these bands do what they do best: play before a crowd of devotees. The Minutemen, who are no more, offer some choice rarities, ditto for Savage Republic. Of course, checking out early Sonic Youth is always a plus, and Redd Kross seems to be energy personified.
Throughout the film there are also references to how the Desolation Center’s story influenced other music festivals, including Lollapalooza, which was founded by Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell, who was in attendance at one of these Desolation shows. One image shows him sitting in the rocky crag of the desert, enjoying the music and no doubt thinking about how this concept can change the music landscape. Also, because of the desert environment, there’s no doubt that Coachella and Burning Man are direct descendants of Desolation.
[Read Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with Perry Farrell.]
Swezey proves to be an interesting main subject. He is open about these halcyon days and what motivated him to be a counterculture figure. As a director, it was a good idea for him to amass a diverse group of attendees who could also talk about their motivations, likes, dislikes and general feeling about life and music in the 1980s.
Desolation Center may not have the same name value as those other festivals, and it’s time on planet earth may have been relatively short lived, but there’s no denying it went out with its credibility intact. To put it simply, they closed up shop before having the chance to sell out.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Desolation Center (2018). Directed by Stuart Swezey. Featuring Sonic Youth, the Minutemen, Redd Kross, Meat Puppets, Einstürzende Neubauten and Savage Republic. Running time: 93 minutes. Rating: 
