When a 20-year-old decided to put on a series of gigs in the desert, bands like Sonic Youth, Minutemen and the Meat Puppets signed up. The r
Desolation Center — When a 20-year-old punk decided to put on a series of illegal shows in the desert, bands like Sonic Youth, Minutemen and the Meat Puppets agreed to play.
Fans, meanwhile, boarded buses not knowing what to expect. The rest became music history.
OTD, 1983 With Los Angeles punk rock running afoul of authorities, the Minutemen play a guerilla concert in the Mojave desert, where fans are bussed in.
It's the first of a series of "Desolation Center" concerts that are the precursor to Burning Man and other desert music festivals.
The stereo is blasting English post-punk groups like Wire and Magazine, as well as bands like Savage Republic from back home in LA.
He stares out at the vast desert thinking about all the DIY punk gigs where police have either shut down the show or attacked the audience. Then an idea hits him: ‘Let’s move the shows out to the desert.’
