The music of the 1980s is often associated with glam and synthesizers. Desolation Center reminds us that in the first half of the decade, Los Angeles had an important underground punk rock scene, a far cry from the candy pop that flooded the radio waves.

Organizers of the Desolation Center illegally invited musicians and fans to gather in the desert, a few hours from L.A., to attend impromptu concerts by local legends, including Minutemen and Meat Puppets. In 1984, the unusual performance by Einstürzende Neubanten, a German group that pioneered industrial music, impressed both the musicians present and the audience.

The following year, Perry Farrell, a faithful spectator of these concerts, played with Psi Com, his first band. The future leader of Jane's Addiction would keep this experience in mind when creating the memorable Lollapalooza festival in 1991. It could even be argued that the events organized by Desolation Center played a part in the birth of grunge in the late 1980s.

An ode to artistic boldness and creative eccentricity, Desolation Center illustrates the distance that separates us today from this less rigid world. The film's lesson in freedom could be very useful in these times of cultural and collective fatigue.

Jean-Philippe Desrochers
Critic