What could be better than Desert Rock legends Yawning Man playing live? Playing music at Giant Rock in the Mojave Desert. Giant Rock is a large freestanding boulder in the desert near Joshua Tree, that covers 5,800 square feet of ground and is seven stories high. What better way to kick off the live session than to have Mario Lalli walk over and flip the generator on before the jams. This really brings it home for all of us who attended the famous generator parties back in the early 90’s.
Live at Giant Rock contains five tracks of desert psych rock as I like to call it. The musicianship is first rate from all of the players, but what has always stood out for me when listening to Yawning Man has been guitarist Gary Arce’s melodic, ethereal guitar work. Mario Lalli’s mid-range chord heavy bass lines provide a heavy dirge like sound layered under the guitar. These jams really take you to another place and what better visuals than the actual desert.