Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and Thom Yorke throwing down in the Commune at Ace Hotel & Swim Club for Desert Gold weekend deux.

Instagram by Gaslamp Killer

Sunday night — the last evening of Desert Gold at Ace Palm Springs — we were host to a surprising and miraculous alignment of bright stars. Spector dazzled and shredded in King’s Highway under the stained glass eye of god, in preparation for Blood Orange’s musical, spiritual and leather-jacketed gymnastics. For the final four tunes, Florence Welch floated to the fore and sang like an angel with Mr. Orange, including a cover of Greenday’s Hitchin a Ride and Kiss With a Fist. Noisey filmed it all. We watched with amorous tears in our eyes. And our pal Julie from TOAST watched like the wizard she is. Thanks to her and to the big love crowd that bore witness.

Photos by Iggy Gonzalez

Brad Elterman’s Ace x Impossible slides from Desert Gold 2012. We also had a little contest both weekends for a stay at Ace and some other gifts from yours truly — stay tuned for those shots from the field.

Smoking in bed, sexual inhibition, canned meats and a planetary eclipse of bellbottoms and zippered skinny jeans — these comprise some of telling marks the 1970s left on our collective psyches. Brad Elterman saw all that and more — at the blushing age of 17, he started capturing the likenesses of Tinseltown’s most influential legends including Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, The Beatles, Jane Fonda, John Travolta and Peter Frampton.

We’re very happy that Brad will be our first Artist in Residence during the first weekend of Desert Gold: Roadside Attraction at Ace Hotel & Swim Club, resurrecting his Beverly Hills party shot skills poolside and late night in the Amigo Room and Commune. We’ll be posting his shots mid-week so you might just see yourself on this page very soon. See the full schedule here and catch some of the last remaining rooms here.

Last night at Desert Gold, we swayed, bounced, imbibed and cheered along with Flying Lotus, Fucked Up and lots of other talented folks in the Commune, King’s Highway and the Amigo Room. Here are some shots from the field.

Photos by Justin Kent and Matt Devincenzi

Some shots from the first cycle of the sun on Desert Gold weekend. In a few minutes, we’re headed off to see Flying Lotus, Fucked Up and some special guests play into the wee hours. For now, we’re looking back over a really good day with new and old friends. Last night, Phoreyz played in the Amigo Room with DJ Day, Gaslamp Killer and friends. This afternoon, Garrett of Ace Palm Springs played with his sister and brother as Hawks and Doves by the pool, Doc Martens hooked a bunch of people up with kicks, we got some swag from the Opening Ceremony vending machine and perused the vintage goods and desert-made masterpieces at Mt. Fuji’s Soul Mountain pop-up. Stay tuned tomorrow for more music and sun — you can click on the button in the sidebar to see our updates.

Photos by Justin Kent and Matt Devincenzi

Opening Ceremony launches its first ever vending machine at Ace Hotel Palm Springs, just in time for Desert Gold during Coachella weekend. Stocked with fun things like candy-colored luggage tags created exclusively for Opening Ceremony by Tumi, Venessa Arizaga’s whimsical bracelets, one-of-a-kind crystal pendants by Unearthen, Opening Ceremony’s mixtape of love songs on a button-shaped MP3 player, tribal earrings by award-winning jewelry designer Pamela Love, Jeremy Scott’s signature-printed designer condoms, and a collection of special trinkets, this big, friendly machine delivers a well-curated assortment of traveling essentials.

Opening Ceremony was founded in 2002 in NYC by our friends Carol Lim and Humberto Leon with the idea of bringing their love of travel and fashion to a concept boutique. Now you can find that love in a concept vending machine. If you’re in the neighborhood this weekend, next or anytime really, come stock up.