For those of you who haven’t been keeping tabs on our coverage of the Los Angeles based festival Culture Collide over the last week, let me bring you up to date. From last Wednesday night until Saturday, a series of live events took over a variety of venues in the Echo Park/Silverlake area of Los Angeles, run by Filter Magazine under the “Culture Collide” banner. Much like Big Sound or SXSW these were parties or showcases designed to show off bands from around the world. But the main event was an all day street party, featuring twenty bands over three stages. And best of all, it was free for the public to attend!
The day itself went off, as did the rest of the weeks events, without a hitch. Filter Magazine have put together a world class event in Culture Collide. It’s still in its early days (this is only the festival’s second year), but if they continue moving the event forward I can only see it getting bigger and better. A big thank you to the festival organisers for having us along, it was a thrill to encounter something so wonderful in its infancy. We can’t wait to see where you go from here! Ok so now onto the music…
Kicking things off on the Taix indoor stage was The Analog Girl (pictured above) from Singapore, a solo artist who combined a table full of gadgets – creating unique beats and melodies – with projection and vocals to produce an impressive selection of tracks and a rather spellbinding experience. Each number took a while to kick into gear as she jumped between her various accessories, but for the patient it formed some pretty interesting, fun and unique music.
Columbian rockers V is for Volume (pictured above), meanwhile, had opened things up on the outdoor main stages, proclaiming “this is how Columbia rock sounds!” It was a good dose of fun, that’s for sure. They gave us a mix of their own tracks and an impressive cover of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep”.
Things moved on quickly to local four piece The Tender Box (pictured above), who had plenty of fans and friends in the crowd. They reminded me a bit of The Wallflowers with a dash of New Order – the sort of radio safe rock and roll that’s heavier at times, with a good amount of electronic influence. Though nothing groundbreaking, they’re certainly enjoyable, and I have to say the lead singer reminds me a bit of Dougy Mandagi of The Temper Trap.
Holger (pictured above) had a festivale Brazilian feel, with two guitars, a bassist and two drummers (one of whom often onto keys or synth and bells, which then saw the bassist move onto the second drum kit). Songs included “Carribean Nights”, which was about “hot nights and cold drinks… that’s what we like!”. Fans of Jinja Safari and Foals would feel right at home here, with jungle beats and plenty of clapping. Great times! The set was made particularly enjoyable thanks to their ongoing technical problems. When they “fucked the drums” they launched into some freestyle raps, a cover of “Blister In The Sun” and “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer, which they dedicated to the former Bass guitarist of the band, who had passed away earlier that day. One hell of a band!
Moving back out into the daylight, I caught the end of Canadian Chad VanGaalen, who was performing tracks off his new record Diaper Island, as well as some old favourites. His on stage demeanour was a lot more “screamy” and energetic than I remember from the records. It felt more like some pretty rad garage rock than anything else, and I definitely liked it.
The JD Samson led MAN (pictured above) are currently performing as a three piece, with a drum machine, JD on computer and keys and a guitarist. “Circus Video” opens, while a cardboard cutout sat behind them to represent the missing band members. Tech problems persisted during the set, and an amp broke during “Simultaneous” (a track about co-dependency and aids?), though they persisted through it. “Who Am I To Feel So Free” closed up the enjoyable set.
I enjoyed Rainbow Arabia (pictured above) as much as I did at their set earlier in the week, though what I didn’t get to experience then was how much they kill it at the end of the set – it all becomes a super rad jam, and as such I must say I enjoyed the experience quite a bit! Back inside, Gary War seemed like quite a unique act though they didn’t do it for me, albeit some nice melodic noise. I think this had a lot to do with the fact that the girl up front seemed fairly uninterested in the whole thing.
Local indie pop rock heroes Avi Buffalo (pictured above) were a delight live. They had a second drummer who was a big guy with big hat and an amazing singer. What a dude! They also incorporated a guest rapper, who you can see in the photo gallery below. Eclectic and cool, Avi Buffalo are a sound unto themselves – a breath of fresh air, and if the newer tracks were of any indication, we’re in store for a treat with their forthcoming sophomore LP.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour (pictured above) shined just as brightly during the day as they did at their evening showcase at The Echo a few nights prior. We were asked a very important question during the set: “do you want more cowbell”? The answer was a loud and unreserved yes. A truly amazing live act! The set was pretty much identical to the other day – have a look back at our past coverage to learn more about the Danish pop ensemble, headed by the beautiful Mette Lindberg.
Polish three piece Indigo Tree (pictured above) were the sort of band who you immediately like. With slow beats, electronica, guitar and Bon Iver-esque soundscapes they were possibly our find of the entire festival. I only wish I’d gotten to experience more than the 3 or 4 songs I witnessed. Definitely check them out: http://facebook.com/indigotreemusic
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were in fine form as the sun set, gearing themselves up towards their highly anticipated Harvest Festival performances and sideshows back in Australia! They were jamming out a lot of new material – including the album’s namesake “Maniac”, but “Satan Said Dance” was an early favourite to arrive in the set, with “Gimme Some Salt”, “Is This love?”, “The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth” and “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood” all getting listens – although it wasn’t until the end of the set that we got a good listen to Alec’s legendary harmonica skills.
Back on the inside, the Yellow Dogs from Iran were a crazy energetic bunch with some spectacular dreds! Pretty damn fun music, too. Datarock hit it out next on the outdoor stages, jamming through tracks like “Fa-Fa-Fa”, the appropriate “California” (off their recent EP of the same name) and the set closed up with “I Used To Dance With My Daddy”. But the highlight of the energetic set (which the crowd very much got into) was “Computer Camp Love”, because Jerry from Devo (pictured below) joined them on stage to perform the track with them, taking part in the back and forth repertoire that the track is best known for. “Why, does she have a penis?” – Jerry from Devo. Classic.
Brazillian band CSS, who were essentially the headliners of the festival, got things rolling quickly with one of their biggest tracks “Let’s Make Love and Listen To Death From Above”, which got the crowd moving, as Lovefoxxx (pictured below) emerged in a cape and what looked like a cat mask. Amazing. The rest of the set included tracks like “Fuck Everything”, “Off The Hook” and “Hits Me Like a Rock” (my personal favourite). They’re a fun live band, that’s for sure. But one of the best kept secrets of the whole festival had to have been Mexican group DaPuntoBeat, who formed a ridiculous amount of beat jams and sexy times – too much fun! Pity they were clashing with CSS, but they still had a decent crowd.
Following the Mexican ensemble was one man, his keyboard and a computer: Chico Mann pumped out some Marley-esque tunes – sort of Jamaican meets African – to a very appreciative crowd. He and his one man band definitely put on a great sounding show.
Hyped New York outfit Gang Gang Dance closed out the outdoor stages, with their pretty and hypnotic music – long jams with melodic female vocals over the top, and some awesome projections placed over the top of that. With plenty of European influence in their sound, it’s no surprise that they’ve been hyped in the way they have. But it does seem to be more “come down” music than the name would suggest. You can make up your own mind when they play the Opera House in Sydney in December (and I’m sure they’ve got some other shows, too).
The night ended as it did the night before with a one-two punch from Australia, but this time Sparkadia was the first part of that equation. Coming into the crowd multiple times, Alex and his band had the crowd in the palm of his hands, with “Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs” awesome as always, and the set overall proving a lot more energetic than I had expected. “Mary” was the highlight of the set, though I particularly enjoyed “China” and the set closer “Jealousy”.
Closing out the festival, Sydney’s Cameras jammed through a rare hour long set which included a selection of older tracks they don’t normally play… even the first song Fraser ever wrote! Single “Defeatist” once again proved to impress the crowd the most (including this one drunk guy who seemed to instantly become their number one fan of all time….) A brilliant set to end a fantastic week of live music in Los Angeles. Hopefully see you back here next year!
Photos by Larry Heath.
