Cultures Collide In Los Angeles

In case you were living a totally normal suburban life watching Netflix and/or bawling to the Cory Monteith tribute episode (R.I.P) you may have easily missed Culture Collide, Filter Magazine’s annual international showcase. The three day festival, spanning from October 10^th till the 12^th, presented musical talent from around the globe and lit up the Echo Park community. Whether popping into the United Methodist Church for the sweet crooning of LA’s own Rhye or putting on your raging slippers at the Echoplex with Australia’s Miami Horror, Filter provided a lot in the way of grooves and accents. Now in their fourth year, Culture Collide has steadily been gaining traction and shows real promise.

In fact, the most alluring factor of the fest is its youth.  The demographic ranges from young professionals in the music entertainment media to not-as-young professionals… in the music entertainment media – which is pretty standard for a festival that is presented by a relatively young music publication that kicks off on a Thursday night. Still, everyone was either pushing a product, ‘with the band’ or ‘doing a write-up.’ In other words, a clientele that could only be categorized as ‘Indie-Corporate.’ Although, it could also just be what happens when you attract a fairly large group of people to anywhere in Los Angeles.

Not to say that this affected the music. Everyone was genuinely interested in checking out which groups could make them move and no one was shy to show their adoration. Electronic Dance trio Terry Poison absolutely crushed it with their Saturday show at the TAIX Front Lounge. Front woman Louise Kahn displayed her confidence as both singer and hype-machine with some impressive bar counter acrobatics. Norway’s Soul princess, Maya Vik, had everyone funk stepping with the nearest body. Ghost Wave, New Zealand's psychedelic beach rock revivalists, took the crowd on the hazy 70's pacific coast sunset ride they didn't know they were longing for, weaving a veritable lucid dream of sonic exploration.

As the night came grew the place to be was the Echo and Echoplex. Newcomers Kid Karate had a strong showing, causing many a short lived whiskey fueled mosh pits (their native Ireland must be proud.) Their punk energy came a close second to the full frontal no-fucks-to-give attitude of Denmark’s Iceage. The UK’s Fuck Buttons treated a packed crowd to a fog enveloped Angus Hung and Ben Powers… pressing a whole lot of fucking buttons. But, it was Australia’s Miami Horror who deserve the crown of dance party masters. The entire Echoplex became a hive of funky soul two and three step shuffling during their set. One could even catch the occasional twerk from some of the more lively show goers. Truly representing the Aussie spring that Sneaky Sound System and Tame Impala have so masterfully paved the way for. 

This openness to exploration is mostly due to Filter’s scheduling and savvy selection of headliners. The set times were a festival goers dream. With bands playing for 30 to 40 minutes in perfect succession the weekend had the fewest ‘soup or salad’ type sacrifices of any music showcase this year. It was possible to catch almost all the action; unless you had to make the trek to the uncharted Lot 1 Café. While it was very intimate, Lot 1 was so far from the main strip of TAIX and The Echo that directions on the festival map had a simple arrow pointing down Sunset which read: ‘5 Minute Walk to Lot 1.’ Which wouldn’t be so bad if there was more than just Two Boots Pizza as a food pit stop.

The curators of the event were also very selective with the lineup. While presenting bands hailing from all over the world the groups still maintain a distinct cap on popularity, a lesson the totally irrelevant Sunset Strip Music Festival never seems to learn. The top headliners being the likes of Liars and King Khan & the Shrines allows for a fair playing field of attraction and also ensures that no one band takes all the attention. Rhye being the only exception to this formula; these guys had a line out the door of The Church that I haven’t seen since the last Harry Potter premiere.

Culture Collide has the makings of what could be a truly great LA Music Street Fest. With a few more venues available in a closer area and more food options it could become an important cultural port of global talent. Echo Park certainly wants it, and with the right marketing the greater Los Angeles could want it too. Which direction this experiment goes, though, depends a lot on Filter’s intentions. We may have a vivacious artistic center on our hands, or a more corporate west coast version of SXSW.