LOS ANGELES,CA - Welcome to the Culture Collide Festival 2011. It’s mish-mosh, rag-tag, and we like it like that. I’m not gonna lie, this festival has quickly become my sentimental favorite. (The happy hours with free beer at Taix in Echo Park DEFINITELY help with that.)
Thursday is day one of the festival officially, for most people it doesn’t begin until Friday, so that will now be considered Day 1. The crowds are smaller and it’s easy to run into people a few times while you’re running around trying to catch a free taste of a sponsored beer or a new artist you haven’t seen before, know nothing about, and might not ever see again.
One of the extras with Culture Collide is that there are a few films about music. Last night kicked off with a screening of Nirvana: Live at the Paramount. One of this evening features was Everyday Sunshine: The Story of FISHBONE, a band who were local LA 1980s-90s favorites. The film is partly their bid to be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The band really struggled to be accepted as an all black band on a punk and ska scene – their music and persona was caught between black and white spheres. And like many bands, they were dropped from their label midway through the 1990s as the music scene changed. Their story typifies the experience of many bands who struggle to stay relevant despite the odds.
Ximena Sarinana is originally from Mexico but is putting down roots in Los Angeles. Her latest album is all in English and she shared some good tunes from it at the Co-op in Echo Park. Any guy interested in her has fair warning that the crowd of chicas in attendance who adore her will let you have it if you break her heart. However, her broken heart songs are deeply moving and easy to relate to. She easily wins over any audience with sweetness and charm. (She’s also very fashionable.)
There was more excitement to be had over at the Echo and Echoplex. Rainbow Arabia opened with an energetic performance of their eclectic experimental music. They have been touring Europe and now hit the hometown turf with Culture Collide. The stage seemed a bit cramped for lead singer Tiffany’s antics, but then they will play again on Sunday at the FREE block party near TAIX on Sunday.
Cosmic Kids (USA) performed a DJ set followed by Lindstrom from Norway who crafts electro tunes with the help of a MacBook Pro and various gadgets. He really kept the crowd dancing. So did Playstation 3 Everybody Dance who had stations where people could again sample the video game in between acts (or even during).
The highlight of the evening was Liam Finn from New Zealand who boasted that nobody had travelled as far as he had to perform there. He brought with him his full band for this show – including a violinist. If you have remotely heard of this artist, his stage show was gripping and energetic – small stage be damned. His music sounds very much like American roots music with doses of experimentalism and jamming on tangents. He plays drums then quickly switches to guitar and back while singing and leading the band. He played an encore to the packed house before all went home.
Please note that entry points and schedules have changed due to noise complaints. Please check at TAIX where changes will be posted. www.CultureCollide.com
Check out the photos.
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