Kevin Bronson on August 18th, 2017

0

The sixth annual Echo Park Rising opened its arms to bands and fans from far and near — yes, mostly near — on Thursday night, and things got loud quickly.

For their part, headlining Swedish veterans Dungen held up their end of the deal. They played an hour of sumptuous prog-rock from their nine-album catalog and inspired a room full of head-bobbing at the packed Echo, outside of which a line stretched west on Sunset Boulevard by the time the band went on at 9:10.

Later, at the Lost Room, the Diamond Light dispensed their vicious riffage at what they said was their final show ever. “We’re not breaking up,” frontman Griffin Young said, “we just all have to go to jail.” Earlier at that venue, the Gloomies and Liv Slingerland unleashed tasty sets, and after the Diamond Light’s sweat-drenched crowd had dissipated, Oliver Riot — identical twins Benjamin and Alexander Moore – played a mellow, stripped-down set, including tunes from their latest EP “Neurosis.”

There was another nightcap set to be found next door, where singer-keyboardist Brenda Carsey raised her clarion voice.

Like a lot of what you’ll find this weekend at Echo Park Rising, Thursday night found big music in small places. At Lot 1 Café, the euphoric Seasons — keys, percussionist, violinist, horn player and all — crowded onto the small stage to remind everybody of Arcade Fire/Broken Social Scene and lead the crowd in a chant of “F*ck Fascists!”

SWIMM ranged from hyper-romantic to raging in their set in the Champagne Room at Taix.

Similarly, two of the neighborhood’s most deliriously loud bands, Draag and Goon, did their thing on the Echo’s Patio Stage. With earplugs, it was a good thing indeed.

||| Also: Find set times for the rest of the festival here. Sample our EPR playlist here.

Photos by Shabnam Ferdowsi and Kevin Bronson