Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 17th, 2014

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The fifth annual Culture Collide Festival returned to Los Angeles on Thursday night. The three-day celebration of bands from across the globe will continue tonight and Saturday in various venues throughout Echo Park. Although attendance has been lower than previous years (so much lower that they have no dropped prices for wristbands for the final two days to $10), it is uncertain whether or not attendance was directly affected by Filter Magazine’s demise in June. Nevertheless, the music went on: Taix was in full swing with the lounge boasting acts from Australia, Japan, Costa Rica, and its Champagne Room hosting acts from Korea; the United Methodist Church held their own with intimate performances from U.K., the Netherlands and U.S. artists; the Echo was also booming with bands from the States, plus a couple acts from the Netherlands and Sweden. However, it was the Echoplex that really packed in a punch. With the Regent Theatre not opening on time, tickets to MØ’s show originally scheduled downtown (with De Lux and Holychild as support) were honored at the ’Plex, and became an excellent addition to the festival.

Our highlights from Culture Collide, Day 1:

Go Back to the Zoo

Preceded by L.A.’s Haunted Summer, the Amsterdam quartet made sure to pick the tempo up. Performing in a church didn’t deter Go Back to the Zoo from playing as loud and ferocious as they could. Comprised of brothers Cas and Teun Hieltjes and Bram Kniest and Lars Kroon, the pop-rock band went pop-heavy tunes to more alt-rock songs such as the anthemic “You.” Frontman Cas joked about which songs would be the “most church-appropriate.” They all seemed to be just right for a Thursday night at Church.

Until the Ribbon Breaks

The U.K. band, who recently had an L.A. residency at the Bootleg in June, followed Go Back to the Zoo with a set that was probably the best-kept secret at the festival. As the only band at the church to gets fans out of their seats, the trio of Pete Lawrie-Winfield, Elliot Wall and James Wolujewicz performed a riveting set that fused funk, R&B, hip hop, pop and rock. With images of Run the Jewels’ “Job Well Done” music video (they guested on the track) and scenes from Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo+ Juliet,” Until the Ribbon Breaks were smooth as they were boisterous. The Echoplex may have already been packed to the gills for MØ, but folks dancing in the pews got the steal of the night.

MØ

Although Until the Ribbon Breaks may have won the best prize for most innovative and enthralling set originally scheduled on the festival schedule, there was no doubt that MØ’s headlining slot at the Echoplex was the most buzzed-about show, and with good reason. The Danish pop singer, who rocked the Troubadour in June, brought the just the oomph a Thursday night called for. With her high pony tail violently swinging as she sang those delicate R&B melodies, MØ’s raw energy rippled through the crowd of fans who had bought tickets to the Regent (plus, the first 200 Culture Collide wristband-holders were allowed in). But she didn’t confine herself to the stage. Plunging into the crowd (and their cell phones) and eventually climbing atop the front bar, MØ was truly the entertainer of the night. Oh, and that Spice Girls cover (“Say You’ll Be There”) of hers completely made up for Holychild’s attempted renditions of well-known Aailyah and Destiny’s Child classics.

Top gallery by Carl Pocket, courtesy of the Echo; lower gallery by Seraphina Lotkhamnga