Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 19th, 2014

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Culture Collide got loud on Friday evening, and if Echo Park didn’t know it yet, the World Stage set up in Taix’s parking lot made sure of it, with the sounds of the Young Wild, Mercy Beat, Beat Connection and Cloud Nothings reverberating into the neighborhood. Lot 1 Cafe opened its doors to artists from the U.K., Sweden, Israel and Singapore and the United Methodist Church had a full room for the first time with the Cardigans’ Nina Persson headlining the night. Taix itself was also still in full swing with garage-rockers thrashing inside and electronic artists rattling the lounge’s glassware.

Our highlights from Culture Collide, Day 2:

Level & Tyson 

This Oslo, Norway-based quintet was a nice treat for a Friday evening at Church. A bit of dream-pop and shoegaze from Level & Tyson was just what this blogger needed to get into festival gear. With a lead guitarist shredding away on the alter underneath falsetto boy-girl harmonies, Level & Tyson brought their raw quirkiness to the States for the first time and were excited to do it. “It’s really cool to be playing in a church in L.A.,” gushed their frontman. “It’s actually our first time in L.A.” Reverb-laden guitars in “Calling Me Up” and “In Orbit” floated up into the church and perhaps made rock music as intimate as it could get.

Cloud Nothings 

As the headliner of the World Stage outside, Cloud Nothings brought the largest crowd yet to Culture Collide with their boisterous noise rock. Dylan Baldi and crew ripped through a cacophonous set, which yielded – surprise, surprise – a moshing crowd thoroughly enjoying the outdoor show. With Culture Collide slated as their last date on their U.S. tour, Cloud Nothings played with a kinetic energy they most likely have reserved for especially for this night.

Nina Persson

Festival-goers piled into the Church early for Nina Persson. Whether or not they were fans of the Cardigans (the band which Persson has been lead vocalist of since its formation 22 years ago), fans were excited to catch a show from the Swedish singer-songwriter. Buying a festival wristband for $30 was quite the steal to see Persson headlining an intimate venue. She is touring in support of the first solo album released under her own name. (She had previously released two albums under A Camp.) Some may only have the Cardigans’ 1996 mega-hit “Lovefool” as context for Persson’s career, but her set on Friday night demonstrated she has kept the charm.

Dune Rats 

For fans of garage-rock, there was no doubt that Australia’s Dune Rats completely owned the night inside Taix. Performing inside a room with a name as classy as the Champagne Room didn’t matter to the raucous trio, whose high energy and stage antics bounced off the walls. Unruly and most likely intoxicated, Dune Rats surprisingly played a tightly wound set even when bassist Brett Jansch completely flew across the stage and into guitarist Danny Besua’s feet. Kids these days.

Photo gallery by Kelly Rosales; Level & Tyson and Nina Persson by Seraphina Lotkhamnga