Kevin Bronson on October 11th, 2013

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Random encounters of the festival kind at the first night of Filter magazine’s Culture Collide, as reported by Kevin Bronson, Seraphina Lotkhamnga and Andrew Veeder:

Highlight of the night

Fans of the British indie movement/dream-pop/shoegaze have the rare chance to see one of the originals this weekend at Culture Collide, but the witching-hour set by Secret Shine on Thursday made you wish there were more venues available for the festival, which attracts more than 60 bands from more than 25 different countries. The venerable quintet from Bristol, U.K. – whose debut full-length “Untouched” came out on Sarah Records and turned 20 this year – was situated in Lot 1 Cafe, a fine room for intimate shows but overmatched by the sound set-up Secret Shine brought. Ah, the pains of being pure at noise. In front of a crowd of no more than 25, the band (Jamie Gingell, Scott and Dean Purnell, Kathryn Smith and Richy Lee) dispensed with employing their keyboard and laptop and soldiered through a set dense with guitars and good nature. “I’m trying to be the keyboard as well – just winging it,” Smith said with a laugh after humming some parts. Here’s hoping that everything works at Secret Shine’s two other Culture Collide shows: tonight at 7 at the Church and Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Taix Lounge. (– K.B.)

Of Iceage and Men, funny sPelLinGs and ‘Oh Sheila’

Brooklyn’s The Men kicked off their Echo set with “I Saw Her Face” from their latest album “New Moon,” and barreled through a half dozen other songs. The three vocalists took turns fronting tracks, soaring with no shortage of fast-chugging guitar licks and classic Americana riffs. The further into the set they plowed, the more the crowd’s hair whipped around. (– A.V.)

After plowing through their first song “Awake,” Copenhagen punk band Iceage’s singer Elias Rønnenfelt [pictured] addressed the Echo’s stage-encroaching row of photographers by saying, “If you’re gonna take pictures, move back.” Once they did, the show turned raucous and the moshing escalated, with Elias taking a huge splash of beer to the face without so much as a reaction. Twenty minutes in, amp head malfunctions plagued the guitarists and the frustrated band was forced to cut their set short. (– A.V.)

Japanese artist SiMoN may spell his name like a 14-year-old on MySpace, but his intricate and intimate songs proved worldly at the Church. Kicking off his flip-flops, the singer-songwriter took the stage and let his guitar roar while his demure vocals floated above – barely opening his eyes throughout the set. Whether or not he is actually a fan of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, his T-shirt provided a slightly humorous juxtaposition as his songs wailed to a level of intensity somewhere between Explosions in the Sky and Sondre Lerche. (– S.L.)

Norwegian pop star Maya Vik brought the funk to the Taix front lounge. Wearing a two-piece covered in gold jagwars, the sassy singer donned a bass guitar like a boss and performed her hits such as “Bummer Gun” and “Oslo Knows.” With a sound that could land her a gig with the Purple One himself, Vik’s set was pop music that also transported the crowd back to the days of Phil Collins and Paula Abdul. Even when her inner-ear piece was intercepted by Mexican radio, Vik brought the house down with her cover of Ready for the World’s “Oh Sheila.” (– S.L.)

Veteran Russian rockers Mumiy Troll are no strangers to L.A. – they’ve gigged here, especially behind their U.S. releases such as 2010’s EP “Paradise Ahead” and 2012’s full-length “Vladivostok.” With his hoodie up, down and then up again, frontman Ilya Lagutenko cast a spooky and at times impish presence in the Church, while his quintet powered through some electro-charged rock songs. Language is no barrier here; if you’re into Brit-rock, it’s easy to like Mumiy Troll’s songs and, perhaps, imagine them sung with a different accent. (– K.B.)

The Champagne Room at Taix did not end on a quiet note, but fans of No Joy encouraged the raucous noise from the Canadian shoegazers. Guitarists Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd barely showed their faces as the room rattled with reverb. Rocking underneath their long blonde hair, the two frontwomen annihilated eardrums and stole hearts. (– S.L.)

Observationally speaking …

“Mad Men’s” Jessica Paré was spotted at the Echo and Taix … And was that Moby and Dhani Harrison and Shepard Fairey? Check … Bring earplugs for the Taix Lounge shows, folks, especially if you’re close to the stage … And you have to appreciate when Echo security comes through stage mid-soundcheck to dole out a bottle of water and a tall boy to each band member.

Photos: Top and mini-gallery by Bronson; iceage and Moby by Jasmine Safaeian