Election Night '10, the night Australia decides on a new leader. But for the bands on show just another working night. There was little talk of the election, other than wondering when the result would finally be called. A mixture of the wintry weather and the ongoing election perhaps may have put off potential punters, as the crowd was not nearly as sizeable as I would have expected. Despite this, when opening act The Floors took to the stage, there were quite a few people milling around early to catch their set. The trio put on a great boisterous and powerful performance. The blues influence was there for all to see, albeit on a heavier and rockier scale. I was particularly impressed with the vocal work from Luke Dux, who when not shouting and hollering down the microphone, really put on a superb vocal performance, really embracing his inner twisted southern preacher at times. There was plenty of quality guitar work on show, all underpinned by some solid bass and percussion work. As a group they were confident and assured on stage, and put on a performance worthy of headliner status. This is definitely a band to look out for in the future.  

Up next on the Rosemount stage were fellow locals Schvendes, a band who specialise in "gloom rock" and I mean that in the nicest way possible. They are not what you would call an upbeat band, rather they are masters of melodic melancholy. They specialise in writing hauntingly beautiful songs about murder, mayhem and madness. I can't attest to how they sound on CD, but live they have a wonderfully rich and layered sound, bolstered by strings and slide guitar. Both of which along with the keys really give the band their beautifully haunting sound. One of the main highlights of the band are the vocals Rachael Dease's vocals, they are rich and textured and really add to the character of the band. At times she reminded me of Patti Smith, in her vocal delivery; beyond that she has an undeniable stage presence. Thematically I would say they are similar to Nick Cave, they deal in the same sort of imagery and ideas. My only issue with Schvendes is that eventually you can find yourself getting overwhelmed by the melancholy and dark themes, however hauntingly beautiful the music is. 

Finally came the main act The Kill Devil Hills, a band who coincidently were one of the first local bands I heard and saw when I first arrived in Perth 3-4 years ago. 3 years down the line, their sound hasn't changed a great deal. But they certainly seem more confident and assured on stage. They play with a swagger rightly befitting their status as a band at the top of the game. In fact I would argue that they are one of the best bands in Australia for the type of the music they play. A sort of Country and Blues infused Rock, with some other styles chucked into the mix as well.  This is a band who are able to successfully bring all the mysticism and balladry of the American west to the Australia. Their set was pretty varied, playing tracks which were both old and new. The highlights for me however, were those tracks I had heard before, the likes of Gunslinger and Drinking Too Much from their album Heathen Songs. It was great to hear how these songs had shifted and changed over time. The Gunslinger of 2010 was far superior to the Gunslinger of 2007, it was far more powerful and this no doubt comes with the confidence of the band. My favourite track of the night, was one whose name I am unsure of, it was a distinctly slower number, but really served to  highlight the bands ability to write wonderful lyrics and to silence an audience. An audience who were pretty boisterous I might add, as you would expect on a Saturday night. There were a few skuffles here and there, and some shouting for songs that they wanted to hear. To their credit, the band took all this in their stride, playing through, engaging the shouters occasionally in some friendly banter. The only let down of the whole set, were the few minor sound issues they seemed to be experiencing early on in the set, issues with spoilt an otherwise flawless performance.