First things first, I have an admission to make.

When the opportunity to review this gig at the Oxford Art Factory came through, I didn’t read the message properly and I thought Split Seconds was the main act to review.

My initial thoughts were, 'Well, these guys had a good run at the WAMi awards and I hear they have a couple of nice tunes, should be good…'. A few days later, I re-read the email and realized The Panics were coming along for the trip as well, and were in fact headlining. No disrespect to Split Seconds, but no wonder the gig was sold out.

So as it turns out, Split Seconds were actually first on the bill. That, however, did not deter them from putting on a performance that would have been well worth a headlining spot.

I’m unsure how to classify their music, but their MySpace tells me it is "Other/Pop". I’d be tempted to throw in “catchy”, “harmonic”, “sing-along” and “rhythm” as well. In an indie sort of way. All in all, it worked really well.

Next time these guys are in your neck of the woods, go watch them. You won’t be disappointed!

The second to complete a trio of WA acts was Grace Woodroofe and her band. Both my mate and I were unaware of Ms. Woodroofe, but we were pleasantly surprised with what we were presented with.

Apparently, we were supposed to have heard from her because the late Heath Ledger endorsed her and she sang with Ben Harper. I did recognize her from somewhere and it turns I had seen her on Spicks & Specks (well, that's what I thought anyway...).

After a bit of a messy start, where her backing band drowned Woodroofe out a little, amends were made and a bluesy set was showcased that played to her main strength; her soulful voice. It’s always nice to hear something new and different and tonight was one of those occasions, even though I clearly came into the game a little late on this one.

Regardless of the quality of the two support acts, pretty much every person in the audience had come to see the third name on the poster: The Panics. Big in Australia, especially since the release "Cruel Guards", their J Award-winning album, these guys know how to play a tune in front of a crowd that’s full of anticipation.

However, it was slightly odd to see the crowd being quite timid. I couldn’t even find an awful lot of head-bopping going on. The crowd did get into it as the set carried on, which was a just reward for the solid performance from Jae Laffer and co.

Being a fairly recent immigrant to Australia, I am not familiar with much Panics material from before the "Cruel Guards" era and I quite like that album, so it was good to hear a lot of that record, plus some songs I did not recognise but was told were new.

Particular stand-outs were new single "Majesty", anthem "Don’t Fight It" and "Get Us Home". Grace Woodroofe even joined the boys on stage to great approval from the crowd as well, in what turned out to be a great showcase for the Perth music scene.

Did I learn anything at all? Yeah, two things: 1. Western Australia produces some great bands and artists and 2. Pay some more attention when doing research prior to attending a gig you’re reviewing. Luckily, tonight, the acts saved my arse by ensuring this slight slip-up didn’t matter.