Vroom 2008 seemed doomed from the start, with bad weather and a poor turnout marring what could have been an awesome day of Australian Rock. All but one of the bands gave their all and some even managed to convince the crowd it didn’t matter it was cold and wet because they were going to rock out whether we like it or not.

Perthites Harlequin League managed to draw a few people from the small audience forward after a few songs, which was quite an effort considering the bleak weather and option of huddling under cover. By Bones they had caught the reticent crowd’s attention with its dirty bass and sexy lyrics. Again and Again gave the crowd a chance to say “so this is Harlequin League” with its catchy guitar riffs and undulating chorus recognisable from the high airplay it’s getting on Triple J. Drummer Miles Lisman stood out in this and the last song What The City Wants as he pounded out complex rhythms and high-speed drum-rolls. With this the last song of a short set the crowd were left wanting more.

More Perthians, Red Jezebel were unfortunate to have a downpour dampen their set with the crowd running for shelter. All members continued strongly and tried their best to entice the crowd back, but to no avail. They had a versatile sound that ranged from standard rock riffs to more country stylings. This was especially evident on Find Our Way Back Home that was like an old western song but it must be said the intro sounded strikingly similar to the intro to The Wallflower’s One Headlight. It was a shame about the rain because it truly set the audience into a funk that the band just couldn’t drag them out of.

The rain had let up for the next locals, The Panda Band, who were in some kind of funk themselves. Musically they were ok, their set was nothing really new or exceptional, with their rickety sound ploughing along throughout. Not so ok were their diva-esque rants at the audience. If you don’t like being heckled, don’t play live. If you don’t like over-excited teenagers screaming at you, then don’t play an all-ages gig. Surely yelling at an audience only disappoints fans, turns potential fans off and confirms with non-believers they were right not to waste their time on the band in the first place. It was more fun listening to what the DJ had to play between bands than being shouted at by a band that obviously didn’t want to be there.

Luckily, bluejuice followed and gave enough energy and enthusiasm that made it seem they were trying to save the day, or overcompensating for the poor attitude of those who came before. The Truth Is was first and saw co-vocalist Jake Stone letting us know what we were in for by going nuts, throwing himself around, playing up to the young girls (the very ones who were berated by The Panda Band) and basically sending the message that he didn’t care that hardly anyone was there, or that they were mostly under 15. He seemed to relish the opportunity to pop some young-uns live rock cherries.

Stone’s antics are definitely a major part of why you’d want to see this band live as he jumped on speakers, jumped in the crowd, molested fellow band mates, wiped sweat on fellow vocalist Stav Yiannoukas, crowd surfed, and stripped … at one stage it seemed he was considering nuding up but changed his mind, presumably because of the likelihood of getting arrested for indecently exposing to young children. Bluejuice are about the party and shouty vocals, lots of organ style keyboards by Jerry Craib and a solid rhythm section to keep them on track. Ned Molesworth on drums looked like he was as entertained by Stone as the rest of us. The kids loved it and were crowd surfing, jumping on stage and singing along to favourites like Vitriol and The Reductionist.

Anyone following bluejuice would come across as lacking in energy, but The Dukes of Windsor managed to gather more of the crowd forward with singer Jack Weaving impressing with his high vocal range. The Dukes played some anthemic songs with funk-infused bass-lines and solid guitar solos. Cory Blight banged away little-drummer-boy style and Scott Targett showed that synth keyboards don’t have to sound like try-hard 80s throwback “put it in there so the cool kids will like it” but rather they can be used sparingly to intensify the unique rock sound of the band. Guitarist Oscar Dawson no doubt wooed some young girls with his fashionable getup and cool indifference.

Get It was slightly repetitive but this led into songs with intriguing lyrics like Handsome Man and radio friendly anthem It’s A War to get the kiddies all excited. No Disguise is a killer song of darker bass and synth grooves with some powerhouse vocals for more singing along. The Dukes of Windsor had the confidence of a polished rock band on-stage with all at ease with their skills and togetherness to present a unified front. The end of their set was an unfortunate letdown as they wanted to play Refuse but were told to leave the stage by some overly anal timekeeper.

Kudos must go to the DJ who managed to keep the crowd dancing and near the stage between sets by playing fun songs of the now like Vampire Weekend etc. Advertised as a “surprise special guest dj” we never did find out who it was but were pleasantly surprised with how much it made us feel like dancing.

As soon as British India came on, people literally sprinted to the stage. Matt O’Gorman wasted no time before he started in on his drums to This Dance is Loaded which was a song to make all forget about the shitty weather and realise they were about to see a band of small men making some fine rock music. Yes, most of the bands before were good, but British India just brought that something extra, some extra oomph, maybe it was because they were so small and so good at the same time that it was more unbelievable than the others.

With catchy choruses and lyrics to attach yourself to it’s just simple rock songs done well on all levels. The band looked about the same age as the crowd and Declan Melia was a pint-sizer with plenty of sass. Their songs seem to be at the perfect level of boyish anger to make them fun and danceable but still shoutworthy as well. O’Gorman, Nic Wilson on guitar and Will Drummond on bass just get down to business providing plenty of recognisable riffs and firm backing.

Highlights were when Melia described Tie Up My Hands as “always perfect” and then they all delivered on the claim. Run The Red Light Honey was also a definite highlight with all yelling along. Melia switched between singing to yelling to more spoken word stylings from Nic The Poet. Finally, Black and White Stage led to frenzied teenagers mobbing the stage. British India were a joy to watch and good enough to make the trip to UWA on such a rainy day worthwhile.