It really helps to print the correct details on concert tickets. It really helps. At 6.30pm on Sunday night, about a dozen people (including bar staff) were present to see the opening stages of Fall Electric’s set as they opened for Okkervil River at the Rosemount Hotel. Though doors had opened at 6pm, the majority of punters were under the impression the gig started at 8. As a result, Fall Electric and Jack Ladder, the other support, drew pitiful crowds despite playing with one of America’s best bands.

Fall Electric didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, they used it to their advantage and played one of their more relaxed sets, enjoying a bit of banter with the few-but-faithful. In case you didn’t know, Fall Electric is the side project for Andrew Ryan (vocals) and Tristan Parr (cello), members of two of Perth’s more reputable dark-and-brooding indie bands (Adam Said Galore and Schvendes respectively). For Ryan, Fall Electric is a chance to put his vocals in front of more delicate arrangements, while for Parr, Fall Electric allows him to carry the backbone of the band’s sound almost single-handedly. Now playing with drummer Pete Geuzelli, this band now offer a sound that’s just as good as the members’ other bands — even though they may never be as popular.

Unlike Fall Electric, Jack Ladder struggled with the small crowd. A virtual unknown to Perth audiences, Ladder tried his hardest to win some new fans with his dry humour and sarcasm. Though he raised a few smiles, the response from the small crowd was minimal. Three-quarters of the way through his set, Ladder even threatened to perform in amongst the crowd. “There’s a lot of space between over there and up here,” he said. Unfortunately though, the crowd moved to him rather than letting him join the crowd Cat Power-style.

In the time between Ladder finishing and Okkervil River going onstage, the venue quickly went from very empty to very full. Climbing through the crowd and onto the stage, the Texas band started things off on a subtle note — vocalist Will Sheff stumbling through the The President’s Dead. Dressed for a business meeting, Sheff looked uncomfortable in the heat generated by 500-odd sweaty bodies and seemed a little nervous carrying the song on his own. Thankfully, as the set moved into No Key, No Plan, Sheff’s discomfort disappeared as his bandmates kicked in.

The opening half-hour of the band’s set focused on early material and tracks from their recent The Black Sheep Boy Appendix release (Love to a Monster, Lady Liberty) while material from 2005’s Black Sheep Boy was kept to a minimum.

Throughout that opening half-hour, the band appeared tired and lifeless and lacked any kind of stage presence. Apart from drummer Travis Nelson and bass guitarist Patrick Pestorius, who pulled well above their weight, the band bumbled through the setlist as though the members were desperate to finish the tour and get home. At the centre of all this was Sheff, whose inability to smile put a downer on the whole show. Like a slightly less talented and slightly less melodramatic Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Sheff takes his role too seriously — he may be the black sheep and all the rest but touring the world and selling a few thousand albums can’t be all bad.

Fortunately though, the band played its best cards one after another as the set drew towards its close. The War Criminal Rises and Speaks lifted the mood before Black Sheep Boy and an extended For Real created a buzz around the venue that made its way back to the band itself. The smart move would have been to end the set right there and return for the obligatory encore. Instead of going out on a high, the set ground to a halt as the band staggered through So Come Back, I Am Waiting. Instead of feeding off the crowd like they had just minutes earlier, the venue’s 10pm curfew suddenly seemed like a godsend.

To be fair, the band took things up several notches when they emerged for the encore of Westfall and Last Love Song for Now. Pushing the curfew as far back as they could, the five members finally looked as though they were enjoying themselves. As they had been throughout the night, Nelson and Pestorius were comfortable at the back of the stage, while Sheff might have even smiled a couple of times. It was too little too late for this show, however, the wag in the tail proved Okkervil River will be worth watching next time.