Twas the night before Christmas Eve, when all the little girls and boys were tucked into their beds dreaming of the old man in red creeping into their houses the following night to leave them a surprise. Every other civilised being would be snuggled up in front of the TV hooked into Christmas movies.

Only the ‘different’ people would consider going out to the Rosemount Hotel’s annual A Not So Silent Night concert. The emos, the punks and the rockers found haven in hearing the best of the west rock acts, headlined by Red Jezebel, as the Rosemount carries out its tradition of supporting rising rock music in the world’s most isolated city.

My night kicked off with the tail end of Melbourne band Sin City. But the real night kicked off much earlier with Love You Not, The Jeff Strong Band, The Painkillers and Superengine as well as Next Big Thing winners Streetlight, who, due to their rising profile, were unlucky not to have a later timeslot. Sin City were certainly a force to reckon with, getting the crowd into the mood for the night ahead’s theme of experimental and indie rock from local acts Eleventh He Reaches London, Schvendes and Red Jezebel.

I wished I had arrived earlier as Sin City wrapped up their gig, as their music felt pretty rebellious for the reason of the season and, considering they’ve permanently relocated  to Melbourne, I don’t think they make the trip back across the Nullabor to see us Perthies much.

To continue on with the night’s entertainment: outside in the beer garden, local group The Jayco Brothers began to perform, which brought a completely different mood to Sin City. The Jayco Brothers had that nice innocent ring like some sort of country/folk act. With that hint of the classic pop-rock sound in their music - like the best of Australian music in the 1980s and 1990s -  I felt quite proud to be hearing the best music contributions of Perth.

Before the Jayco Brothers finished their final act I raced into the underground section of the venue where the heavy stuff was played. Eleventh He Reaches London were warming up their array of guitars, cranking out heavy basslines. I had never heard these guys before, but for a rising Perth act they certainly did have a crowd and I saw why. Eleventh He Reaches London definitely know how to smash in a un-Perthly way. The heavy drumming could have been an absolute failure for most bands, however, vocalist Ian Lenton’s skills at somehow screaming at the audience without making it sound awful completes the band’s fulfilling emotional rock sound. Whether Eleventh He Reaches London are an emo group is still unknown as they are a growing band and might change their ways to suit a larger demographic but in this performance they managed to sound new and fresh.

Still supporting local talent, the next act was Schvendes,  whose reputation around Perth is growing daily. Even though their music is out there enough to be liked by any taste bud, they’ll probably never really be too popular by choice rather than skill. Their set at the Rosemount caught the attention, even of those that didn’t like their sound. It was the way they interacted with the audience and the pleasure Schvendes took from pleasing their fans. Kindness to fans is the best form of promotion. Of all of the bands on the night, Schvendes loved the audience the most and loved playing for them, as one of our state’s leading bands, this is quite rare.

Possibly due to not wanting a late night before Christmas Eve, the crowd was pretty thin when Red Jezebel came on as the final and headlining act of the night. A band that has a history of competing pretty strongly against a band of Eskimo Joe’s calibre has to get one in a fit of excitement.

 Playing out hit song Devil’s Advocate with that highway tune, then jamming into the chorus is a sight to see. Paul Wood on the good old guitar filing down his guitar peg on the strings is very entertaining. It’s nice to see a band in a small venue, that you know will probably go on to appear on Channel 7’s Sunrise and repeated on Rage as a top band. Red Jezebel certainly cranked out some songs in the early hours of Christmas Eve that should be played on mainstream radio stations and TV.

Without a doubt, A Not So Silent Night is a great night not only for the people who attend it, but for Perth. It shows some of Perth’s best local acts and shows just how much our city is keeping up with the Eastern States every year, if not, putting the spotlight on Perth artists for trying so hard to be accepted over ‘there’.