The Saturday Spectacular is a big day for Perth music, with over 80 bands and artists performing over the whole day spanning 12 venues. A spectacular indeed.

The Bakery, which often plays host to Perth’s best local indie-rock acts, was the place to be with a rewarding lineup of acts: The Government, Streetlight, Halogen, Eleventh He Reaches London, End of Fashion and more. Starting from 3pm, The Government were the first to play at the Bakery. However, the day had started earlier with mid-day gigs at the Perth Cultural Centre with country rock singer Ronnie Rae Rivers and the Universal Bar with Claire Clarke.

Though the bands kicked off early in the afternoon, things really got going when genre-defying six-piece Streetlight hit the stage at the Bakery at sundown. About a year ago, this band would have been lucky to have played the opening slot, but after their rollercoaster year they have cemented their place as one of Perth’s best live acts. Still flogging debut single Attack That Gentleman, the band played material from their upcoming EP, which will no doubt make a dent in markets around the national. The stage presence of Streetlight is second to none, something frontman Le Craft’s every move proved, while guitarists Karlin Courtney and Jonathan O’Neill and bassist Ben Van Grootel ensured the wall of noise remained constant but also precise and particular.

The Avenues’ half-hour or so on stage offered a bit of relief from the intensity of Streetlight’s performance. Up until now they have always been the bridesmaid, watching their friends conquer the nation via bands like Eskimo Joe and Little Birdy. Which might have something to do with their recent change in direction. Instead of the cutesy indie-pop of old, there is now an edge to The Avenues’ sound, which sets them apart from most acts on the Perth scene. Unfortunately, though, that band begnning with the letter E got their first and at times the band’s songs sound like less-polished covers of that song about Black Fingernails or whatever it is.

Due to the last-minute withdrawal of The Panda Band, the Bakery audience only really started to grow during Halogen’s set, which began just before 10pm. The female fronted five-piece band offered an alternative to the indie-rock with the band’s groove-based rock sound. While some of their tracks contributed to the indie theme, some of their slower hits towards the end of the setlist, like Baby’s Eyes and the request to hold a loved one during Tonight, impressed the crowd as it continued to grow. Continuing on after Halogen were the Panda Band whom are set to tour overseas and certainly are crowd drawers, which applies with a band of their cult status. Their sing along poetic lyrics really do give out a happy atmosphere that rarely exists in bands nowadays. For what seemed to go very quickly the Panda Band’s set finished with a considerable applause.

Having End of Fashion on the lineup can really draw some mainstream attention, which it did. Understandable, considering the band won two ARIA Awards and six WAMis in 2005 and 2006 respectively. While there was plenty of space to move, the size of the crowd was still considerable for a venue like the Bakery. From the word go, End of Fashion certainly proved they knew how to rock ‘em. Performing their best hits (O Yeah,  Lock Up Your Daughters, Rough Diamonds, She’s Love) and current radio single The Game, the four-piece gave the crowds exactly what they had come for. This show was yet another solid effort from End of Fashion, with vocalist Justin Burford giving the whole set his all and, as the band returned to the stage for an encore performance, much to their fans’ delight.

Eleventh He Reaches London were the last act, not only for the venue but for the Spectacular in general. Having to do set their own gear up and tune their own instruments, unlike the previous acts, makes you wonder why they weren’t set to play earlier in the night. As the audience had died down incredibly, the fans that remained behind were poorly disappointed and upset when the show came to a premature close after vocalist Ian Lenton injured his leg on stage. It was a disappointing end to a superb night that deserved a much more positive conclusion.