In a world where the abundance of music festivals has reached saturation point, Perth’s inaugural St Jerome’s Laneways Festival last Friday provided a welcome and thoroughly refreshing change. From humble beginnings in Melbourne’s Caledonian Lane in 2002, the Laneways Festival has become a national event, touring most capital cities and even hitting sleepy Perth in 2009. And while this year’s event in Melbourne was criticised for overcrowding and questionable organisation, the Perth edition proved to be a highly successful affair.

The use of the centrally located Northbridge Cultural Centre was considered a masterstroke by many punters jaded from one too many treks out to Belvoir, as well as by those still trying to clear their lungs from last year’s Good Vibrations Festival at Heirisson Island. And unlike Good Vibrations and other large festivals, at Laneways there were no ridiculously long queues for food, drinks or the bathroom. Throw a balmy summer evening in the equation and the organisers had most attendees very happy before they even considered the music on offer.

While work commitments delayed my arrival until around 6pm, many good things were reported about some of the early acts, especially Canadian indie rockers Born Ruffians and the quirky Ninja Tunes producer Daedelus. My first impressions were over at the Library Stage and were highly favourable: Still Flyin’, the energetic 12 piece hailing from San Francisco who had the crowd in raptures with a delightfully chaotic and irreverent performance. Not content with two trombone players and two trumpet players, the collective also featured a full-time onstage dancer. While the dancer’s utility divided opinions, the group’s exuberance did not, as they effortlessly worked their way through a range of reggae and dub-influenced rock numbers.

Over at the PICA Stage, Spanish troubadour El Guincho was late to arrive onstage but quickly made up for lost time as he produced a veritable avalanche of tribal rhythms and chants intertwined with enchanting snippets of Spanish pop. While such intense music wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea as the sun began to set, El Guincho attracted a solid collection of onlookers, eager to listen to a man deeply passionate about the unique music he produces.

A larger crowd had gathered at the Gallery Stage, where UK act Stereolab was about to start. Led by musical mastermind Tim Gane and featuring the luscious vocals of Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab provided a set which was technically sound but not overly exciting. There were plenty of tunes off the band’s latest album, the Motown-influenced Chemical Chords, as well as old favourites from such seminal albums as Dots and Loops and Sound-Dust, but there was a distinct lack of stage presence and crowd interaction. As other reviewers have commented in the past, Stereolab tends to simply play its music live, rather than perform it.

Undeterred, I ventured over to the Museum Stage, where local lads turned Melbournians The Panics were continuing to enjoy the spoils of finally being recognised. From the 2007 J Award to 2008’s ARIA victories, everything has been going right for The Panics for the last couple of years as the once underrated band gets its just rewards for years of perseverance. The Panics have always been a quality live act and near-constant touring in recent times has further honed the band’s live performance skills. As expected, Cruel Guards got a thorough work-out and the only let-down was a lack of any live brass instruments for Don’t Fight It.

Some unfortunate scheduling clashes meant missing out on some of the big-name overseas acts, such as the dynamic Portuguese outfit Buraka Som Sistema and electronic wonder-kid Four Tet, but the outstanding performance delivered by Architecture In Helsinki ensured there were no regrets about remaining at the Museum Stage. Kicking off proceedings with Hold Music and dedicating That Beep to the high-intensity performance from Still Flyin’, AIH managed to achieve the delicate balance between entertainment and musicianship that Stereolab never quite found. A down-tempo version of Debbie was well-executed, as was the bouncy cover of Matthew Wilder’s Break My Stride. Finishing with the thundering Heart It Races, about the only time the band didn’t have the crowd in the palm of its hand was when a song was dedicated to the Essendon Football Club. All in all, the best performance of the night.

After seeing Pittsburgh mashup DJ Girl Talk for the first time at the Southbound Festival in 2008, I was thoroughly impressed by his ability to generate a riotous party atmosphere. My only question was whether he was actually doing anything live on his laptop, as he simultaneously stripped off most of his clothing and skolled jugs of beer in a sea of fluoro kids onstage. Was it just a case of stop/play/strip/skoll?

Early into his headline set at the Laneways Festival, disaster struck as one of the speakers blew. It was now that Girl Talk was to be tested, and he came through with flying colours. Despite some further speaker distortion, Girl Talk modified his set, placated the crowd and eschewed some of his bass-heavy mixes in favour of some of the more treble-focused numbers. True to form, influences and samples were drawn from all over the musical landscape, from Elton John, Notorious B.I.G. and Daft Punk to the Jackson 5, Kelis and Australia’s own INXS and AC/DC.

As the huge crowd came alive and showcased their best dance moves (from hip hop to krump, the dancing variety was on a par with the music variety), further chaos ensued when a few intrepid punters started dancing in a tree near the stage. Veteran promoter Michael Chugg didn’t see the funny side of things, forcing Girl Talk to make another unexpected stop as he led the crowd in a chant of “1,2,3. Get out of the f*cking tree!”. Sure enough, the tree climbers came down and Girl Talk was able to launch into one last frenetic mash-up session of pop hooks, quirky samples and heavy beats.

Overall, Perth’s first Laneways Festival seemed to leave the vast majority of attendees very satisfied. Hats off to the organisers for a diverse line-up, a fantastic venue and a night which ran extremely smoothly. After having laid such solid foundations, let’s hope the Laneways Festival returns to Perth next year better, but no bigger.