November 14 – Downes Lane, Downes Place and John Street
Written by Tex Miller
Photography by Lachlan Miller
It’s been a big thing for Geelong to have a laneway festival. In a previous life I remember heading down to the Carlton Hotel carpark for the festival there – which was headlined by Little Red in their last ever public performance. Since then there have been quite a few music fans wanting something to come along and fill the gap. Streetlife Festival 2015 definitely delivered on all accounts. I’m going to be straight up with you, there were quite a few different things going on in Geelong that day and I didn’t end up getting to the festival until about 4:30pm.
However, It was just enough time to get a good possie for local lads Residual and boy did they kill it. If the future of Geelong music depends on them, well it is definitely in safe hands. Their new single is called ‘Silver and Gold’ and is available on iTunes. I highly recommend that you get around it. The highlight of their set was definitely their mashup of ‘Shake it Off’ by T Swizzle and ‘Talk is Cheap’ by Australia’s favourite beard, Chet Faker.
In between sets on the main stage, by walking through the laneways painted up with cool graffiti, you were able to get into some cool local tunes. Luke Biscan and Levi Anderson (playing separately) were leading the charge on that front and impressing many with their unique brand of acoustic folk rock.
Jinja Safari and The Delta Riggs headlined the festival and having seen Les Riggs with the Foo Fighters, it was awesome to see them back down this way after their appearance at Queenscliff Music Festival. Playing tracks off their wonderful second record Dipz Zebazios as well as Hex Lover Killer it was a welcome return to Geelong for those two bands who impressed with their indie pop rock sound respectively. For a festival in its first year, Streetlife was great. The music and atmosphere was great, there could have been a few more food options and some more places to sit, however all in all for a first year. Streetlife you smashed it! Thank you and I can’t wait to come back again next year for a boogie!
Five Reasons Why Delta Riggs Are Top Notch Headliners
1. They bring things back to the good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll days of the ’70s. Sticking a ciggie in the neck of your guitar and continuing to play? Hell yeah!
2. They’re doing it for the love of it, taking time to make a heartfelt message to those in Paris and with lead singer, Elliott Hammond, having the word ‘peace’ scrawled on his hand.
3. Interacting with the crowd is of great importance, jumping into the crowd, climbing the amps, high-fiving – you name it.
4. They’re not afraid to call out arseholes (like the bloke who spat on Hammond) but continue to carry on.
5. They can improvise, making a song specifically for the audience, then and there. Delta Riggs, we love you guys!
