The Smith Street Band is one of the most iconic Australian bands to me.
You can put them up against Cold Chisel. I wanted to add in some more Australian bands alongside Cold Chisel but I couldn’t think of any so I just stopped there. That’s not to say that there are not many iconic Australian bands, because there definitely are. The Smith Street Band are just an Australian band that makes you feel like a great Australian when you’re listening to it. There’s a lot of great themes within The Smith Street Band’s songs that strike a chord with listeners (just take “Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face”) paired with just being themselves (just look at the proceeds of the mentioned song going to various asylum seeker and refugee organisations throughout Australia for the month of February 2015).
Earlier this year The Smith Street Band took PUP and Great Cynics all over Australia as part of their Get High, See Everyone tour. They just capped 2015 off with a similar tour, I Love Life Fest, a mini festival featuring Iron Chic and Andrew Jackson Jihad. In case you missed it, as outlined on the I Love Life Fest’s ticket page:
Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band and their long time label, Poison City Records have announced they’ll join forces to co-curate the brand new I Love Life mini-festivals, taking place in both Sydney and Brisbane this September.
The one-day events in each city will feature the Melbourne four-piece in their first Australian headline shows since returning home from overseas. It’s been a huge year for the group who’ve just completed an extensive tour spanning both Europe and North America. Back on home soil in July, TSSB will play Splendour in the Grass, which kicks off yet another run of shows and festivals for the band – including the UK’s prestigious Reading and Leeds in August. Again, the group return home in September to headline the Poison City Weekender and I Love Life fests.
The line-up is bolstered by several exciting US acts – Phoenix’s anti-folk troupe Andrew Jackson Jihad, Long Island quintet Iron Chic and indie darlings The Sidekicks are all visiting Australia for the very first time. One of Australia’s finest up and comers, Oslow will join both shows, with Hannahband from Sydney rounding out the bill.
To coincide with the announcement, The Smith Street Band have also unveiled a new live clip for the song “I Love Life”. With audio and video taken from their three triumphant hometown album launch shows at the end of 2014, the video captures the energy, joy and all-in party atmosphere of a Smith Street live show – something we’re sure to see more of come September.
Of the upcoming fests, Poison City’s Andy Hayden says, “We’re hoping to bring to Brisbane and Sydney, what the Weekender means to Melbourne; an inclusive celebration of live music where everyone feels they’re amongst friends.” And with this year’s Weekender selling out in just a few days, punters will need to be speedy to snap up tickets to these events.
So if you weren’t speedy enough to snap up tickets, I have these photos for you.
