It’s Christmas time again, and for the Barwon Club Hotel that means Veeped Xmas XI, Veeped Bored Co’s annual Christmas rock and roll extravaganza.
The event, held from 2pm-1am this Saturday, December 17, features a smorgasbord of 11 live bands and seven DJs across the day.
Veeped Xmas XI organiser Trent Stephens said the lineup this year focused on bands who were from the area or had a local connection.
“This year we’ve gone for all local people, people with a connection to Geelong, whether they’re locals, new to Geelong, or formerly from here,” Stephens said.
“We’ve got Tommy Dynamite and Explosions (headlining), they’re ex-Geelong people living in Melbourne. Tommy’s almost like an Iggy Pop sort of frontman, it’s sort of garage punk.
“We’ve got Final Final, a jazz-funk band who are pretty heavily involved in the Geelong art community, so that’ll be pretty cool.
“There’s also a new band from Torquay called Roswell Greys, they do lo-fi rock and they’ve been playing a lot of gigs down there. So they’re pretty keen to come and play their first gig in Geelong”
Stephens said Veeped Xmas had grown a lot since it started 11 years ago at the Barwon Club, where it was really just a chance for mates to catch up.
“We started the clothing label, Veeped Bored Co., and we just had some mates who were DJs, in punk and rock and roll bands, and we started a big end of year party,” he said.
“It’s been 11 years at the Barwon, every Christmas, and we’ve had big headliners across the years as well as young local bands, it’s been a really good mix.
“This year we’ll have the main stage in the back room and run a DJ barn as well.
“We’ve tried a few different kinds of events, but the Christmas party seems to be the one that sticks.”
