GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL – FLEMINGTON SHOWGROUNDS – MELBOURNE – 05.12.2025
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: Mary Boukouvalas
There was so much to love about Good Things 2025 annual outdoor music festival at Flemington Showgrounds in Melbourne yesterday. You could not have scripted better weather and promoters offered a wonderful and diverse line-up of live music. Good Things music festival has run since 2018, featuring some major performances in the past and this year featured Tool, Machine Head, Garbage, Refused and Weezer as some of the drawcards.
It’s a huge day and with 5 stages spread out in the showgrounds. I mapped out the bands I wanted to see and spent 9-hours on my feet roaming from stage to stage to catch each one. The first band I caught at Stage 3 was SOUTH ARCADE from the UK with their fresh alternative rock and good vibe. Lead singer Harmony Cavelle engaged well with the crowd and had their fans singing, jumping and crowd surfing along to their songs like HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER, BLEED OUT, SUPERMODELS and DRIVE MYSELF HOME. Someone in the crowd threw a manky shoe up on stage and fans chanted ‘shoey’. Cavelle laughed and said “You Aussies are crazy” and passed the shoe over to the lead guitarist who drank from the shoe and had the crowd roar.
Melbourne metalcore band WINDWAKER were on next at Stage 4 and were ear-piercingly heavy, palying with such intensity with chaotic riffs, precise drumming and powerful bass. Lead singer Liam Guinane showcased his powerful and layered melodies and screamo vocals. They ripped into SIRENS and the crowd were going apeshit. A guy in a banana suit crowd surfed which looked hilarious. Other standout songs were BREAK THE RULES, THE WALL and BEAUTIFUL.
I then raced across to Stage 2 to see Swedish hardcore punk band REFUSED, who formed back in 1991 and had huge success with The Shape of Punk to Come (1998). Frontman Dennis Lyxzen’s incredible stage presence won me over from the get go, moving around the stage a bit like Iggy Pop, swinging his microphone and very expressional with his flamboyant dancing and star kicks while the band played tight. Standout songs were THE DEADLY RHYTHM (with Slayer’s Raining Blood snippet), PUMP THE BRAKES, CIRCLE PIT, PROTEST SONG ’68 and EVERLASTING. Refused are a political band which is notable in their lyrics, repping a Palestinian flag on stage and Lyxzen talked about everyone taking a stand to free Palestine.
I caught the first few songs of STAND ATLANTIC from Sydney Australia, the replacement for The All-American Rejects, who cancelled a few days earlier due to a sudden family loss. Stand Atlantic Lead singer Bonnie Fraser is quite similar to Avril Lavigne as she performs melodic and catchy pop-punk. I raced back across the paddock and caught the last few songs of American post-hardcore band DAYSEEKER with their melodic metalcore. Punters standing around me suggested that their songs all sounded a little too similar and couldn’t get into them.
Waiting for GWAR to come on Stage 3, I watched the roadies cover all the speakers and amps with black garbage bags before the band came on, with security ominously all wearing ponchos. Once the show begins you realise why with its war-torn splash zone of fake blood being sprayed all over the stage and the crowd. GWAR present an entertaining show with their weirdness and unhinged stage presence wearing grotesque and barbaric costumes. Band members all have prolific character names like ‘Blothar the Berserker’, ‘Balsac the Jaws of Death’ and ‘Beefcake’. Their thematic stage show is absolute carnage and hilarious. A guy dressed as a Viking with shield and sword crowd-surfed during the set.
I headed back to Stage 2 to catch Alpha Wolf only to pleasantly discover Melbourne alt-metal band THORNHILL were playing. Apparently Alpha Wolf were unable to play and Thornhill were called up just 4 hours before the show to play a killer, impressive set. There was a massive crowd for MACHINE HEAD as they played as a rare power trio due to their other guitarist staying back in the US to support his father who was diagnosed with lung cancer. The raw power and intense energy that Machine Fucking Head (as fans call them) delivered had fans headbanging, body slamming and singing along as well as generating a giant circle pit. They played an 11-song set which had cool cinematic backdrop, confetti and smoke canons, flames and inflatable hammers bouncing around the crowd. The set included: IMPERIUM, UNBOUND, DAVIDIAN and LOCUST. During IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? Lead singer and guitarist Jared MacEachern talked about mental health and how important it is to openly talk about it with your friends and family. He also sang OUTSIDER and said he wrote the song the last time they toured Australia.
I then caught American rock band ALL TIME LOW with their classic, fun pop-punk anthems and friendly stage banter, which to me resembled Blink 182. They played a 15-song set and opened with SUCKERPUNCH. The last songs performed was DEAR MARIA, COUNT ME IN. I then decided to see some music at the smaller stages and caught JAMES REYNE sing FALL OF ROME and a few Australian Crawl songs ERROL and OH NO NOT YOU AGAIN. Headed to Stage 5 to see Melbourne punk rock band CIVIC perform a few songs blending raw grit and catchy hooks.
The rest of my day was spent at the main two stages and it seemed the majority had made the same choice. GARBAGE were absolutely outstanding with Scottish singer Shirley Manson’s vocals being best described as ‘mint’ and with Butch Vig on drums, the band played hit after hit in an incredibly tight fashion. They played a 12-song set which included all their big hits such as I THINK I’M PARANOID, SHUT YOUR MOUTH, STUPID GIRL, CHERRY LIPS (Go Baby Go), WHEN I GROW UP and ONLY HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS. Manson paid a beautiful and emotional tribute to Michael Gudinski and later voiced her hatred and frustrations about inflatable beach balls at concerts.
Californian indie golden boys WEEZER followed and took us on a road trip playing a wonderful 17-song set of all their popular tracks opening with MY NAME IS JONAS and sang fan favourites and sing-alongs HASH PIPE, ISLAND IN THE SUN and BEVERLY HILLS. The crowd loved them and were so jovial singing along to their songs! Weezer did a cover of CELEBRITY SKIN by Hole and for their song I JUST THREW OUT THE LOVE OF MY DREAMS were joined on stage by Victoria Asher from the band Cobra Starship. They also sang JAMIE which is the first time they have performed the song since 2014. Their set finished with SAY IT ISN’T SO and BUDDY HOLLY, which were standouts.
Our evening concluded with the enigmatic TOOL who I have seen several times before and knew we were in for something special. Tool play complex, experimental progressive/alternative metal. The musicianship and cinematic imagery you experience in a TOOL show is hypnotic, drawing you in with their seamless and mesmerising flow of imagery which is perfectly paired with the music along with the impressive lighting and laser show. Frontman Maynard James Keenan with his flame coloured mohawk, black eye paint and black leather outfit unassuming stance at the back of the stage is a deliberate choice for better sound and visual connection with his bandmates being the key focus. The band play incredibly tight and drummer Danny Carey wearing a colossal Titan outfit is an absolute animal on the drums and mesmerising to watch. Lead guitarist Adam Jones plays with such precision, blending heavy riffs with atmospheric fluidity on his Les Paul. Bassist Justin Chancellor creates complex, atmospheric and textural layers integrating unique textures and rhythmic grooves with Carey and Jones, creating Tool’s signature progressive sound. Tool were outstanding and played a 10-song set which included STINKFIST, H., VICARIOUS, INVINCIBLE, CRAWL AWAY, PNEUMA, JAMBI, THE GRUDGE, FEAR INOCULUM and ROSETTA STONED. Without a doubt, I’ll be back at next years Good Things festival.
