GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL – FLEMINGTON – MELBOURNE – 06.12.2024
Review: Leigh Hanna and Craig Eriksson. Photos: Jason Rosewarne
Returning for its fifth year, Good Things Festival has delivered once again to an almost sold-out crowd at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Complete with last-minute cancellations and a surprise musician swap, the freaks were off their leashes and loving life.
Good Things had 5 stages running simultaneously with a multitude of incredible diverse artists rockin’ out in 34 degree heat. Having two reviewers (Craig & Leigh) and one photographer (Jase), we had a game plan to ensure we spread out and cover as much of Good Things as we possibly could.
This year’s Good Things line-up had something for everyone. It took us back in time to the hey-day of the 90s and 00s alternative/punk/rock scene with the inclusion of acts like Killing Heidi, Billy Corgan, L7, 311, The Butterfly Effect, Bowling for Soup, and The Gaslight Anthem.
For the metal fans craving some mosh pit action, there were just enough heavy acts to keep them satiated, featuring KoЯn, Electric Callboy, Kerry King, Northlane and Alpha Wolf keeping the pits alive and thumping with ferocious intensity. Throughout the day we watched a constant stream of fans moshing, headbanging, crowd surfing, running wild and chaotically in circle pits and generally enjoying this festival to the max.
Bowling for Soup –
We got there in time to see Bowling for Soup on their A Hangover You Don’t Deserve 20th Anniversary Tour. These guys are from Texas and were one of the big surprise packages for us today. They play a pop-punk, alt rock style of music and impressed us with their studio quality deliverance. They were so much fun! Their set was a combination of part gig, part comedy routine with friendly stage banter between band members and the audience, which had everyone laughing and singing along. It was an incredible start to our day and what was yet to come. Their most popular song was 1985 with lyrics: “When did Motley Crue become classic rock?” Near the end of the set, they said its time for ‘selfies’ and Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up played as the band did a multitude of hilarious poses. Lead singer Jaret Reddick finished their set doing a ‘shoey.’
The Butterfly Effect –
The Butterfly Effect set was derived by fans requests leading up to Good Things. We’ve seen these guys a multitude of times and they always put on an incredible show. Clint Boge’s vocals are unbelievable and the band plays incredibly tight. They played an 8-song set of old and new songs opening with the powerful WORLDS ON FIRE. Other crowd faves were ALWAYS, ONE SECOND TO INSANITY, GONE and REACH.
The Living End –
We raced back to Stage 1 to catch Melbourne rockers The Living End. PRISONER OF SOCIETY was the 1998 anthem of every angsty, rebellious teenager in Australia. TLE brought the same big energy to the stage as we remembered from when we saw them at Big Day Out back in 2009. TLE are a must-see live band. They play a mix of punk, rockabilly, swampy surf twang and pub rock. Chris Cheney on lead guitar and vocals, Scott Owen on double bass and Andy Strachan on drums totally rocked Flemington playing a strong 10-song set. Opening on SECOND SOLUTION they then played ROLL ON, ALL TORN DOWN, WEST END RIOT, WHITE NOISE and of course PRISONER OF SOCIETY. They also announced they will be releasing a new album early next year and then played one song from the upcoming album.
Frank Turner –
English punk rock/folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls were another artist we thoroughly enjoyed today and caught our attention. They played a 12-song set and after hearing his wonderful brand of music, we’ll be putting his music straight onto the Australian Musician playlist. Take a listen to his Undefeated (Acoustic) 2024 album and you’ll soon realise why they are so incredibly good. Some crowd faves were: 1933, GIRL FROM THE RECORD SHOP, NO THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, NEVER MIND THE BACK PROBLEMS and POLAROID PICTURE.
Wandering around from stage to stage throughout the day made for some wonderful crowd watching. We met so many wonderful and unique fans and Jason Rosewarne captured some incredible photos that you will see with this review.
Dragon –
We did a double-take when we saw Dragon on the line-up. They were celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary with a tour of their classic rock hits like APRIL SUN IN CUBA, SPEAK NO EVIL, RAIN, STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU and ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH.
Killing Heidi –
Killing Heidi with Ella Hooper and her brother Jesse put on a rip snorting set. They were extremely grateful for those that chose to see them considering all the band clashes and they certainly put on a great show performing hits like MASCARA, WEIR and SUPERMAN/SUPERGIRL.
Alpha Wolf –
Alpha Wolf owned the stage. Synchronised headbanging against a neon green graffiti backdrop mesmerised us. We were warned, “If you’re worried about your face, it’s time to get out of the way” before AW launched into SUB ZERO.
Northlane –
ARIA and AIR winning independent metalcore band from Blacktown, Northlane smashed the stage with barely a breath between songs, all the way between CARBONIZED and CLOCKWORK.
Mastodon –
Mastodon are from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We saw them here at Flemington back in 2018 at the Download Festival with Korn as the main headliner. Bassist Troy Sanders with his large grey lion main hair/beard rocked hard along with Hinds (lead guitar), Kelliher (rhythm guitar) and Dailor on drums. Three of them alternate between lead vocals as they play a dynamic mix of prog stoner rock, sludge metal and psychedelic rock. Leigh noted that after listening to some of their newer releases, she’d noticed how much softer they have become over the years, but that’s nothing unusual in the metal scene. They had a wonderful stage back drop and a massive audience watching them this afternoon. Mastodon’s 11-song set focused on the 20th anniversary of 2004 album Leviathan. They pulled out all the stops and reminded us just how hard they can go with crowd favourites: BLACK TONGUE, BLOOD AND THUNDER, AQUA DEMENTIA and STEAMBREATHER. The rain made an unwelcome guest appearance during the set, thinning out the crowd as people sought shelter and ponchos but we’re all grateful it didn’t set in for the rest of the evening.
Jet –
Australian band Jet formed back in 2001 and have had numerous hits over the past few decades. Nic Cester on lead vocals and rhythm guitar voice remains as strong as ever as he and the band sang more or less their most popular hits, with one new song thrown into the mix. Both young and old punters absolutely loved them and sang along to all their hits such as – COLD HARD BITCH, ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL, SHE’S A GENIUS, ROLLOVER DJ, RIP IT UP and PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS.
Violent Femmes –
Violent Femmes performed their debut self-titled album in its entirety along with several other songs. Their music is a mix of soul/folk/indie rock that appeals to a wide variety of ages. They opened with the iconic BLISTER IN THE SUN and the crowd went wild. Other noticeable sing-along favourites were KISS OFF, ADD IT UP and GONE DADDY GONE. They featured a broad range of instruments such as the weber BBQ, xylophone, banjo, bass saxophone, slide whistle, cabasa, fiddle, box drum and horn section. This made for a diverse, full-bodied sound. The crowd loved them!
Highly Suspect –
Leigh was forced to make the difficult decision between seeing Highly Suspect and Electric Callboy. The complete overlap of Highly Suspect’s set on Stage 5 ensured the turnout for the Massachusetts rock band would be lacking. Legendary Slayer axe-man, Kerry King was also swallowed up by Electric Callboy’s timeslot. A few seconds into Electric Callboy’s “Spaceman”, Leigh made the snap decision to break away and powerwalk the length of the grounds to see what she could of the Highly Suspect before returning for the end of EC’s set. After walking for what seemed like endless minutes, weaving through bathroom and food truck lines, Leigh arrived just in time to watch lead vocalist, Johnny Stevens announce himself as Billy Corgan from Korn (hilarious) before starting the “world’s smallest circle pit”, Highly Suspect know how to bring it. Highly Suspect is highly underrated.
As a well-seasoned festival goer, we have to say Knotfest, which started in Australia in 2023, has nailed it with its two-stage system. Losing chunks of gig time in transit between stage locations and missing out on bands is not the festival experience many fans are after.
Kerry King –
We last saw Kerry King on the Slayer Final World Tour in Melbourne back in 2019 at the Download Festival. Kerry King has now released a new solo album From Hell I Rise (2024) and has a stellar band – Mark Oseguedo (Lead Vocals), Kyle Sanders (Bass), Phil Demmel (Guitars) & Paul Bostaph (Drums). This powerhouse delivered some seriously loud and almighty heavy thrash metal accompanied with pyros and flames that almost singed my hair off. It was survival of the fittest as crowdsurfers were popping up everywhere as well as a circle pit building at the same time. It was total mayhem and the crowd couldn’t get enough. Lead singer (Oseguedo) has an almighty awesome voice and combined with Bostaph’s pounding drums and the other lads piercing guitar riffs, this band was totally kick ass and a force to be reckoned with. They also did a tribute to the late Paul Di’Anno, original singer of Iron Maiden who passed away on 21/10/2024.
The Gaslight Anthem –
We caught a reasonable chunk of The Gaslight Anthem. When we got there the crowd were jumping about and enjoying songs like THE ‘59 SOUND, AMERICAN SLANG, 45, BRING IT ON and TGA did a cover of Mother Love Bone’s CHLOE DANCER. Overall, a fun and enthusiastic set thoroughly enjoyed by their fans.
Sleeping With Sirens –
Sleeping with Sirens raised the bar for Stage Three acts. The post-hardcore group from Florida startled us with a sound that was huge. A high-quality performance and seamless musicianship. As the audience jumped to the beat, we could feel the waterlogged ground pulse underfoot. After pausing for a twenty minute intermission so paramedics could attend to a medical incident, SWS returned without skipping a beat to wrap up their solid set.
Stage Five was home to some great performances by emerging and established artists like Reliqa, country-turned-pop-punk princess Taylor Acorn, and local acts, including singer-songwriter Alex Lahey, alt. rock group Belle Haven, and the Battle of the Bands competition winners, Body Prison.
With five stages running simultaneously, many attendees took to social media to complain that they missed out on seeing many of their favourite bands, being forced to choose one over others due to clashing set-times.
With the shock announcement only hours before their Brisbane sideshow on Wednesday, Sum 41 frontman Deryk Whibley was diagnosed with Pneumonia, and had to make the tough decision to cancel all the Australian shows on their “Tour of the Setting Sum” farewell tour. After announcing disbandment in 2023, these shows marked the last time the band will travel foreign shores together. Sum 41 head back to homeland Canada for a run of final shows before laying their instruments to rest in the new year.
Electric Cowboy –
With a shuffle to the timetable, crowd favourites, Electric Callboy were moved up to fill the coveted time slot. Continuing their TEKKNO world tour throughout 2024, Electric Callboy is well-deserving of this prime timeslot.
The German electronicore outfit, known for their light-hearted yet heavy tracks, burst into the spotlight in 2021 after the introduction of new frontman Nico Sallach and addictive tracks like HYPA HYPA, WE GOT THE MOVES and PUMP IT.
The last time Leigh caught Electric Callboy was their Australian debut at Good Things 2022, Brisbane, where the band’s popularity was grossly underestimated. They were tucked onto a small, undercover stage at the back of the Showgrounds. The audience was far too large for the allocated space, and many were unable to get even a glimpse of the stage. After a second successful headline tour of our great southern land in 2023, Leigh was thrilled to see them this time on the stage and witness their epicness in all its glory.
In a bittersweet, yet sedipitous twist of fate, due to illness, EC drummer David Friedrich pulled out of the tour and flew home, leaving the band in strife. Luckily, there happened to be a drummer available on short notice. Sum 41 drummer, Frank Zimmer got the call around 10:00am Friday morning and by 7:30pm, he was on stage to deliver a flawless set to an ecstatic crowd. Starting with TEKKNO TRAIN, it was a high intensity ride all the way to the closing track, PUMP IT.
KoЯn –
Headline act, KoЯn are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut album with a world tour. Adelaide was treated to a one-off headliner side-show on Wednesday night and, although this is only day one of the festival, it’s obvious the heavy-hitting pioneers of 90s nu-metal aren’t slowing down. Their 16-song setlist started strong with HERE TO STAY and rolled through the hits to a three-song encore with FALLING AWAY FROM ME, OILDALE (Leave Me Alone) and, the one we’d been waiting all day long for, FREAK ON A LEASH. The bagpipes made an appearance for SHOOTS AND LADDERS complete with snippets of Metallica’s ONE sprinkled in.
Overall, it wasn’t the biggest Good Things we’ve attended but despite the cancellation of huge drawcard, Sum 41, and missing out on seeing full sets due to clashing set-times, it was a great day at Flemington Racecourse filled with many, many good things.
