Live Reviews : Good Things Festival @ Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne 07/12/2018

Images: Rebecca Houlden
Words: Anwar Rizk

Click here to view the full photo gallery.

Good Things Festival is a new venture from the creative minds behind Destroy All Lines. Making its debut in Melbourne at Flemington Racecourse with the likes of Stone Sour, Bullet For My Valentine, The Used, Make Them Suffer, Northlane, The Offspring and many more performing in sweltering 38+ degree Melbourne heat. However, the oppressive heat didn’t tarnish the day in the slightest, as both the crowd and bands were in awe of each other. But more on that later.

Let’s get one thing straight. Good Things Festival is not a metal festival, per se. However, it does cater to a wide demographic of musical tastes which is something I do wholeheartedly acknowledge and appreciate. I like these kinds of festivals were you can traverse the festival grounds and discover something new or even rediscover a long lost passion for a band you followed religiously when you were younger. One such band is The Offspring. A band which played a pivotal role in the evolution of my musical tastes growing up.

© Rebecca Houlden 2018 | www.witheverylight.com

The main selling point of The Offspring’s appearance at Good Things Festival was the performance of the band’s multiple platinum-selling 1994 release ‘Smash‘ in its entirety, along with a couple of fan favourites “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”, “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and a surprise cover of AC/DC‘s “Whole Lotta Rosie”.

The crowd. My God, the crowd! I seriously wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction or involvement for The Offspring. Especially after The Sun literally parked in huge hydrogen ass next to the festival grounds for the entire day. The crowd were on point throughout the band’s entire set, giving them more than enough motivation to come out and play. See what I did there? The nostalgia trip was palpably intense.

I seem to be jumping ahead of myself here. Let’s go back a couple of hours when the festival first opened its doors to the public. Organisational skills were on point from the location to the setup. Toilets, alcohol and food were easily accessible, however, there was one minor gripe. The inclusion of abundant shade. There were tents scattered throughout the festival grounds which did offer some relief for the punters, but they were few and far between. A lack of trees or suitable shade on location made it difficult for some to keep the momentum going throughout the entire day. Majority of punters utilised what shade they could. However, by mid-afternoon, I think everyone just thought to themselves “Fuck it!” and embarrassed the heat and enjoyed themselves regardless. No doubt many of those people will be waking up sore today.

© Rebecca Houlden 2018 | www.witheverylight.com

The lineup was varied and offered something for everyone. Obviously, I was there to watch the heavier aspect of the festival with the likes of BABYMETAL, Northlane, Make Them Suffer, BFMV, Void of Vision, Emmure, The Offspring and Stone Sour, but I did find myself gravitating towards the likes of British rapper Scarlxrd, whose low end was verging on the hypothetical brown note frequency, along with an erratic energy made for one alluring and entertaining performance.

The biggest highlight of the day would have to go to BABYMETAL who performed at not only the hottest point of the day but to one of the biggest crowds. The crowd were engrossed in the band’s sensational stage choreography, impressive stage attire and all around fun attitude. It was a fun performance to watch and just put you in a good mood. I just hope BABYMETAL return to perform headline shows because from the reaction I saw they’d easily pull big numbers.

Stone Sour was another highlight of Good Things Festival. No amount of heat stroke or sunburn would keep the crowd from singing their guts out and embracing Corey Taylor‘s hypnotic vocal stylings. The entire band put on an amazing show and made for another highlight of the festival. Since the band are still promoting their latest release, a majority of the set was taken up with tracks from ‘Hydrograd’ which I honestly had no problems with as its now one of my favourite albums from the band’s discography. In addition to offering Stone Sour reason to push through the ridiculous heat, the crowd also offered up a gracious happy birthday to Corey Taylor who would inevitably celebrate it officially at Good Things in Sydney. Stone Sour is just a fun and energetic band who bring their A-game to every show and never disappoint.

© Rebecca Houlden 2018 | www.witheverylight.com

Other notable highlights include Northlane and Make Them Suffer who were probably the quote-unquote heaviest bands of the day, pulling in a varied mix of age and sexes. All of whom bum-rushed the stage and exercised their right to party. That’s one definitive thing I noticed at Good Things Festival, a notable mix of age and sexes. It’s great to see when everyone can be involved, have fun and no one acts like a massive dickhead. No doubt there would have been a couple of entitled dickheads there, but fortunately, I wasn’t there to see them.

I know that Good Things Festival doesn’t wholeheartedly cater to the heavier spectrum of music, but it does offer variety and a notable change in the Australian music festival environment which has stagnated for many years. With the loss of Big Day Out and Soundwave, I thought the worst as Australia’s music festival scene was slowly turning into a barren wasteland. However, since the introduction of Download Australia and now Good Things Festival, a much-needed shock to the system has awoken a sense of not only belonging for fans but also the passion for music in all its forms. I seriously hope Good Things Festival continues to grow and becomes a yearly event. Blast kudos to everyone in involved with Good Things Festival. You did good!

To find out more, head to the official Good Things Festival website.

Those in Sydney are well underway at the festival at Parramatta Park, however, you can still purchase tickets at the festival gates. The third and final Good Things Festival will take place in Brisbane on Sunday, 9th December at the Brisbane Showgrounds. Tickets available here.

© Rebecca Houlden 2018 | www.witheverylight.com

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