Festival Review: Good Things Festival, Melbourne, 1 December, 2023
Good Things Festival smashed through Melbourne’s inner city suburb of Flemington on Friday 1 December, 2023. This year’s line-up clearly a crowd winner, with the Melbourne gig sold out and punters arriving early on to catch the alternative bands in the early slots.
Enter Shikari baptised stage 2 with full force. With the clouds trying to break, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the packed crowd that came early to see these juggernauts of hard rock n roll. With lead singer Rou Reynolds getting amongst it all and performing from within the crowd which delighted the punters. Dedicating part of their set to the LGBTQ community, the love that the band received from the crowd, made them a favourite for me on today’s bill.
eskimo joe have a long history of entertaining Australian crowds and today was no exception. Kav Temperley’s vocals are in a class of their own and the tight band comprising of Joel Quartermaine and Stuart MacLeod were on fire. Reminiscent of the Big Day Out festivals, Kav held the crowds attention even playing an Ice House classic to really get the festival cracking! These guys certainly know how to engage a crowd and today was no exception.
Pennywise certainly got the crowd moshing and the hard rock genre covered with their set on Stage 2. Die hard fans lined the barriers with the band smashing out their catalogue to cheers of the crowd. Definitely a notable performance of the day with the first circle pit launched amongst the crowd.
If you wanted a high energetic rock performance, the Brazilian heavy metal band, Sepultura, definitely delivered. Under the covers for the first time since the inception of the festival, stages 3 and 4 housed some slaughterhouse rock performance and Sepultura was one of them. One of my favourites of the day, the high energetic legends, smashed their set and gained more fans from their live performance. Certainly a stand out for this festival.
With Corey Taylor being one of the drawcards on today’s bill, the mid afternoon slot was perfect for this superstar of hard rock. His band were tight, his vocals on point and once again a brilliant performance showcasing his back catalogue to his fans delight. Taylor is always is a highlight to see, and today was certainly no exception.
Welsh heavy metal favourites, Bullet for My Valentine, smashed through their set with a huge audience gathering at stage 1 to watch these seasoned pros at work. Being a drawcard on today’s bill, their performance was one of the best on ground. The hour long set included the back catalogue favourites and they left the crowd wanting more.
I went into Taking Back Sunday’s gig as a newbie but came out a fan. The stage presence of lead singer Adam Lazzara, was electric and set the tone of the gig. Guitarist Fred Mascherino bought a contagious energy that completed this high energy band. Where have I been to not have discovered this band before. Certainly exited this gig as a new fan and cant wait to listen to their back catalogue.
What’s more impressive than heavy rock and a pyrotecnics? I Prevail and pyrotechnics.. that’s what. A fantastic set full of pyro, back catalogue hits and a crowd screaming for more, I Prevail were definitely up there with one of the best bands on the bill today. The Amercian metalcore band are always welcomed with open arms by their Melbourne audience and today was no exception.
Behemoth brought the theatrical performance to the Good Things Festival to stage 3. One of the best acts to see live, their awesome set was delivered to a packed crowd that couldn’t get enough. Never a bad performance seen, the Polish extreme metal band ripped up the stage and left nothing behind.
Fred Durst’s sauntered on stage as the rest of Limp Bizkits band supported the legendary superstar. Whilst the crowd welcome Limp Bizkit back to Melbourne’s stages, the energy was not there like their previous performances. Mixing classics from DJ Lethals repertoire, the band seemed to rely on riffs and samples instead of their huge back catalogue of hits. Whilst the crowd lapped up their set, I wished that they had brought the energy from their past gigs.
Fall Out Boy were my standout for the festival and worthy headliners. The American natives were welcomed on stage to a huge applause which just didn’t stop. Their pyrotecnics and Pete Wentz’s flame flowing bass guitar just emphasised the awesome stage presense of this band, but ultimately, this band has enough hits and energy to perform an unreal show without the need of these theatrics, but lets be honest, it was fucking awesome.
Good Things 2023 Melbourne was a great festival that proved that music is really alive and kicking in Melbourne. Punters were treated to a range of music that was catered for many tastes. Whilst this year’s line up was not as heavy as previous bills, it still was a great day out and no doubt be a December regular on the gig calendar.
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