Project Description

GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL

@ Brisbane Showgrounds

09/12/2018

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Georgia Dickinson

.

.

.

When Australia’s east coast was met with mysterious posters stating ‘Good Things are coming…”, the debut of Australia’s next rock festival was met with high expectations. With Unify Gathering and Download Festival dominating Australian shores and the death of Soundwave 3 years ago, another heavy music festival could have left the market oversaturated. But it was the announcement of Good Things that changed Australian rock festivals. It was the perfect mix of nostalgia and modernity in rock music and had punters at Brisbane Showgrounds eagerly lining up early for their favourite bands. And it was safe to say from the days prior in Melbourne and Sydney that fans like myself were excited to see what the Good Things hype was truly all about.

.

.

Kicking off festivities in the main arena were Brisbane natives Stateside, who came in full force with punchy music and an energised live show. Playing songs from their debut EP Naïve and Twenty One Pilots’ Heathens, vocalist Erin Reys hyped the crowd with melodic woah-ohs and positive affirmations like “You are loved, you are appreciated and you are doing great”.

On the other side of the festival, Ecca Vandal inaugurates Stages 3 and 4 with absolute mania. Her stage presence hypnotises every punter into a headbanging frenzy whilst she roams every corner of the stage. She bashes out singles from her synonymous album like Future Heroine and Price Of Living. But not before jumping into the crowd and commanding everyone to their knees for her closing single Broke Day, Party Nights.

.

.

As Melbourne four-piece Void Of Vision takes over the arena on Stage 1, Stage 3 is swiftly acquired by Brisbane rock band WAAX. They quickly accumulate a sea of hands as they start off their set with This Everything from their sophomore EP Wild & Weak. “This set is dedicated to our drummer Tom who is having a baby” vocalist Maz De Vita states before introducing Michael Richards from Violent Soho filling in and covering Soho’s In The Aisle. And as WAAX complete their set filled with new and old tunes, British rockers Boston Manor take over the opposing stage with their recent album Welcome To The Neighbourhood as US trio Waterparks douse the main arena in eclectic pop punk.

Once 2:00 pm rolls around, people are running to the shed Stage 3 and 4 are held under to catch a glimpse of pop-punk figureheads The Wonder Years, who play a variety of songs from their extensive discography. Vocalist Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell gushes over the bands playing with them in-between songs, more significantly their predecessors in WAAX. Campbell goes as far to say that The Wonder Years would be breaking up to become a WAAX tribute band, which was highly encouraged by the crowd. We then took a knee for The Devil In Your Bloodstream and rioted during closer Came Out Swinging as Northlane and La Dispute instigated nostalgia for 2013 emo kids in the arena.

.

.

And as Make Them Suffer dominated Stage 4, most punters gathered in the arena to witness the Brisbane debut of viral sensations BABYMETAL. The ladies of BABYMETAL wooed the crowd with matching outfits and coordinated dance moves as they kicked off their set with Megitsune and Gimme Chocolate!! from their eponymous 2014 debut. Punters were in awe from their hypnotising set whilst glam-rock trio Palaye Royale commandeered Stage 3. The Canadian three-piece played some of the biggest tracks off their Boom Boom Room series, along with unreleased songs from their unconfirmed third album. Frontman Remington Leith wasted no time taking control of the audience, jumping to the crowd and climbing up the railings of the stage whilst rock veterans The Used fascinated punters on Stage 2 with throwback tracks from the early 2000s like The Bird And The Worm and The Taste Of Ink.

.

.

Whilst Bullet For My Valentine continued bringing nostalgic hits to the arena on Stage 1, British rapper Scarlxrd brought manic energy to Stage 4 with his DJ accomplice JackyP. Songs like a BRAINDEAD civilisatixn and CHXKE had Scarlxrd and JackyP throwing water into the audience and surfing in the crowd, with such intensity that Ecca Vandal could be seen jumping around to the music backstage. It was after Scarlxrd that Australian rock royalty Tonight Alive took to Stage 3, giving the audience “permission to lose your fucking mind” as security sprayed punters with water during the band’s 2014 single The Ocean. Frontwoman Jenna McDougall’s agenda was to connect with as many fans as possible during their 45-minute set, having a heart to heart moment with a photographer in the photo pit and joining the crowd for the band’s closer The Edge before their American friends in Mayday Parade began on the opposing stage.

.

.

As Dropkick Murphys entered the arena, the chants from the crowd could be heard from the other side of the festival ground. The Celtic punk outfit played back to back hits from their immense discography, which had the crowd going fanatical. Vocalists Ken Casey and Al Barr are extremely interactive with their fans, hosing the audience with water and standing with the crowd for songs like The State of Massachusetts and Rose Tattoo. And by the time their closer I’m Shipping Up To Boston came around, everyone was cheering and dancing in the arena.

With a mix of new and old hits, Baltimore pop-punkers All Time Low had everyone on their feet from the get-go with each member keeping the vibe energetic as the sun set over them. “Fuck the sun!”, guitarist Jack Barakat screamed into the microphone as frontman Alex Gaskarth jokes about vampires and werewolves. The between-song banter only adds to the theatrics of All Time Low. Gaskarth commands everyone to sit on someone’s shoulders in Six Feet Under The Stars and to crowd surf during closer Dear Maria, whilst Barakat jumps into the crowd before the band finishes their set. And all in all, the crowd were more than happy to bask in the madness as Emmure held down the fort at Stage 3.

.

.

Stone Sour were quick to come out in full force. Whether it was the pyrotechnics or frontman Corey Taylor’s stage presence, it was a set you couldn’t take your eyes off of. The Iowa rockers feed off the crazy energy of the crowd as they play some of their biggest songs to date like Through Glass and Absolute Zero. Meanwhile, Australia indie rock legends The Smith Street Band started singalongs on Stage 4 as they covered Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and The Front Bottoms’ Skeleton, along with their own singles like Death To The Lads.

Before long, the end of the night was looming among us as Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional, arrives on Stage 3 alone with a guitar. The crowd can’t help but sing along to every word Carrabba speaks as he kicks off with The Best Deceptions before the rest of the band creeps onstage for Vindicated. A “trip down memory lane”, Carrabba says mid-set as he plays songs from the band’s debut album The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most “on shuffle”. And whilst Dashboard Confessional slowly brings the night to a slumber, punk veterans The Offspring dominate the arena with an illuminating light show. The Californian quartet had the crowd in the palm of their hand as they played songs off their iconic album Smash, along with their biggest hits and a sneaky AC/DC cover to top off the night.

.

.

What was a Soundwave Festival shaped hole in our hearts has been bandaged up with Good Things. Good Things captured the fun-loving essence of past summer rock festivals and raised the bar for future festivals to come. With extremely smooth stage transitions, great security and the not-so-great lines to buy merchandise, punters like myself are eagerly awaiting for next year’s instalment of the festival. Good Things have arrived in style, and it’s no doubt they’ll be here for a while.

.

.

Tim Doig’s Gallery of the Melbourne event HERE

Jahmiele Hicks’ Review of the Melbourne event HERE

.

Wendy Robinson’s Gallery of the Sydney event is HERE

Benjamin Smith’s Review of the Sydney event HERE

.

Katherine O’Malley’s Gallery of the Brisbane event is HERE

.

Follow GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website

.

.

AMNPLIFY – GD