Gig Review: Good Things Festival at Centennial Park, Sydney

Live review: Good Things Festival at Centennial Park, Sydney on Saturday, December 7 2024

By BRIAN GIFFIN and BRENDAN CRABB

DRIZZLY rain with the threat of thunderstorms but also baking sun and humidity were on the cards for Sydney today as Good Things rolled into Centennial Park, as if the weather was trying to match the festival’s mixed bag of rock genres with an assortment of its own. The grounds were already sodden but the vibe was upbeat, despite the last minute reshuffles due to Sum 41’s cancellation. It made things a little confusing for punters like me who hadn’t checked the website for new playing times, leaving me wondering when 311 had turned into a pretty decent British metalcore band. It was, of course, Loathe, who were warming up the early arrivals nicely with a cool blend of crushing metal and synth-laden soundscapes.

Just across the park, local competition winners Pyrefly had a tight and dedicated crowd for their polymorphous metal. The rain doing nothing to dampen their spirits, the masked four-piece delivered an impressive set to open the small stage, finishing off by whipping up a weird scene down the front with some mock violence involving pool noodles in a strong endorsement of the local metal scene.

Pennsylvanian rockers From Ashes To New were stirring things up across the other side of the field with their big arena rap rock moves. Despite their tight and well-rehearsed catchy material and a solid rapport with their crowd, I can’t get into what they do and it’s off to scope out the food trucks before The Butterfly Effect comes on. With FAtN’s final notes still ringing out, Butters saunter onto their stage as the drizzle becomes a downpour, Clint Boge bringing exactly the right mix of casual cool and swagger as they envelop the crowd with their expansive, proggy rock. Working through a short but riveting set of tunes from their first three albums, it was a consummate performance, acting as a precursor to their big regional 20th anniversary celebration in a month’s time. (BG)

From Ashes to New

On the main stage, it was American crew 311’s first visit to Australia in 26 years. Their two-pronged vocal approach and fusion of rock, hip-hop and reggae is very much a product of its time, and proved an unknown proposition to the younger punters. However, the more mature aged attendees clearly enjoyed themselves and marvelled at how fit front-man Nick Hexum looked at age 54. Genre-straddling “Come Original” was an early success, and mellow “Amber” has already soundtracked multiple Hollywood rom-coms, not to mention many a festival. Anthemic “Down” near set’s end featured plenty of questionable rapping along from the faithful but sent them away with a smile on their faces you’d have required a sandblaster to remove. (BC)

Again at the main stages, The Living End were about to prove why they are, 30 years on, still one of the country’s greatest live bands. “Second Solution” kicks off a set of nothing but high-energy hits pivoting around pop-laced psychobilly, rock and roll stage action, Chris Cheney’s stellar guitar moves and catchy songs. Even the brand new one, “Misery”, had the crowd singing along by the second chorus. Had there been a house around, “Prisoner of Society” would have brought it down.

Northlane has changed so much since I last saw them; they’re basically a different band now. Once a raging prog metalcore beast, they heave now with melodic nu-metal, pulsing electronics and pounding grooves. They work through a set lifted from their last four releases, a snippet of “World Eater” pays lip service to their earlier days, their crowd sways and pulses with them but the sparse stage and heavily electronic sound leaves behind a feeling of sterility.

Sterile is not a word that could be used to describe the next band. Alpha Wolf’s blast furnace set an hour before had stirred a vicious pit as they hammered through most of their new album, but on the main stage there had been precious little for metalheads to get their teeth into. Mastodon was about to change that, sweeping onto the Good Things stage like wild men. “Crystal Skull” tore into the crowd, Troy Sanders and Bill Kelliher the most animated I’ve ever seen them, tearing around the stage and wielding their instruments like mere planks. “Iron Tusk” elevated the heaviness factor even further, Brann Dailor’s drum heroics seeming to come from behind a much larger kit. The vocal mix was bad, unfortunately – especially Dailor’s – but that was hardly a hurdle as Mastodon’s thunderous and intricate metal bulldozed the crowd, flash pots blasting, the crushing one-two of “Megalodon” and “Blood and Thunder” finishing them off.

Across the park it was LA’s magnificent L7 tearing things up with the same raw energy and guitar-driven angst they always deliver. With their set having started two thirds of the way through Mastodon’s, L7 were already running hot when we arrived. The recent US election result could well have fuelled their fire – tracks like “Bad Things” and the caustic anti-Trump “Letter From Mar-A-Lago” sound meaner than ever.

Jet gave me an hour to have a meal break, finding a decent feed from the Shorty’s burgers van. Then it was time for music festival veterans Violent Femmes to bring some US folk punk to Good Things. Opening with their two best known songs – “Blister in the Sun” and “Kiss Off” – got the crowd in instantly, but it wasn’t enough to keep them there. Even though this was basically a celebration of their legendary debut album, no one seemed that interested – not even Gordan Gano who, to be honest, doesn’t seem to have been very inspired now for a long time. (BG)

Over on the smallest stage, Sydney mob Reliqa capped off a busy and successful year in support of debut album, Secrets Of The Future. Bridging the worlds of prog and metalcore via hip-hop influences and pop sensibilities, this is a band still on the rise. The versatile and likeable Monique Pym has really grown into the role as a frontwoman, aided by an energetic band. New cuts “Cave” and “Terminal” slotted nearly alongside earlier favourites ala “Mr Magic”.

The inclusion of Slayer shredder Kerry King’s solo venture on the bill was one for the true metallers. This was classic-style thrash executed expertly by an all-star band – including Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph and ex-Machine Head axeman Phil Demmel – with blood, broken limbs and bruising riffs ensuing. Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) was in fine voice and proved adept at working the crowd, revving them up with plenty of enthusiasm and making King’s solid, if not always remarkable solo fare (“Idle Hands” being one of the stronger cuts) seem grander. Given Slayer’s recent return, covering their songs could’ve veered into karaoke territory, but the pit went so suitably berserk for “Disciple” and “Raining Blood”, you couldn’t deny it. And the dedication to late singer Paul Di’Anno ahead of a respectful cover of Iron Maiden’s “Killers” was a classy touch. (BC)

German electro-core (?) heavyweights Electric Callboy had been elevated with the withdrawal of Sum 41, then had to call on that band’s drummer Frank Zummo to help them out when their own guy got sick. But with most of their set clashing with Kerry King, I wasn’t about to be drawn into the party. There were still some good times vibes happening when I moved across but the night’s headliners were about to appear and, clearly, Korn was the band people had come to see. Celebrating 30 years of their groundbreaking debut, Korn were simply devastating as they brought Good Things to a close for another year. “Here to Stay” seemed like a weird choice to open, but no one careed as the band piled on the energy for a career-spanning set. “Got the Life” and “A.D.I.D.A.S.” were huge, but the middle of the set was dedicated to the self-titled album and things started going nuts with “Blind”. A pit accident stopped the show during “Ball Tongue” but things were quickly back into high gear with “Shoot and Ladders”, complete with bagpipes and a segue into Metallica’s “One”. Having now reclaimed their headlining status since their last visit here a decade ago, Korn’s encore was a pile-on of “Falling Away From Me”, Korn III’s only decent track “Oildale” and, naturally, “Freak On A Leash” to get every voice joining them.

Their comeback complete, Korn were done, and Good Things was over for another year. Through drenching rain and blazing sun, the rock festival had prevailed once again. Let’s see what next year brings. (BG)