The rain descends upon Sydney, but that won't stop the masses of black clothing and Demonias from flooding into Sydney's Centennial Park for Good Things Festival.
Loathe kick off the day (7 December) in thunderous fashion, while From Ashes To New put on a seriously impressive set inciting the strong crowd to "put 'em up!" Many a shoe is already soaked, but the mood is high throughout the park."If you have someone in your life who tells you you can't live how you want, tell them to go f... themselves!" From Ashes frontman Matt Brandyberry commands, as they launch into a Linkin Park-esque number.
At the mainstage, Bowling For Soup remind us of the best parts of the early 2000s, with the timeless '1985' ringing out like a siren’s call. No time to catch your breath yet, as The Butterfly Effect bring their addictive and hypnotic set, while Alex Lahey rocks over at Stage 5. Her song 'Congratulations' about finding out your ex got married is a real treat. "Thanks for listening to my little, gay songs," she smiles.
Bowling For Soup (Melbourne leg) - image © Chris Dy
One blessedly covered tent stage provides relief from the streaming rain, while a backing band platform finds festival attendees singing karaoke style. The tent features only bangers, and the crowd sing every word energetically. They only wince a little whenever a Sum 41 song comes on.
Back to the main stage, and The Living End send the vibe to outer space. Serious thrashing ensues, as frontman Chris Cheney announces: "You're getting f...ing unruly!" before shredding through a solo.
"Who's old enough to remember when out first album came out," he asks to a lot of hands. "This is a song called 'West End Riot'," he says, ending the song by climbing atop Scott Owen's double bass. A brief 'Waltzing Matilda' cover ensues, before Cheney plays a solo with a VB bottle, the beer foaming and soaking his fretboard.
"I know what you're thinking. You didn't come here for any rockabilly sh.t. You came here for rock & roll man," Cheney says wryly, before launching into 'Long Way To The Top'. 'White Noise' sets the crowd on fire, jumping up and down, before a patron grabs Cheney's eye. "This one is dedicated to the man in front with the sign 'G'day c....'." The set finishes too soon, but Northlane take to the adjacent stage.
The Living End (Melbourne leg) - image © Chris Dy
They enter in a shroud of smoke, fluorescent lights flashing across the screen. It features one of the heaviest pits of the day that some unlucky patrons accidentally stumble into trying to get out of the crowd; but there's no kinder crowd than a hardcore one, and everyone takes care of each other.
Taylor Acorn smashes up Stage 5 with her heavy rock pop, while Stage 3 sees Frank Turner get the crowd swinging with his hard rock. Dragon keep the heavy rock rollin', as Killing Heidi take Stage 5 by the balls, throwing down some heavy shreds.
The karaoke tent surprises with an incredible rendition of 'Bring Me To Life' from a patron that would do Amy proud, while Mastodon tear the mainstage to shreds. Flames shoot out, adding to the baking heat of the sun freshly birthed from behind the clouds.
They shoot through ridiculously fast riffs, the double kick pumping, before bassist Troy Sanders thanks the Auslan signer who hasn't stopped moving. 'Blood And Thunder' closes out the set with characteristic thrashing, and it just might be time for a bite.
Mastodon (Melbourne leg) - image © Chris Dy
The festival offers copious food vans with salivating options, as patrons seek shelter from the heat under the many luscious trees. Jet prove once again they're one of the best rock offerings Australia has ever produced, as frontman Nic Cester screams through his vocals.
Violent Femmes take to the mainstage, whipping out 'Blister In The Sun' straight off the bat. Bassist Brian Ritchie sports a huge blue bass shaped like a wave that is almost bigger than his body. Frontman Gordon Gano sings 'Add It Up' a cappella, before the band kick in. They create a cacophony of sound courtesy of a horn section, and just when things couldn't get weirder, Ritchie plays an ocean shell.
Reliqa are hot and heavy on Stage 5, while Sleeping With Sirens draw the moshing crowd. Back at Violent Femmes, a xylophone makes an appearance, before Ritchie unexpectedly screams "when I say dance, you best dance motherf...ers!" It is one of the strangest and most interesting sets of the day, and Blaise Garza is a real talent on the brass.
At Stage 4, Kerry King doesn't stop for air, the crowd moshing wildly, while the main stage sees German electrometal band Electric Callboy get the crowd bringing their tongues out for 'Spaceman'. The crowd are off their feet as they cover 'Everytime We Touch', moving through about eight different genres in the one song. The frontmen share a kiss much to Nico Sallach's surprise, before the whole band don mullets for 'Hypa Hypa'. They cover 'Still Waiting' and their moshpit goes off.
'Raining Blood' complements a ferocious set from Kerry King, before Billy Corgan takes to the adjacent stage. Starting with an unexpectedly country-sounding and slow 'Dancehall', he then covers 'Don't Change' with a wry smile on his face, gesturing his hands out, as his signature voice makes the song his own.
Billy Corgan (Melbourne leg) - image © Chris Dy
Corgan holds a strong crowd, but the bulk have moved to Korn who start with their classic guitar scratching and metallic percussion. 'Got The Life' draws a massive cheer from the 25,000 crowd who dance energetically. A clap along starts, the drums pulsing along.
Frontman Davies in a red silk jumpsuit commands "dance with me!" His vocal prowess is astonishing, skipping between bellowing singing, to high falsetto and straight into deep growls. The entire band move with an energy that is one of the most impressive of the day. It's not hard to see why they are such a mainstay at the top of bills.
'A.D.I.D.A.S.' has the crowd singing along, the guitar whining away. "We're celebrating 30 motherf...ing years of Korn," Davies announces between high octane songs, a truly impressive feat. 'Blind' has the crowd jumping, before 'Ball Tongue' features thundering bass in front of a screen of trees with lights flicking through them. By the end of the song, the trees have caught ablaze and it's pretty symbolic of the atmosphere tonight.
The set pauses for a considerable time for some crowd assistance, and it's good to see a festival seriously making personal safety their priority. Davies then plays the bagpipes for 'Shoots And Ladders', his dreadlocks wrapped around their stocks, as the song morphs into a short rendition of 'One' that sends the crowd into overdrive.
Korn (Melbourne leg) - image © Chris Dy
'Falling Away From Me' thunders under flashing lights, before 'Freak On A Leash' tops a fantastic day, streamers blasting out into the sky. As the crowd make the long walk to the light rail with shoes wet and backs sore, they're warmed by hearts happy and full.
All good things come to an end, but the memories last forever. Touché on another excellent year Good Things.
