LIVE REVIEW: GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL 2025 @ BRISBANE SHOWGROUNDS 7/12/25
Words and Photos Charlyn Cameron
The Good Things 2025 Festival ended on a high note: there were beach balls, chicken crowd surfers, banana people and crowd surfing boat races. Brisbane knows how to party! There was an amazing line-up of bands and musicians this year. And it didn’t rain or storm. Bonus! Here are the highlights.
Stage 1 kicked off with Yours Truly and their 8-song set. The Sydney based band three-piece band consisting of Mikaila Delgado, Teddie Winder-Haron and Henry Beard christened the main stage, and set the tone for the day, with a vibrant set. Yours Truly had the first circle pit of the day with: “if you’re not in the circle pit – you are dead to me”.
Then, Scene Queen ‘bimbocore’ kicked off her 9-song set with ‘BDSM’. Her first three songs were all about pink before she got to ‘Pink Rover’. Scene Queen strutted around in a sparkly two-piece and throwing down a captivating early set that called out everyone from Donald Trump to dodgy predators in the punk scene
The young Newcastle based band Maple’s Pet Dinosaur drew a curious crowd. The band’s average age is 15, they’re not even old enough to attend the festival they were playing at, but their performance was impressive and promising. The unreleased song ‘Pink Blood’ was a striking highlight. A band to watch, without question.
Bad Nerves put on a blistering display of punk music. The heat did not affect them as the band delivered a manic rush of rock 'n' roll with the distortion ramped up to 11. The songs were great and the performance of them was even better.
British band South Arcade’s set and their unique blend of pop-punk sounded pretty good. The songs ‘Riptide’, ‘Stone Cold Summer’ and ‘2005’ were highlights. Then, Melbourne’s metalcore band Windwaker put on an awesome set. They played with intensity and stunning guitar riffs, precise drumming with a powerful bassline. The lead singer Liam Guinane showcased his powerful and layered melodic singing and contrasted it with scream vocals. The crowd were going off!
Wave Raiders played the Garage. The young Sunshine Coast based band lit up the stage and attracted a substantial crowd who were liking what they were hearing and seeing. Wave had the crowd eating out of their hands. They jumped off the speakers, the drumkit, spun like tops, took off into the crowd to show their musical skills to the crowd and it was all under control. It was an impressive debut!
Tonight Alive attracted a huge crowd as they kicked off their set with ‘The Edge’. The lead singer Jenna McDougall delivered a powerful and engaging performance as she sang ‘The Ocean’, ‘Lonely Girl’, ‘World Away’ and ‘Crack My Heart’.
Sydney based band Stand Atlantic stepped up on to the main stage. They absolutely slayed it! Bonnie Fraser’s magnetic rapport with the crowd kept everyone engaged. There were circle pits, walls of death, crowd surfing boats races that saw Scene Queen looking a bit worried. There set was so much fun. Stand Atlantic closed out the set thanking SPF50 sunscreen as they delivered ‘Deathwish’.
The next band up to the stage was Melbourne’s Thornhill. The band apologised for not having any production or much gear, but they didn’t need it. The band and the crowd were feeding off each other’s energy. Crowd surfing started and so did the mosh. It was evident that they were bringing the heavy sounds.
GWAR turned their mid-afternoon set into a fake blood-drenched carnival of metal, satire, and sheer lunacy. From the moment the band stomped onstage in full intergalactic warlord regalia, it was clear no one in the crowd or photographers were leaving clean. There were ponchos and in the end bright orange people all over the place.
Machine Head had the beer flowing, as did the catching of the beer cups, and the band won the most crowd surfers over the barrier game. There was a massive crowd for their set. Their guitarist Reece Scruggs stayed in the US to support his father who was diagnosed with lung cancer. The rest of the band (Robb Flynn, Jared MacEachern, Matt Alston) delivered raw, headbanging power with intense energy to the crowd. It was a hard, heavy performance full of technical style.
Then, it was punk time, as All Time Low, hit the stage. The band was superb and so tight. They opened their 14-song set with ‘Suckerpunch’ and then the huge fan favourite of ‘Weightless’ followed. All Time Low are a band that have charisma and the songs. The crowd surfers were in action and shoeys were going off.
Then, it was balls out for Shirley, as Garbage took to Stage 1. The stage was stripped-back and stylish. Their set started with ‘There’s No Future in Optimism’ where lyrics were changed to “balls” and a rain of beach balls appeared! Shirley Manson said: “I told you that this would happen”. She had expected it but she laughed and called herself the “Anti-Christ”. She kind of apologised at some point about the beach balls but when berated the crowd about something else and then delivered ‘Shut Your Mouth’. Garbage was absolutely outstanding!
Cobra Starship’s set was a rave disco. I got to hear and see ‘Hot Mess’, ‘Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)’, ‘You Make Me Feel...’ and the fabulous ‘Good Girls Go Bad’. The crowd of Good Things regulars was a sight to see as everyone was having a good time.
Californian slackers Weezer played a wonderful 17-song set of all their popular songs. There were fan favourites and sing-alongs such as ‘Surf Wax America’, ‘The Good Life’, ‘Perfect Situation’, ‘Run, Raven, Run’, the chugging ‘Hash Pipe’, ‘Undone’, and ‘Island In The Sun’.
Weezer did a cover of Hole’s ‘Celebrity Skin’ and followed it with ‘Beverly Hills’, ‘Pink Triangle’, the deep cut ‘Jamie’, ‘El Scorcho’ and ‘Pork and Beans’. Weezer were then joined on stage by Victoria Asher from the band Cobra Starship to perform ‘I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams’. The band closed out their set with ‘Say It isn’t So’ and the very popular ‘Buddy Holly’.
Lorna Shore’s set at Stage 4 should have been on Stage 1 or 2. They brought the intensity of their heavy rock music to a whole new level. Their performance was precise and unforgettable. Will Ramos’ screams were electric, and the entire crowd felt the impact. Amazing!
Tool‘s headlining set was dark and strange. Maynard James Keenan held the crowd in his grip. He prowled the stage. Tool’s visual LED screens lit up the showgrounds with psychedelic artwork. It was an amazing ending of a fantastic day.
