Punknews.org

|
Sign In | create an account

Goldfinger

live in Ottawa, Ontario (2002)
Tours

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Angele Lalonde
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on July 23rd 2002

Punk rawk shows over the years have been based on sweaty rushing moshers and fast frantic music, the product of what talented bands bear to the crowd when the first roar of appealing strings are strung and the show unveils, there’s nothing more spell-binding. I’ve been to many shows over the years but when I was told Goldfinger was booked at a local venue I knew even before getting there 1 hour early it was going to be more than the average show. But rather, I was about to have the honour of witnessing one of the greatest musical performances that will stick with me forever as all together an unforgettable event.

Hope to Die (hardcore band from London, Ontario) and Simple Plan were on the bill as well. Hope to Die’s heavy edge struggled with the eager fans who (after the show stalled for almost an hour and a half) seemed too impatient at this time to hear nothing more than Goldfinger’s unique rhythm. They were catchy but too heavy for what these kids wanted to hear. Simple Plan took to the stage next. I admit I’m not a big fan of their music but they put out a compelling stage performance, definitely proving to hold there own up there. Pierre’s captivating voice carried through the crowd never missing a key. What set these guys apart is you can tell they love what they do when they’re up there. Simple Plan’s live act is well worth the time to check out and I have to admit I’ve gained a new respect for their music.

As they cleared off the stage the entire atmosphere in the venue mutated, the crowd doubled in size at the blink of an eye as the anxious rockers waited for the most overwhelming set of music to rumble through their mutinous bodies. Goldfinger, born over 8 years ago, conquered their spot in punk history when they performed 368 shows in one year, (giving them a title in the Guinness World Book of Records). Their hard work and extensive tour’s, never ceased or faltered the raw passion these guys emit when performing for their loyal fan’s world-wide.

Finally, the crowd’s anticipation was put to rest and Goldfinger stepped up to the mic, that’s when the unravelling of the most legendary performance to ever rock that stage stung everyone’s eyes. They tore the fucking place up, hitting the ecstatic onlookers, hard with songs off almost every album (Counting the Days, Here in your Bedroom, Superman, as well as Spokesman, FTN, Dad, Open Your Eyes, off their recently released new album entitled ‘Open Your Eyes’. Their greatest work I think since their self titled released in 96. Goldfinger’s flawless set was the tightest act to ever rock those walls, never missing a chord or a beat followed by John’s infusing, melodic lyrics.

Brian, the new reinforcement behind the band (replaced Charlie on guitar in 01’) although young in appearance, proved to reincarnate Goldfinger’s polished sound. If Brian stays a permanent Goldfinger member his dynamic chords have already and will continue to contribute great tunes to this hypnotic quartet.

If the opportunity is ever given to you, check these guys out, you’ll leave with an entirely new appreciation for musicians and punk rock. After my mind-warping mission that night, Goldfinger, a band not only recognised for using their powerful voices to address needed organisations like P.E.T.A and their involvement in veganism, they are, and will stay a fucking legend!

Login to rate this album

Please login or register to post comments.

What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Anonymous (July 31, 2002)

you are all idiots. these bands suck. and so do you!

Anonymous (July 27, 2002)

"probably the majority of people in the 'punk' scene are (vegans) and they're not holding their guitar with the vegan sticker up to cameras"

- Some guy below said that. Some guy below is dumb. Some guy below thinks the majority of punks are vegans. Thats funny. That DUDE is a dumby poo poo caca head, dude. I don't like him very much.

Anonymous (July 27, 2002)

"probably the majority of people in the 'punk' scene are and they're not holding their guitar with the vegan sticker up to cameras"

- Some guy below said that. Some guy below is dumb. Some guy below thinks the majority of punks are vegans. Thats funny. That DUDE is a dumby poo poo caca head, dude. I don't like him very much.

Anonymous (July 27, 2002)

They should have gotten a Guiness award for "worst band ever"

Anonymous (July 27, 2002)

I've always hated this band and I really hate their drummer.Ska sucks,punk sucks,and you know what?
So does GOLDFINGER ha,ha,ha.
Just die already!

ambiotical_sophisticrat (July 26, 2002)

its pretty damn obvious that they arent going to miss a chord. the songs only consist of 4 of them. and simple plan are a horrible band.

z9t87 (July 26, 2002)

i don't think so tim

Anonymous (July 26, 2002)

dude

dude dude dude

dudedudedudedudedudedudedude

SCOTT POST BIGGAR PICTARS, DUDE!!!111

fish (July 25, 2002)

i could never be a vegan.
what would i eat with my cocoa puffs?
rice milk? bleh!!!

waste_elite (July 25, 2002)

ok, nofx is good

Anonymous (July 25, 2002)

who wants to be punk?
not me

waste_elite (July 25, 2002)

i don't think the image is too big. i mean, i don't want a live pic all smashed into a little box in the corner just for the sake of "saving space". it isn't like there is precious limited space on a review page. keep the pics big.

nofx is punker than you all

fakesmile (July 25, 2002)

Scott, man...
Please learn to cut down the size of images...
Fucking waste of space...

cawknocker (July 25, 2002)

goddammit z929 or whatever i said that comment dude. and i say dude alot. and the late 80's rocked. poison, the crue. that shit ruled. creed nickleback. that shit sux. bring back hair metal, its better than this jesus rock rap testocerone jock crap. dude.

z9t87 (July 25, 2002)

To the person who said "goldfinger goes from singing about girls and poop to veganism and fuck ted nugent, its like....ok dude. wheres my goldfinger?": first of all i hate how everyone says "dude" all the time now, bringing the old late 80s term back. if you're going to bring back a saying, bring back "i don't think so, tim" from home improvement. and second, there's a difference between poop and ted nugent?

Anonymous (July 25, 2002)

yech..........

cawknocker (July 24, 2002)

yea i do actually. hang ups. see what i mean. its like outta no where feldman becomes this militant vegan. it just doesnt sit right. i listen to political bands and bands with strong convictions as i said, but theres something fucked up w/ this new album. it sux. but nofx rules bro. well they suck, but they also kick ass. funniest most sarcastic lyrics i know of. the vandals and guttermouth try to do it, but only fat mike pulls it off.

Anonymous (July 24, 2002)

anyone remember that song that was a hidden track on one of their old cd's "chicken mcnuggets are bad for you but they taste good"

and nofx does suck

cawknocker (July 24, 2002)

alright. first off, waste elite, fugazi, clash and DK were good bands. goldfinger aint in that league. second, yea its cool to stand up for ideals, and i know bands that do it very intelligently, such as propaghandi. yea nofx hates bush too, but fat mike is also witty, clever, and intelligent. i dont' mind that , and i believe in having strong convictions. i just meant by my post that its obnoxious when u present your convictions condecendingly (if thats a word). check out the new album's essay, you'll see what i mean, and the lyrics to open your eyes are just rude. its not like fugazi. trust me. also strong convctions in bands are usually always there. but when goldfinger goes from singing about girls and poop to veganism and fuck ted nugent its like....ok dude. wheres my goldfinger? thats all. convictions are cool, veganism is cool, but being a dick about it is lame thats my complaint. and when your 35 u shouldnt have dudes from mest and good charlotte co-writing your songs w/ u. bands w/

Anonymous (July 24, 2002)

they just jump from one bandwagon to another...what's that? pop punk is cool now? CHA-CHING!

Anonymous (July 24, 2002)

goldfinger is awful.

Fuzzy (July 24, 2002)

you know, you all bitch about "too much vegan propaganda" but when our punk bands talk about anti-racist views you stand behind them like they are the first people on earth to ever speak out against racism. I applaud GF for speaking out. It takes balls in our neo-conservative punk scene to be able to stand for something that most of you blind, ignorant bastards only associate with "those hippies" and we all know we hate hippies, just listen to NOFX.

waste_elite (July 24, 2002)

what the fuck is wrong with goldfinger trying to spread veganism? this band obviously feels very strongly about something, so why the hell should they restrict themselves from speaking out about it? i'm sorry if veganism is offensive to you, but who are you to dictate what a band's message is? if you don't like it, don't fucking listen to it. i like this comment: "don't shove your ideals in my face". right, punk has never been about strong convictions and ideals (note thick sarcasm). sorry buddy, punk has always been a strong medium for expressing concern. if you don't fucking like it, find another form of music. something a little less confrontational and a little more pointless. fuck you.

i guess the clash, dead kennedys, and fugazi all suck because they flaunt/flaunted their ideals. god forbid someone make music with a message. we need more irrelevant music in this world.

(for the record, im not a goldfinger fan but i respect the stand they take on veganism)

Anonymous (July 24, 2002)

guys, i didn't know it was wrong to state your opinion on things in your music? oh i bet you hate nofx too? because they state how much they hate bush all the time. been to one of their shows recently? they sell shirts that say "not my president". just about every band has an opinion on something, just choose for yourself and it doesn't matter what they talk about. you don't have to not like them for their opinions, just if they make good or bad music.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

that girl with the blonde hair is probably hot. i'd do her.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

err, i mean below i guess, oops. -Drew

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

Actually, (to the guy above), the guy from OYE is in The Used (of course Bert might be in Hope To Die too, I don't really know for sure), oh and the reason they have all the Vegan stuff now is because thats something they believe in, thats why John wrote the essay in the liner of OYE, hes not forcing it on anyone anymore than some of you are forcing your ideas of "Goldfinger Blows" on anyone, so just fucking deal with it and get over it. -Drew

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

Yeah really, if you want to be a vegan, go right ahead. Just don't try to make yourself look better than me because I believe in a simple philosophy known as the food-chain.

-sickboi

cawknocker (July 23, 2002)

yea i know i just posted but this dude is right on. the major flaunting of veganism is fuckin terrible on the new album. from his lame condesending essay on the inside, to the cover art, to the first single 'open your eyes'. i have no problem with being a vegan, but shoving it in peoples face is obnoxious. its taken precedence over their music too. fuck this shit. i used to be a long time fan but the new album sickened me. don't shove your ideals in my face. i'll go to church or a propaghandi show if i want that. theres extremes of liberal and conservative. neither is right, or should be obnoxious about it.if your vegan fine, but dont' write an essay called 'u think u know but u have no idea' and tell through out pseudo mtv isms at me and tell me to be vegan and call me a murderer cuz i eat meat. what happened to music feldman?

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

goldfinger blows. what's up with them trying to let everyone know they're vegans? no one cares, probably the majority of people in the "punk" scene are and they're not holding their guitar with the vegan sticker up to cameras.... these guys blow

cawknocker (July 23, 2002)

yea theyre pretty good live, but damn theyre too old to play pop punk. and the new album and guitarest suck ass, weak solo's and too much bithcing. bitching about meat,being old,being dumped,mtv,tednugent,etc. bitch bitch bitch.see also:mest-sound like goldfinger but better and not as old as my dad

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

A friend of mine once insisted that I'd go see a Goldfinger show. It sucked big time.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

God your a bunch of whiny bitches! Oh the picture it too big.. You all sound like 80year olds people from an elderly home. The review is good. By the way, a review of a show is based on her opinion, so if you dont like the opinion, well that's too bad. It's still a good review. Outaouais kicks asssss.
-ejaculine

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

If 'entirely new vision' means 'hoping you never see a shitty punk show like this again' I agree. Goldfinger used to be great live, and although extremely, poppy, were worth the $8 they charged for most shows. Fast forward 3 years later and its up to $15 per show for a performance thats 10x poppier. You say the crowd couldn't handle the 'hardness' of the first band, I say the crowd was 99% blink fanboys who showed up because the new goldfinger album was 'like, totally killer and even carson daly says its great.' However, to the previous comment about crowd surfing, every time I've seen goldfinger their lead singer has jumped into the crowd at some point so I believe you are mistaken.

As for the new guitarist, anyone notice that the solos seemed almost dumbed down, especially 99 red baloons.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

nice picture of the back of somebody's head. it was well worth it to put it over half your review.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

When will people stop listening to ignorant rumors and speak only of true facts. First of all Goldfinger has nothing to do with Barrymore's stopping all ages shows it's the under age drinking that caused the problem (did you not read the update). And rock rawk rauk roq whatever the fuck who cares! the review was great.

iowanick (July 23, 2002)

i saw goldfinger once and john was crowd surfing and a kid grabbed his shoe and john started punching the kid. for a person that supports not hurting animals, he sure doesn't mind beating the crap out of a kid.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

... you didn't mention anything about them stopping barrymore's all ages shows OR the fact that hope to die has the guy from open your eyes in the band. shame.

delerium_trigger (July 23, 2002)

well at least the picture's not too big. shit!

Drizzt7_drek (July 23, 2002)

Man, I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to agree with the guy below with the "rawk" statement.

You should be ashamed.

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

i hate you for saying "rawk"

Anonymous (July 23, 2002)

googly moggly