With Goldfinger Onstage, Who Knows What Will Happen?
----------------------------------------------------------------- Concert preview
Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish and the skeletones, 8 p.m. tomorrow, RKCNDY; $10.77, all ages; 628-0888. -----------------------------------------------------------------
By now, anyone even remotely interested in these things has heard how Goldfinger's lead singer John Feldmann got hit in the eye by a flying object when the band opened for the Sex Pistols at Bumbershoot last year, and how he blamed it all on KISW rock jock Scott Vanderpool for asking the crowd not to throw things at the band.
And those who care have probably also heard how drummer "Dangerous" Darrin Pfeiffer managed to flip television talk-show host Conan O'Brien and caused him to land on his head after the band finished playing on the late-night show earlier in the year.
"All of a sudden there were lawyers and executives coming out of everywhere," bassist Simon Williams said after the O'Brien incident. "I figured that was the end of our career. But Conan was very cool about it. Still, I thought we were dead for sure."
Not counted out
Far from it. The members of Goldfinger are indestructible road animals. When Feldmann dove off the stage (he was not pushed by Scott Vanderpool) at a recent European concert, he needed stitches on his head but still managed to finish the show.
The band played 217 shows in 264 days last year, with opening spots for the Pistols, The Buzzcocks and No Doubt. Now they've returned to the states and are headlining their own club tour. The road goes on forever.
Goldfinger received much attention for the catchy single "Here in Your Bedroom," off the band's self-titled debut release, and is hoping for similar success with the new single "Pictures."
Goldfinger - yes, the name comes from that James Bond film - plays maniacally mangled punk-rock pop with a shank skankin' slice of ska. Their live show is loose and wild, and as noted, one never knows quite what will happen. Travel companions
On the road with Goldfinger are label mates Reel Big Fish, another Southern California band with punk/ska roots. However, the Fish have an even fatter sound with the addition of a horn section. At seven strong, RBF creates a wall of sound tougher than the creosote on the Huntington Beach pier, that little ocean-front community being the band's hometown. The group's debut album, "Turn Off the Radio," is getting a lot of notice, and the horn section even helps out Goldfinger on a tune or two.
Opening tomorrow's concert will be the skeletones. With 10 years' playing experience, the skeletones are specialists in ska. The band recently released its second record, "Dr. Bones."