Goldfinger / The Start

Amongst the punked-out ten-year-olds and aging goth chicks who looked like they got lost on their way to the Danzig concert next door, unpredictable openers the Start contrasted their darker tendencies with Goldfinger's poppy So-Cal style. Singer Aimee Echo writhed fitfully across the stage as the band launched into an ear-splitting rendition of "Like Days." Echo's baby doll rasp only emphasised her fierce presence and it was easy to forget that there was a band behind her. Apologising for what her country has done and hoping that the war is over soon, the Start launched into "Christian, Christian," dedicated to a friend of the band who is fighting overseas. Their set ended with "Peacocks," which had Echo screaming "we will rise!" over and over again with her fist raised above her head. When Goldfinger took the stage, it only took until the second song for people to start coming away from the crowd missing shoes. Right away it was obvious that Goldfinger know how to put on a show and they've got the sound and the energy to keep everything going. Few songs were played off their new album, Disconnection Notice, as older material dominated the set. Goldfinger's breakout hit, "Here in Your Bedroom," had the whole place clapping, skanking and singing. The shit had really started during "Chris Clayton," with 100 kids on the stage singing along to every word, and the Koolhaus turned into a writhing mass of bodies for the rest of the night. The band had props too — confetti machines and a guy who got some teenager to eat a Twinkie out of his ass — but Goldfinger didn't really need all those extras. The band has a stage presence that can get even notoriously apathetic Torontonians up and moving. Next time they can skip the Twinkies and get on with the music.