Thirty years on, Goldfinger still throw one of the most purely fun parties in punk, and on Friday, April 17, 2026, they brought the whole circus to the Commodore Ballroom. Ska-punk lives or dies on energy, and John Feldmann - frontman, ringmaster and hype man all at once - has never lacked for it, driving a horn-fuelled, wildly paced set that kept the Commodore’s sprung floor bouncing from the very first note.
Portland pop-punk mainstays Broadway Calls and the up-and-coming sullvn warmed the room, sending an already-eager crowd of skankers and singalong veterans into the night primed for chaos.
Goldfinger tore in with “Spokesman” and barely paused for breath. “Here in Your Bedroom,” the band’s breakthrough, arrived early and huge, while “Counting the Days” and “Open Your Eyes” kept the horns blaring and the pit churning. Feldmann has spent the years between Goldfinger albums becoming one of rock’s most in-demand producers, but on stage he is still first and foremost a punk goofball - cracking jokes, climbing the monitors and conducting the crowd with obvious glee.
Goldfinger have always worn their love of a good cover on their sleeve, and the set leaned into it gleefully: a ripping take on NOFX’s “Linoleum” and a horn-blasted romp through The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” had the room roaring. Then came “Superman” - the Tony Hawk-anointed anthem that introduced this band to a whole generation - and the Commodore came completely unglued, every word screamed back at the stage.
The encore kept the party going right to the edge of curfew, running through “Question,” “Chasing Amy” and “Miles Away” before the band closed, inevitably and joyously, with their beloved ska-punk flip of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons.” It was a short, sharp, sweat-soaked reminder that few bands make being in a punk band look like this much fun. More than thirty years in, Goldfinger are still the best kind of ridiculous.
