Goons of Doom are one of the most unpretentious Sydney bands of late. They have perfected the mix between hilarious, over the top rock ‘n’ roll antics and tongue-in-check attitude which brings a smile to my face every time I see them live.

The Goons have attempted every rock cliche possible at one time or another; whether it’s stage names, make-up, stage diving or nonsensical drunken banter with the audience, they continue to evade snobby comments pointing to their dubious musical integrity purely because they don’t take themselves seriously at all.

On this occasion, they decided to kick off proceedings with a ten second countdown and a “Happy New Year” before launching into a string of short surf punk songs.
A young and enthusiastic crowd hung on every word that came from Vaughan Dead or Killerwhale’s mouth and were happy having a friendly boogie until the crowd favourite Fingered made its way into the set list. Halfway through this track, the small back room of World Bar was transformed into rock ‘n’ roll mayhem. The mic was passed around the crowd as just about every punter gave their best rendition of the chorus, “Burn alive, burn alive, every motherfucker’s gonna burn alive!”
Drinks went flying, the music got louder and a sea of gyrating bodies covered both the stage and dance floor while a comical surf punk soundtrack made the situation all the more hilarious.

As their amalgamation of sea shanties, ballads and ‘toilet humour punk’ shows, Goons of Doom have an endearing ability to make anything hip (in an odd kind of way).

For a band playing a type of music that hasn’t really been cool since, well…. The Beach Boys , Goons of Doom have provided one of the best light-hearted live shows I’ve seen in a while.