GOON been and gone - Norwich, England

GOON, Sunday Night at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom, Norwich

Twenty-twenty-six has passed the Spring Equinox, already.  A long article on The Guardian website discussing the concept of Time, exploring whether it even exists, is a positively provocative starting point for a night out at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom, London Street, Norwich.  What happens to Time in our heads when listening to music?  Can you focus, or do you need, or want to be somewhere else, doing something more worthwhile?  Are our perceptions of Time entirely dependent upon our state of mind?  How does music play with mood and hence our perceptions?  It probably depends where you start from.  Is Sunday evening, after a day of full sunshine and fresh air a good headspace to be in?

GOON  having a good time in Norwich, (ignore the 'w') 

How a band opens a set, how a band opens a song and where they take their audience, always fascinates me.  GOON, travellers from a distant shore, (not Hunstanton, but Los Angeles) make it easy.  Cast in the publicity for the show as purveyors of lo-fi rock, GOON start with a slow burner.  Gradually the guitar tones fill the auditorium and Kenny Becker’s high-pitch vocals, tops off the layered mixture.  The small crowd, initially numbering around seventy, or eighty, get into the groove and then, as the tempo picks up, with the song morphing into ‘Closer to’ the people really appreciate what is developing on stage.  

‘Apple Patch’ follows without a break too and GOON have established their sound, impressed it into the room.  Even during his brief words between this song and the next ‘Window’, Becker’s band are providing a sound wash which sustains the vibe.  'Window' moves the band closer towards the grungier feel of the first album, ‘Heaven is Humming’, but importantly the mood of the show is established. There are few surprises in what is played. By that, I am not being critical, I like it. The band clearly enjoy being together and their playful interactions between numbers sustains the relaxed mood.  

A sticker, quoting a reviewer from The FADER, (worth a look), from on the cover of GOON’s debut album promotes the contents as “Weird and charming…pop-tinged grunge.”  Which indicates the music will be listenable, carry a melody, some kind of coherent theme, use some electronic treatments and carry a bit of punch. Which in truth it does.

 

The new album provides the material for the bulk of this Sunday night set. It’s a strong set.  For anyone with an appreciation of life, the universe and everything, the song titles Kenny Becker conjures up are evocative of being close to nature, even if it just a small garden, somewhere to consider the flora, fauna and limitless sky: For Cutting Grass; In The Early Autumn; Fruiting Body; Fruit Cup, This Morning Six Rabbits Were Born, (definitely a left-field observation); Sunsweeping, (which has a baseball allusion. By the way guys, baseball is a sport mentioned in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, published posthumously in 1817, but completed in 1799). 

Kenny Becker seriously playful

The show proceeds as a contemplation, with accompanying phases of uplifting and powerful emotion, expressed in bursts of heady rock rhythms and a couple of anguished screams from Kenny Becker.  The screams must be the sound of the singer-songwriter's personal angst being exorcised. Words cannot always be found for what needs expressing.  The screams come as audible shocks, but were no surprise in context of the self-controlled, taut delivery of personal musings.  You have got to let out the pain sometime, somehow.

Sunday being a day usually devoted to family and friends, makes it a brave day to put on an evening show, I had not even thought about going out until I was walking home through town and remembered the Instagram post from @voodooshowroom promoting the gig.  I had  already missed Flat Venus, sadly, but made it inside as CRUUSH prepared to go on stage.  I am trying to avoid clichés, but please forgive me for describing the music of CRUUSH as staccato.  Stops and starts within tunes and unusual beat patterns do not make for easy-listening.  They were well-received by the crowd, I found them more time consuming than I had hoped.

CRUUSH doing their thing at Voodoo Daddy's Showroom

Does time go quickly when you are enjoying listening to a band?  Does time slow down when watching a band that bores you?  Have you ever wanted a gig to never end?  This evening, I am really glad to have diverted down to this fine dive bar. It was definitely good use of my time.  You have to go a long way to find a much better venue of this size, (especially if you live out here in East Anglia). GOON did what they do well and they are a good-natured band, tuned into each other and aware of their audience.  A lone cry from the audience of "F--- the Yanks!" gained no traction and merited no response.   This band isn't touring in a military capacity FFS.

Catch GOON on their first foray into Europe

GOON's London gig at The Lexington should be worth catching. I wish them luck with the Brussels - Cologne - Luxembourg - Paris legs of this tour.  Kenny assured me that four hours driving between shows is Touring 1:01 in the USA.  Even so, those four dates will involve some heavy miles - good luck! 

~

Spencer Ide

23rd March 2026