The East Room Hosts Special Guest GOON

GOON performing at The East Room, Samantha Graessle

Indie-rock group GOON took to the stage on Wednesday at The East Room as a part of the “Dream 3 Tour.” 

GOON, a Los Angeles-based band inspired by artists such as Elliot Smith and Pinback, kicked off its tour earlier this September in California, following the release of its third studio album, “Dream 3.” 

“Touring's been wild, we’ve never headlined this long before. I was nervous at first, but even smaller shows have felt great. I just love all of it,” said Kenny Becker, the band’s lead singer.

Becker acts as the frontman for GOON. He formed the band in 2017 and continues to write and produce songs throughout the band's evolution. 

At the East Room performance, alternative rock bands Hotspit and Sewing Club opened for GOON, the latter performing with only two of their usual four band members.

“We usually have more of us up here, but I hope you will enjoy our songs anyway,” said Hannah McElroy, lead singer of Sewing Club. 

Following the openers, GOON took to the stage performing a blend of songs from their new album, “Dream 3” which was released over the summer in July. 

Opening with “Begin Here,” the band incorporated themes of navigating life’s disappointments with explorative, alternative indie-rock sounds. 

Cutout images from the band's most recent album cover, a deer, a sprig of flowers and an orange worked as the backdrop for the band as bassist Tamara Simons, guitarist Dillion Peralta and drummer Malik Dugan shared their music alongside Becker. 

Intermixed with tracks from “Dream 3” like “Closer To,” “Apple Patch” and “Fruit Cup,” GOON also performed songs “Another Window” and “Fruiting Body,” released in 2022.

While joking with the crowd, Becker called out an audience member who worked at a baseball field before transitioning into the song “For Cutting the Grass.” 

Haunting electric guitar solos and passionate drum fills continued throughout their set as they performed a mix of old and new songs, including “Hi From Beyond,” “Bend Back,” “Bottle” and “Patsy’s Twin.” 

The band continued to interact with the audience between songs, creating a friendly environment before closing with the songs “Jaw” and “Angelnumber 1210.”

“The amount of different melodic ideas in the entire set was insane. They played around 17 songs, and they meandered through all these different chords and tempos and musical ideas, it was incredible. I'm a big fan, I thought it was amazing,” said audience member Jack Landess. 

The tour will continue through the middle of October, ending back in California.

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This article was written by Samantha Graessle