Editor’s note Iowa State Daily reporter Dewayne Hankins attended the Goldfinger concert in Minneapolis Saturday. Goldfinger is playing in Des Moines on Wednesday at Super Toad. There was more energy in the air Saturday night than the fogged mirrors of the Quest Club could possibly indicate. Anyone who was at the downtown Minneapolis club witnessed something rarely seen in these days of heavy security and barricades. Punk rock veterans Goldfinger and rookie pop-punkers Mest provided the adrenaline-fused soundtrack while kids of all ages desperately made their way to the stage to share in the energy of a real punk rock show. Thanks to the hands-off security requested by the bands, fans were able to climb on stage and dive at will without worry of being tackled by bouncers. The crowd began chanting “Goldfinger” after opener Mest left the stage. It took about 20 minutes for the band to finally take the stage but fans were not disappointed. Goldfinger opened up their set with the pissed-off punk anthem “Question,” and the crowd was happy to oblige as the stage antics continued. The band then rolled right into the happier “Counting the Days.” Goldfinger managed to maintain their energy the entire time with a set that included a great mix of old and new songs. Goldfinger’s set included mostly faster punk tunes, but they managed to mix it up with a few off-beat songs and even a couple covers of the Replacements as an ode to the Minneapolis-based band. When Charlie Paulson’s guitar died on him, he was quick to grab Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann’s off of his shoulder. The unexpected turn in the set forced Goldfinger to reach back and play some older songs, but they rolled with the punches knocking out “Fuck L.A.,” “Anything” and a cover of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” “I just want to thank whoever gave my guitar tech the angel dust,” Paulson announced to the crowd. Halfway through the set, drummer Darrin Pfeiffer appeared Sisqo-style, wearing a blonde wig and thong as they covered none other than the “Thong Song.” Perhaps the most comical sight of the evening was watching Pfeiffer try to dance around the stage with an eight-foot inflatable penis. The crowd managed to reach a capacity on the stage for the band’s hit “Mable,” forcing Paulson to hold back from his regular circle spins because of the lack of space. As Goldfinger departed the stage, fans began chanting. As soon as the stage was clear of fans, the band was happy to come back for an encore that included “Donut Dan,” “Miles Away,” and their most recent hit, a cover of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons.” It was a nice change of pace to see kids running around on stage with smiles on their faces – security actually helped those who got trampled rather than doing the trampling themselves. Mest took the stage second after a terrible opening band. Not only did the band warm up the crowd for Goldfinger’s entrance, they also proved they had something to contribute to punk music. The frozen crowd took about three songs to thaw. By the middle of Mest’s set, lead singer Tony Lovato had no problem getting the whole room to jump around to the band’s semi-hit “What’s the Dillio?” Lovato was also responsible for beginning the stage diving that reached its peak during Goldfinger’s performance. “You guys can come up on stage whenever you want,” the bleach-haired lead singer said with a smile. After a few minutes of pondering the comment, fans assaulted the stage. Mest finished up their set with Lovato stripping away his guitar while the band performed “Slow Motion” and “Fuck the Greyhound Bus” and Lovato himself joined in the stage diving. By the end of the set, however, Mest looked tired and showed it as Lovato began puking as the curtain went down. Though the Mest frontman became sick, Goldfinger and Mest showed that punk is very much alive.