When I heard that Rancid would be playing an unprecedented five straight nights at Irving Plaza, I was a little miffed. Although there's no denying how influential this band has been in the punk scene, we haven't heard new material from these guys since 2003's Indestructible. So a residency at one of New York's premiere venues seemed a little too ambitious for me. When tickets went on sale for this Rancid extravaganza months ago, I balked, figuring I could surely scrounge one up when the time came. Idiot move on my part. As it turns out, Tim Armstrong and crew have got quite the following in these neck of the woods. All five shows sold out rather quickly, which meant I was pretty much shit out of luck. But alas, persistence is one of my better virtues. And in keeping true with the punk spirit, I refused to let the man keep me down. Thanks to my good friend Matt, I was able to score a ticket last minute to Friday night's concert (or show #3 out of 5 if you're keeping count).With the exception of a handful of spike-studded punk rockers adorned in multi-colored mohawks, the crowd was surprisingly tame. Sure, there were a few on hand proudly displaying their tattered Bad Religion and Casualties t-shirts. But generally speaking, if you walked in unaware of the band you were about to see, a good guess would have been Pearl Jam. And judging by the general age and appearance of those in attendance, it looked like the majority of the 1,000-strong crowd was there for nostalgia reasons (guilty as charged). It appears as if the hardcore Agnostic Front-loving fans got the memo. If anything, this five night stint was a "thank you" to long time fans, and Rancid wasn't about to ruin the party. Right off the bat, the band launched into a handful of quick numbers from their most successful album, 1995's ...And Out Come The Wolves. Lars Frederiksen's lightning-fast guitar was spot-on during crowd-favorites "Listed M.I.A," "The Way I Feel," and "Journey To The End of The East Bay". Armstrong complemented Frederiksen's enthusiasm by continually dancing around the stage (trench coat and all), all the while whipping his vintage hollow-body guitar hula-hoop style around his gaunt body. New drummer Branden Steineckert (of Used fame) played like a veteran on the very songs that predated him. And although nothing ever really got too out of hand, the loyal punks on the floor assembled a cute mosh pit that roared during some of the band's more aggressive catalog ("Nihlism," "Rejected").
The highlight of the evening came, oddly enough, during a song Rancid isn't even credited for -- the old Operation Ivy classic "Knowledge". After a little back and forth with audience (most notably Frederiksen acknowledging that he and Steineckert happened to be wearing the same Exploited t-shirt), the band continued to play songs old and new from their career-spanning catalog. The hooky chorus of pop-ska gem "Fall Back Down" got the crowd singing in unison, while obscure b-side "I Wanna Riot" pleased the aggressive diehards. Before calling it a night, the guys announced that a new album was indeed in the works -- a nice little tidbit that appealed to all in attendance. They then blasted out the two songs that have perhaps most defined their career -- "Olympia, WA," and "Ruby Soho". After the boys left the stage, the ravenous crowd stayed put, forcing the band to come out for one more. Not surprisingly they selected the very song that launched them into the mainstream, "Time Bomb". Although Rancid has certainly lost its star in an age where punk is unfortunately most equated with emo, it's reassuring to know that the real punks are still alive and kicking.
