Here's to 20 More Years, Rancid!

 

Tuesday night at The Fillmore, Rancid kicked off their 20th Anniversary tour to a packed house. The band looked a bit older, with Tim and Lars' bald heads where mohawks and liberty spikes once stood years ago. However, the crowd was a bit older too, which meant the stench of punk rock was not quite as strong as I remember it being in the past.

Rancid started their set out with "Radio" and ended the night with "Ruby Soho". They played an awesome show including most of the fan favorites and a few less well known. At one point or another, they played pretty much everything off of ..And Out Come The Wolves, with many of the tracks knocked out right at the beginning of the night. Although they played plenty of newer songs too, the older definitely out-weighed them.

 

Something that I was extremely happy about, was that although the crowd was singing along, the band still sang the songs. It gets so old when you go to see someone play that you have been listening to for years and rather than singing along with the crowd, the band just doesn't really sing at all, especially during the hits. Luckily that wasn't the case at this show. And Tim and Lars, and even Matt on a song, were all great. Although appearances may have changed some over the years, Tim still has his notable, slurry, punk rock voice that we have all loved for years. 

Some other happenings of the night worth mentioning include a pretty great set by The Transplants, which meant Tim Armstrong pulled double duty for the night. And it also means Travis Barker was there on the drums. Girls, the answer is yes... Travis is still hot. Also, during Rancid's set the guys mentioned that they just finished a new album. So hopefully it is as good as all of the others.

Overall, Tuesday night's show was a great time, full of familiar songs and familiar faces. Rancid will be out on tour for most of the summer and then will go out again for some dates in September. Although they won't be heading back to Detroit in the foreseeable future, they are on the lineup for Riot Fest in Chicago, which is just a car ride away.

Even though Rancid even played "Detroit" on Tuesday, there was one song on my list that I didn't get to hear. I'm probably the only one in the crowd that was bummed they didn't play it and I'm sure I will get shit for this. Not exactly the craziest Rancid song, but still one of my favorites.

 ~C