Rancid/H2O at B.B. King’s, New York, NY–August, 24, 2006
photos by Steven J. Messina

With singer Tim Armstrong’s sudden departure from The Transplants’ tour, bassist Matt Freeman’s battle with cancer, and the success of guitarist Lar’s Frederiksen’s side project The Bastards, it might have been to safe to think that Rancid had called it a day and retired. Hell, they’ve done it all–released hit records, toured the world, banged Madonna, and helped elevate Epitaph Records to major indie status.

It’s safe to say we were all wrong.

Rancid returned to New York City for four nights of punk rock nostalgia, and brought New York hardcore legends The Cro-Mags (see Fearless Vampire Killers) and H2O along for the ride. The latest incarnation of the Cro-Mags started it off with a half-hour set of “Age of Quarrel”-era Mag songs and a handful of Bad Brains tunes. Singer John Joseph was on point and looked hardcore as hell. I don’t think this guy ages. Listening to “AOQ” nowadays, it’s hard to miss the tinny metal production that plagued most of the records of the time. But live in the year 2006, Joseph and company sounded as punk as ever next to Rancid and H2O.

Speaking of H2O, these guys pretty much disappeared after their craptacular major label release “Go” came out five years ago. Some of the members formed the pop-punk Hazen Street; the rest floundered around or played in garage rock bands with Hollywood actresses. It might have been the million dollar sound system, but H2O was at the top of their game, pulling out classic punk anthems from their first three releases, including “Family Tree,” “FTTW,” and “Guilty By Association.” The band even tested the waters with a new song that sounded much like their early tunes, not that I’m complaining. According to singer Toby Morse, this was the first time in a year that the band was all together for a show, and it was a performance that old school fans won’t forget any time soon.

H2O was actually conceived during a Rancid tour with Sick of it All back in 1994, when Morse would get on stage and perform “My Curse” with a supergroup of Rancid and SOIA members. Twelve years later, all three bands have paid their dues, but none more so then Rancid. The band has gone through so much crap over the last decade that it’s a complete wonder that the punk rockers from the East Bay are still kicking ass and taking names. The four night stint in NYC was a thank you to the fans for supporting them, and from the look of the gracefully aging punks in the crowd, most of the diehard fans from the first tour have stuck with the band.

Opening with “Ruby Soho” was a smart move. Kick out the hits and let the fans enjoy the relics. In an hour and a half, Rancid dusted off “Rats in the Hallway,” “Adina,” “Tenderloin,” and “Detroit,” before blowing the crowd away with a cover of the Operation Ivy classic “Unity.” Fans gave up years ago hoping for OpIvy tunes from two-fourths of the original band–good things come to those who wait.

The second half of the show consisted of an acoustic set featuring “Fall Back Down,” and Lar’s cover of Billy Bragg’s “To Have and Have Not,” as well as the crowd pleaser “Roots Radical.” The crowd was hungry and the band was ready to feed. All the songs were near perfect, with the exception of the double restart of “Hoover St.” Matt Freeman pulled off one hell of a solo during “Maxwell Murder,” and Tim Armstrong managed to sing and play guitar for the whole set.

For four nights, BB King’s was home to one of the greatest punk bands ever, and for one night only, the club was host to a dream show of three legendary punk bands from three generations or punk. For those who were there, this was a show that will be burned into memory for years to come. Those who missed it are just shit out of luck.