Two nights ago, a fire storm of punk rock mayhem rumbled through Albuquerque. At their concert on Tuesday at the Sunshine Theater, Rancid proved that even if punk isn’t in the forefront of our musical consciousness, it can still leave an impression. The band played all its hits, from "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb," to "Radio" and "Roots Radical." I’m not a tremendous Rancid fan, but you have to admire a band that, after a decade, is still performing with so much intensity, it feels like their first gig ever.The crowd yelled along to nearly all the songs, and any selection from Out Come the Wolves or Let’s Go triggered a full-crowd mosh pit. Lead-singer Tim Armstrong, bass player Matt Freeman and guitarist Lars Frederiksen sound like they’ve smoked 14 million cigarettes between the three of them, but it doesn’t mean they can’t belt it out. Freeman is one of the best bass players I’ve ever seen, Frederiksen is the most underrated Rancid member, and Tim Armstrong is a pure rock star, with an unassuming swagger that oozes cool. It was a ton of fun, and I hope Rancid returns to promote its new album which comes out in September.
The Boy’s A Time Bomb
2 min read
