Here are some photos and a terrible review that I wrote almost 20 years ago after Rancid played the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Punk rockers seriously hated Rancid at the time for hitting it big and playing Saturday Night Live. We were complete morons. I think a bunch of kids actually tackled the band when they did a surprise show at Coney Island High. We were just dumb, middle-class mall punks that needed to bitch about something. We should have just been happy that Rancid had released one of the best punk records ever and shut the hell up. But then again, we were punk rock. The photos below were shot on disposable Fuji cameras that I stole from the Rx Place.
Originally published in Life In A Bungalo #4 (1996)
Fine, so I swore up and down thatI’d never got o another Rancid show after their miserable performance at the Roseland last year, but who could resist a free show. Come on, H2O was playing; I couldn’t miss this. H2O played to a crowd of mindless drones, who barely knew who they were, let alone the lyrics to their songs. However, I’ve never seen this band put on a bad set and this wan’t going to be the first. H2O put on a quick, tight set, playing with a ton of enthusiasm and whit (Earth Crisis jokes aplenty). What I Caught of Rocket from the Crypt reminded me of a bad Gas Huffer record, but with horns. That said, they did have cool, giant Tiki masks on either side of the stage. You know, like the one that Mike Brady found when he went to Hawaii. They sure didn’t seem to bring RFTC much luck with the crowd either, who looked bored as hell.
A mohawk-less Rancid hit the stage soon afterwards, opening up with “Maxwell’s Murder.” For the first time in two years, I was actually impressed with their performance. The set was well rounded, including songs from al three albums. I was stoked to hear “Adina” and “Battering Ram.” Maybe they’ll play it next time they are on Saturday Night Live. The show ended with a rousing rendition of “My Life” by Sick of it All that was just miserable. Toby’s vocals couldn’t even salvage that one. Maybe as punishment, Epitaph will let Coney Island High use Lars a permanent punching bag. We can only hope.
