Rancid stakes its "closest thing to the Clash" credibility on its eclecticism. However, time constraints rendered the band's range irrelevant during its past few area appearances, including a couple of Warped Tour cameos and a Liberty Hall concert that saw Rancid, hamstrung by singer Tim Armstrong's flulike symptoms, valiantly tackling 20 songs in less than an hour.
Given enough rope, the group incorporates ska, folk, hardcore and Chuck Berry-era rock, with subject matter stretching from poignant romantic numbers to reflections on Rwanda.
Rancid hasn't released a studio album since 2003's Indestructible, but this year's rarities collection, B Sides and C Sides, satisfied fans, most of whom follow punk's the-first-album-was-the-best credo and thus prefer vault-plucked old-school cuts to new material anyway.
"Out Came the Wolves" by Rancid
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