20 years down: Rancid play …And Out Come The Wolves live for the first time ever.
Rancid have played Belfast a few times in recent years but I’ve somehow always managed to miss the shows due to being away travelling or living in Asia. In fact, the last time I saw Rancid play was way back in 2004 in Fukuoka, Japan. So it seemed only fitting that the next time I should see them should be back in Japan – this time in Tokyo. The band hinted on Facebook that they’d be playing …And Out Come The Wolves in its entirety to coincide with the album’s 20th anniversary. And sure enough, after the support band finished up the huge Wolves banner came down, Maxwell Murder started and they played through the whole album in order, plus more.
For long-time fans, this was the ultimate setlist – with only five out of the 30-song set having been recorded after 1995. Surprisingly, this was the first time the band had ever played the full album live. Maybe even more surprisingly, the songs sounded exactly like they did 20 years ago: Tim, Lars and Matt’s voices have aged well. It was pretty much a perfect performance – with the band dedicating the last song, Fall Back Down, to Japan after the struggles it has faced since the March 2011 earthquake. I also had a bottle of Buckfast that I had brought back to Japan from Northern Ireland – so that was the icing on the cake. (Some video clips below from the set – apologies for the sound at times: the crowd was super loud and the high-end of Lars’ distortion overpowered the mic on my camera. But you get the idea.) #seeyainthepit