The group opened with a stripped-down, acoustic set that consisted of straight-country versions of three of its best-known songs. The drums were missing in the mix--replaced by, we kid you not, an accordion.

That move took some major guts. Yet, Social D has never been lacking in that department. The band's lead singer, Mike Ness, always comes across onstage as the toughest guy on the planet, a modern-day Man in Black who is as close a musical descendant to Johnny Cash as you'll find in the business.

It was supposed to be the start of a four-night stand at San Francisco's most legendary venue (with two more Fillmore shows to follow in February), but that's not the way it turned out. Social D cancelled the Saturday and Sunday gigs, according to the band's , "due to illness."'

While the heavily tattooed guys and dolls didn't get as much Distortion as they would have liked, Social D did make the most of its abbreviated weekend stay at the Fillmore.

The legendary Orange County group did a masterful job on "Cold Feelings," "Ball and Chain" and "Story of My Life"--the first of which hails from 1992's "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell," while the latter two are from 1990's "Social Distortion"--taking them from the punk rock world down the country road. The band made these songs sound like they were made to be played this way.

Ness and his current crew--guitarist Jonny Wickersham, drummer Charlie Quintana and bassist Brent Harding--then plugged into the traditional hardcore socket and began producing electrifying versions of such favorites as "Six More Miles" and "Down on the World Again."

The troupe touched upon each era of its 25-year recording career, from the title track to the 1983 debut "Mommy's Little Monster'' to "Angel's Wings," from its most recent studio effort, 2004's "Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll." As expected, the band received the strongest response from the crowd when it played "Prison Bound" and the Cash staple "Ring of Fire," both of which can be found on the new Social D "Greatest Hits" collection.

Neither of those tunes, however, ranked among the concert's finest moments. The country-tinged opening segment was a definite highlight, both because it so clearly illustrated the versatility and strength of the Social D songbook and because it showed a band that is near fearless. Also, the group's cover of Hank Williams' "Alone and Forsaken" was so brilliant that it might've made some people wonder just who is really carrying the torch passed down by country music's old-time greats.

Hint: The torchbearers probably don't hail from Nashville. Believe it or not, they more likely come from Orange County.