I’m going to come straight out of the gates and throw this out there right now.
Henry Rollins is a God.
Not just for his legendary performances as frontman of Black Flag or the Rollins Band. Not just for his acting chops as seen in television shows like Sons Of Anarchy or movies like He Never Died. Not just for his steadfast self-belief or outspoken stance on movements and topics that he feels strongly about. And not just for his literary skills, or his public speaking, or his generosity, or for the spoken word performances that he delivers with rapid-fire humour and quick wit…the list could go on forever.
Henry Rollins is a God simply because he believes he is, and judging from the capacity crowd at the first of two stand-up performances at The Tivoli in Brisbane last night, so do a hell of a lot of other people too.
Me included.
Rollins takes pleasure out of being typecast and shunned for his past, present, and most likely future. He hits back at the critics and the cynics and simply lives life by the rules by which he governs on himself.
But when it comes time for ole Hank to start telling you a story you better make sure you have ample space cleared in your calendar because the man has no concept – or care – for the term quick chat.
He is extremely well-spoken, articulate, funny, witty and INTENSE, weaving together a myriad of real-life personal experiences into a catacomb of events that somehow always seem to wind up coming back full circle.
It is a gift few possess and even fewer master, but Rollins has nailed it completely.
Starting the show by rushing onto a simple, yet perfectly adequate stage – with just six white overhead lights, a few foldback speakers and a microphone and stand – Rollins started spewing forth his feelings almost before he pressed the microphone to his lips and hardly shut up – nor took a breath – for almost 2.5 hours.
Hell, he didn’t even pause to lubricate his throat or vocal chords from the relentless hammering.
See, a God…
Within the first five minutes Rollins had apologized for not making the last tour with a perfectly acceptable excuse, which led to conversations about Africa, politics, pearls, American news, commercials, adult problems and solutions to America’s many problems. In the first FIVE MINUTES.
And he managed to make the whole lot seem plausible and realistic.
Throughout the evening he touched on many subjects such as alcohol abuse, racism, trauma, homeless people and female rights, and in the hands of most everyone else such topics would seem contrived and irrelevant. But not here.
Without ever coming across as preaching Rollins raised a stack of personal and divisive topics, putting his views across succinctly and eloquently without labouring on any one moment too long. That’s an art form in itself.
He covered stalkers, his childhood, science, knowledge and other things that just shouldn’t have their basis in humour, but through a sharp change of angle or a well-constructed and concise moment of poignancy, Rollins said his piece and moved on. Objective complete.
A self-confessed workaholic, Rollins uses continual and clever references to musicians and other bands such as Metallica, Ted Nugent, David Bowie, Black Flag, The Ramones and Led Zeppelin to accentuate his tales, but not once do his stories become self-indulgent or farcical.
They just simply are.
As with every Rollins live performance, this one had its own central theme at the core of “I want this century to end better than it began”, and while that might seem like a less than entertaining focal point, Rollins continually looped his stories back to this objective, often pausing (very briefly) to explain the why’s, how’s and intricacies of his resolve.
At the young age of 62 and given the life and experiences he has had, Henry Rollins doesn’t just walk the walk. He smashes it into a canter, in the process absolving his personal sins and beliefs and inviting his audience to expand their minds and hearts.
And all without once coming across as anything but the gentleman he is.
Tickets for the remaining shows here: frontiertouring.com/henryrollins.
