Arts & Entertainment

Rollins doesn't need band to rock hard

Old-school rocker brings intelligence and anecdotal comedy to audience with his new spoken word tour

By Bridget Brown
The Daily Cougar

Henry Rollins unleashed a thought provoking assault upon an audience at the Engine Room on Monday night, but the punk pioneer wasn't screaming into the mic fronting the Rollins Band. He did what he said he likes to do best -- he shared witty commentary about his daily observations during the spoken word session, Shock and Awe My Ass Tour. 

"Life's really short. When you can do something really strange -- go," Rollins advised the audience toward the end of the two-and-a-half-hour set. Heeding his own advice seems to be easy for the performer, who appealed to the audience with a wry glance into his reality. His side-splitting humor and enthusiasm held the seated crowd's attention better than the average stand-up comic, and his political cynism gave all something to contemplate.

"There's no goal. I like to go on stage and let it rip in a very unrestrained manner. If it inspires then so be it," Rollins said in a pre-performance interview. "I've never had a goal with the music except to play well and express myself the way I want to. I am not trying to be evasive and abstract. I think there is more happening than just pure entertainment."

Standing center stage, Rollins spoke with the excitement of a child and the wisdom of an accomplished scholar as he tackled topics ranging from the demoralization of America's youth to his hilarious antics at Hollywood movie premieres. Barreling through a free flow of ideas and barely missing a beat, Rollins shifted from his spot in the front of the stage only a few times to grab a quick drink of water. He gracefully moved from each subject to the next with a brief explanation of each topic so that the audience could follow along. Jokes brought comic relief to serious subjects at just the right moments.

Rollins started the performance with a story about Texas. The pretty women, the big men and the no bull attitude are what he said he likes about the state.

Next, Rollins commented on another state -- Tennessee (Memphis in particular) and what happened when the Rollins Band went on tour to support Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three. Rollins led the story with a sincere conviction that the three teenagers were unjustly sentenced to the murder of three eight year old boys in 1994, and followed with images of the down home protests that started over the group's involvement with freeing the alleged child killers. 

The funniest anecdotes of the evening were about Rollins' sad search for love. He told the audience about his crush on artist Sheryl Crow and his antisocial personality. He laughingly said that he copes by searching eBay, masturbating and crying at night. 

Rollins said that he starts a tour with ideas during a 40 city stop. They morph and settle them selves, but he changes the material slightly for each venue to match the audience.

"A month into the tour there are five hours of material and different ways to put them together," he said before the show. "In Germany you wouldn't want to talk about Bill O'Reilly. If you do then you've left your audience in the dust."

Because of a recent United Service Organization tour in Afghanistan, the topic Rollins said would remain consistent throughout each of his country-wide performances was the memories from his time in Afghanistan. On Monday night he painted a vivid picture of the Allied Forces' "bright-eyed" soldiers, and the way they have been conditioned by the military.

"It's amazing to see these people and you picture them dead. War is the worst idea," Rollins said during the interview. "They should all be home and be goofing around with their friends. Going out to see that stuff was the best anti-war tour I've ever got."

Rollins has been performing talking shows for the past 20 years. He said that as long as he has a message he won't quit any time soon.

"I'm pretty damn good at what I do," he said.

Henry Rollins

Shock and Awe My Ass Tour

Engine Room

The verdict: A brilliant man made for a brilliant evening. Check out the DVD Live at Luna Park, which hits stores Feb. 10.

 Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu