The name Henry Rollins conjures many images: lead singer of Black Flag and the Rollins Band; star of films such as Feast, Wrong Turn 2 and the New Guy among 30 some others, and host of the IFC Henry Rollins Show. What I don’t think many realize is Henry Rollins is also a spoken word artist. By that I don’t mean whiny New Age poetry or feel good self-help jargon but cutting edge political and social commentary… and he’s hugely entertaining. I feel he might as well advertise “The Comedy Stylings of Henry Rollins” because his delivery is definitely stand-up but the socially conscious and globally aware message elevates him from most Blue Collar Evening at the Improv fare.

Rollins does nothing by half-measure, either. The man talks for an average of two and a half hours, sometimes longer and has the audience enthralled the whole time. It’s also rare to see several hundred human beings sitting in chairs to hear someone talk to them rather than jump around or play music or wrestle or anything with activity but there we were to see a guy with a microphone and a whole bunch of ideas.

Rollins’ range of topics included the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates, tours of Pakistan (during the assassination of Benazir Bhutto), Cambodia and Thailand; his passionate love for Slayer and masturbation, Van Halen in 1978 and the recent reunion tour, Dave Mustaine, life in LA versus Washington DC, Texas bands that supported him during the Black Flag years, the Strategic Defense Initiative, world peace, views of Americans versus American politicians, gym workouts, being searched in America’s security-heightened airports, the Ramones, John Coltrane and P-Funk, a wonderful story about Youssef Islam (Cat Stevens), more bon mots about “Diamond” David Lee Roth among many, many others.

I would like to wholeheartedly recommend checking out Mr. Rollins next time he’s in town. The dvds available are terrific but to see him live with an audience and experiencing his hysterical brand of free-form spoken comedy with a political and global bite (without lapsing into Politically Correct with Bill Maher territory) is something everyone to experience. Ninja Mike and RL had never seen Rollins before and have come out with a newfound respect for a man who commanded respect anyway (and in the Black Flag days, took it). Remember to come with a sense of humor because whether you agree with his standpoint or not (and it is sometimes not) you will laugh. A lot.

And as an added treat, here’s a clip of Rollins talking about his favorite band: