Live Review

Henry Rollins – O2 Academy, Liverpool

• 24th Jan 2010

As Henry Rollins takes to Liverpool’s O2 Academy stage ‘waiting with baited breath’ doesn’t even come close to describing the anticipation in the crowd. Being in the audience to see Henry Rollins is pretty huge. Initially I became a fan of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, so it is nothing short of amazing to be able to see the man himself tonight. As well as being a musician Henry Rollins is also a spoken word artist, writer, publisher, actor, activist and has his own radio show. Phew! Rollins defies the old adage as he seems to be the master of all trades that he turns his hand to. Tonight we see him demonstrate his skills as a spoken word artist.

Rollins is a very educated man who is obviously well read. He is a self taught man who has gone out and sought knowledge and experience of his own accord. You’ve got to admire that this is someone who ‘walks it like he talks it’ which simply adds to his allure. When he speaks of the University graduation that he was invited to be a guest speaker for, he says he hopes the graduates go on to use this intelligence to eradicate ignorance in the world and to use it wisely, as opposed to just getting a good job, getting a partner and falling into the abyss – Henry Rollins certainly seems lead by example in regards to this request. What also strikes me about Rollins is that he appears quite optimistic about the future he seems to have an genuine belief in people’s ability to use their intelligence in the right way. This was particularly emphasized as he spoke of the graduation, he really did seem to have a lot of hope for the graduates.

As Rollins continues he tells us of the many countries he has visited and in all honesty I’m surprised Rollins is still alive. The places he talks of and the experiences he has there leave one surprised that he made it back home safely. Then again as he said himself you can ‘turn the corner in Ohio and walk into the worst night of your life’. And it is true, people get attacked in their own homes, so I guess it doesn’t matter where you are there is no guarantee for safety.

Rollins covers many topics; the gig was two and a half hours with no break so you’ve got to admire the man’s stamina, particularly considering that he is approaching fifty. Someone at the gig told me that Rollins was pretty chilled out on this tour. I mean I’ll be honest I have never seen him perform spoken word before so I have nothing to compare it to. But I knew a bit about Rollins and was curious to see for myself what he was about. My impression of Rollins from interviews and articles seem to be of a man who is very intense, but the view I hold of him now from seeing him first hand is quite different. Rollins puts himself across very well, it makes you realise that spoken word really is an art form. He seems like a decent guy, and bombards you with interesting anecdotes delivered with the highest finesse and articulation. And yes he is intense, but the intensity only manifests itself as Rollins is clearly passionate in his views. He’s also very funny and if the work ever dries up he could always turn his hand to impersonation as the George bush, RuPaul and William Shatner impressions were second to none.

Rollins also talks of how the anonymity of the internet allows people to make abusive comments without ever having to own what they have said, as they do not have to sign their name or post an image of themselves. This leads into Rollins talking about freedom of speech and the United States Constitution. Other topics include Politics which covers the 2008 Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and of course George.W. Bush. Rollins also talks about Burma, China, Freeing Tibet, and music, mainly Punk bands such as Fugazi and Bad Brains.

Although the content of Rollins’ gig is serious he manages to inject humour. Also Rollins never talks down to his audience and many a time says ‘as you know’ which I’m sure some of us, sometimes, don’t know. However it is nice that Rollins doesn’t assume that you don’t know which highlights his intellectual modesty.

So weighty topics were discussed and it does indeed make you think, you also come away asking yourself ‘what can I do?’. It is in many ways over whelming because I’m sure every person left the room wanting to contribute to making the world a better place, but how do we do this? You most certainly leave the building with a lot to contemplate.