Still Spray Painting The Walls...

Henry Rollins circa 1990...taking offence to a mirror.

A couple of weekends ago, in the company of some very good folk, I had the pleasure of seeing notorious punk rock front man and spoken word artist Henry Rollins at Belfast's Empire Pub, part of his latest UK tour.

Henry Rollins is a name I've been familiar with for a few years, mostly from his occasional acting roles in films like 'Johnny Mnemonic', 'Heat' and TV series 'Sons of Anarchy', but not being a big punk rock fan, his origins as a frontman for both 'Black Flag' and 'The Rollins Band' were unknown to me as were his numerous spoken word gigs and recordings that he's performed over the past 20 years.

Rollin's raucous reputation, stemming from his punk days when he would occasionally get into scuffles with over-eager fans and police, is backed up by his appearance, short crew cut hair, well-built, and clad in black.

Within minutes of the show starting, infront of a 150 or so people, it becomes apparent that Rollins has lived a very interesting life, doing anything that's offered to him as a self-confessed "whore for work", as long as it intrigues him.

He's also calmed down and the image of the angry, vitriol spitting punk legend is no longer entirely accurate. Although still angry, especially at the George Bush Jr presidential legacy (which he eviscorates in a review of Bush's heavily ghost-written autobiography 'Decision Points'), the absurdity of many of the things that piss him off are ripe for a humorous telling.

Wardrobe costs kept to a minimum.

Riffing on his life on the road with Black Flag during his formative years, trying to get through gigs without shedding too much blood and getting paid enough to buy a candy bar or two, to his most recent trips to India (cooking and eating rats guts for the viewing pleasure of National Geographic), and appreciating the comprehensive approach of the Indian aviation industry to inflight security, tormenting his state-approved guide in North Korea by picking holes in the face of wall-to-wall propaganda , and even the disparity in effort made by Belfast's male and female sexes to going out on a saturday night. The central link is the man himself and the random opportunities he finds himself being offered.

Audience interaction is kept to a minimum, so there's no fear of being picked on in the front row (which was lucky as we were right by the stage), and the most interesting parts of the spoken word were the observations on US culture drawn from his visit to supermarket chain Costco, and the quantity of irritation Rollins mines to good effect. It's scatter gun in its content, with Rollins jumping from event, but the conviction he puts behind his observations keeps you with him.

                                   
If you've a chance to see him live in the future, I'd encourage taking the opportunity. This isn't 'stand-up' but one man's thoughtful views on his career, US and international culture and all the things that still make him mad after 50 years. 19mins of the Belfast gig below for those interested.