Henry Rollins: Up for It

Henry Rollins has been travelling all over the world since before he was a singer and stand up free jazz improvisational journalist (those last six words coming from his own description of what he does). He wrote in "Get In The Van" that after Black Flag's first tour of the UK, he was never so happy to be on a plane for the voyage home. The trip was filled with unfriendly encounters and the music they were living, not simply playing, didn't resonate with a lot of European audiences the initial time around.

He did make some important friends who gave him respect on that sojourn, among them Charlie Harper of the UK Subs, people more interested in great talent than bashing Americans for the sake of lame Yank jokes. So when Henry returns to England, all the memories must come flooding back about how young and hungry he was back then. The deluge continues in "Up For It", his first of three nights at the Astoria Theatre in the early days of the new millennium (May 2001).

Hank recalls old stories and very recent ones and they're all worth listening to. His hypothetical Presidential administration plans, how Canada is cool but many Canucks think guns are "baaad", scuba diving in Australia, how to deal with the Ku Klux Klan, layovers between flights, the trauma of high school wrestling and why he isn't too impressed with celebrity DJs.

Yes, the man gives value for the dollar. Buying one of his discs documenting a talking show or attending one in person is a pretty good investment for a reasonable price. I've watched his dvds so many times that when I got to finally see him in person a few years back, it was quite a rush being in the thick of all the emotion he channels during the heartfelt monologue. Considering he's usually on for three hours at a time, it's quite a workout for him and us as well.

This comedy show suffers from British editing - like the style of America/Britain's Got Talent, X-Factor, and other shows of that ilk. Constant jump cuts. No shot lasting more than 6 seconds, and some less than 1 second. Constant inserted shots of random audience members (probably out of order), because for some reason we need to see randos laughing at everything. Why? Do British people like this bizarre style of editing? Does it trick people into thinking shows are better than they are? I don't get it. It makes this comedy show almost unwatchable. Henry himself is funny enough I guess (I wasn't rolling on the floor with laughter) but if you watch this, just turn off the video and listen like a podcast.

Henry, as a spoken work performer, is dynamic. There is something about the sheer intensity of the man that makes his observations compelling. I'm sure that if he got on stage, and read the instruction book for a VCR, it would be fascinating.

In "Up for It", Henry covers topics from the weather in England to memories of wrestling. If there is a highlight, it has to be his tale of auditioning for a role in "Death to Smoochy". You have to see the man tell it, in order to believe it.

"Up for It" is on par with the other spoken work performances that Henry has recorded. And that means it's pretty damn good.