ROLLINS CUTS LOOSE

 

PRE-SHOW

The date was Sunday, October 2^nd, 2022 and I was seeing Henry Rollins’ spoken-word show at the Largo @ the Coronet on La Cienega.  My excitement for the gig was starting to boil over.  I splurged for the VIP Pack, which included an autographed backstage pass, photos with Henry and an opportunity to sit for a smaller private discussion after the gig.

Mom and I hit the road at 6:10 pm, the gates at the Largo opened at 7:00.  The parking lot valets couldn’t have been nicer.  They left our car at the curb, right at the front door.  Thus, I decided to forego my wheelchair since not much walking would be necessary.

Mom and I entered the courtyard and sat down at a table in front of Rollins’ merch stand.  Henry had his patented Part Animal/Part Machine t-shirts for sale.  Trying to stay calm, I was right in front of a speaker blasting psychedelic dub.  I wondered whether Rollins had specially chosen the music or if it was a Largo house mix.  Soon, we found our theatre seats, front row on the right side.  I remember a strange Motorhead cover playing.

THE SHOW

Henry took the stage right on time, commenting he respected people who had to go to work early the next morning.  He commanded the mic, talking a mile a minute.  Like usual, he wore all black.  He was perfectly in his element, telling nonstop stories, both serious and funny.  Pulling from a full bag of tricks, he had the audience frequently erupting into laughter. Henry talked about (in no particular order): early morning stalkers from Finland breaking into his compound, Chuck D, Stevie Wonder, Beastie Boys, Ian MacKaye, working at “punk rock” Haagen-Dazs, sudden death at any nanosecond, watching porn in your mother’s basement, The Teen Idles, Lydia Lunch, J Mascis, Husker Du, Greg Ginn, empowered women murdering “rapey” men with measured bursts from a 9mm handgun, the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles, psychosis, boosting the morale of young gay Stooges fans whose horrible parents force them into conversion therapy, Metallica, how vermin look at the “human hand” as a torture device, his 2.13.61 publishing company, his greatest achievement (long-lasting friendship with Ian MacKaye), ultimate sacrifice, veterans being denied healthcare by corrupt politicians who own 4 houses, suffering women being denied abortions, David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters”, Iggy Pop’s “The Idiot” and Benny Hill.  To top it all off, Henry also did a mean Iggy Pop impersonation!

After the gig, it seemed only 10 or 12 people shelled out for the VIP Pack.  The lucky few gathered right in front of the stage.  When Henry returned, you could feel the electricity in the air.  He seemed relaxed, nevertheless the atmosphere was thick with a psycho-genius fog.

I felt privileged to be able to listen to Henry in such a small group.  During the VIP discussion, he answered questions submitted from the audience.  He talked about Suicide (the band), living and exercising alone, Raymond Pettibon, Joy Division, how to achieve a very deep understanding of Unknown Pleasures, Andrew Weiss, Ween, Flea, Melvin Gibbs, being murdered by Russian soldiers, Road Manager Ward, The Cramps and Frankie Teardrop. 

I brought my old copies of 1000 Ways to Die and Pissing in the Gene Pool for Henry to sign.  He seemed

surprised to see them.  I gave him a pen and he scribbled his name, only able to autograph one of the two.  He called the books “vintage”.  I got a kick out of that.

AFTER THE SHOW

Mom and I returned home around 11:00 pm.  I got undressed, took my pills, watched some TV and went to sleep.  Unfortunately, I woke up a few hours later, crying like crazy, after having the worst nightmare of my life.  Yes, you read that correctly, the worst nightmare of my life.  In tears, I picked up the phone and called my mom, after which she came upstairs to console me. 

The ultra-intense nightmare went as follows: After Rollins’ show, my mom wheeled me out of the Largo theater into the courtyard.  Then, we were magically transported to the Anawalt Lumber stockyard.  The stockyard was very dark and mom continued pushing me around in my wheelchair.  Soon, we were lost and nervous in the pitch black.  I then heard a noise behind me.  I turned my head and saw a dirty, grungy, homeless Black man in tattered clothes.  He was dragging a bag filled with stuff.  Various items were spilling out of the bag, and within a few seconds, he quickly caught up to us.  I told him, “We’re not afraid of you.”  He remained calm and silent.  He just continued walking and was soon past us and out of sight.  Suddenly, mom and I were transported back to the Largo courtyard, but all the people there had now vanished.  Mom pushed my wheelchair outside onto the La Cienega sidewalk.  Then, I asked mom a question (I can’t remember what).  Instead of answering me, mom just spoke nonsense.  At that nanosecond, I realized she had an extreme case of dementia and couldn’t remember a thing.  She was totally confused and helpless.  I then fell out of my wheelchair onto the ground.  I started crying and held mom tight.  Now, I was totally confused and helpless and started to scream.  I spit a big wad of Copenhagen tobacco out of my mouth.  I thought of my friends Damion Romero and Tomas Palermo from the band SLUG.  The last thing I remembered about the nightmare was

that Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) was in it, but I’m not sure how or in what capacity. 

Awake and no longer crying, I composed myself.  For some unknown reason, I then started thinking about Phil Anselmo and Oteil Burbridge.  My mom kissed my forehead and left my room, after which I fell back asleep.  That concluded my full Henry Rollins experience.  Go Frankie Teardrop!