Henry Rollins – Frequent Flyer Tour – at the Largo at the Coronet – Los Angeles, CA

As Henry Rollins confirmed later into the night, his Los Angeles speaking shows are rare, so naturally his third display at the Largo at the Coronet was a sell out. The crowd that Rollins drew was a heavy mixture of people- ranging from Punks, "hipsters", and even a few old women with canes, which truly shows the impact that Rollins has made on so many different lives, whether you appreciate him from his poetry or work in Black Flag or his stint on the television show Sons of Anarchy.

The Largo is a small, intimate venue that has hosted a variety of noteworthy performers; they also emphasize and enforce strict policies of arriving late to the event, using cell phones, and recording or photographing the artist, hence the lack of pictures for this review. The show started promptly at 8:45, with an introduction from the venue owner reviewing the policies of the Largo and wishing us a good time. The lights on the stage dimmed as he walked off, and the crowd clapped furiously as Rollins ran into the spotlight that previously just displayed a microphone. He thanked the crowd for coming and apologized for his lack of shows in Los Angeles (it’s due to the fact that he lives in the area and feels like he’s not doing a show if its not farther away) and shared that the proceeds for the show are being donated to a charity named West Memphis Three . He told his stories about the Republican extremist Ann Coulter, and how they both were touring in Canada the same night in the same city, and although Henry drew a larger crowd to see him perform, about two thousand protesters marched outside the university Coulter was speaking at and cancelled her show. He also gave the audience a taste of his political views, by sharing that he voted for President Obama (although he becomes angry with him on a daily basis, and says this is a good thing because he is paying attention) and joked and compared President Obama’s deliverance of speech compared to former President Bush’s (he made a point of saying he in fact does not hate Bush, though), as well as sharing his story of traveling to South Africa and getting the honor to see some of Nelson Mandela’s mail and other objects of his, and expressing his awe for the former President of South Africa. He joked about his collection of television series and seasons on DVD that he buys on Amazon.com and eBay and shared the glory he feels of winning an auction on eBay and tormenting the losers–but then pointed out and joked that this makes him the loser in the long run.

For a long period of the night, Rollins discussed his small stints in television–one as a white supremest gang leader on the FX series,Sons of Anarchy and the other as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race; it’s my belief that he told these stories in Los Angeles to have a better connection with the audience due to the film industry being prevalent among the city. He told the crowd he did not think he had a shot at landing a role in Sons of Anarchy, and told the producer this at the end of their meeting in a very upfront manner. They thought Rollins would be perfect for the character because he’s the opposite of a white supremest, so he worked as an actor during the show’s second season. He proclaimed that he poured his heart and soul into that character and that job, and backed this up with a story on how he whole-heartedly and repeatedly threw himself into a car during a scene to make it perfect and "more realistic for the viewers". He also shared that infamous drag queen RuPaul invited Rollins to be a guest judge on his reality show RuPaul’s Drag Queen. He confessed to the audience that one contestant dressed up as a "Punk rock chick" in hot pants, fishnets, and a cut up shirt and proceeded to smack his ass and give the finger to Rollins made him aroused, and while "relieving tension" later that evening the last thought in his mind before fully "relieving" was of the Punk drag queen. As the audience roared in laughter, he expressed his shame in the fact that he thought of a drag queen while masturbating. Along with singer/songwriter, comedian, spoken word artist, actor, poet, activist, and publisher, Rollins also told us that he can also add "commencement speaker" to his list. A few years back, Rollins was invited to Sonoma College to speak at the graduation ceremony, and he accepted not knowing what to expect or what to say to the graduates. He consulted his assistant Heidi, colorfully referred to as "The Demon" ,whipped up a speech and flew up North. He laughed about how the teachers were shocked to see that the students picked this man, tattoos and all, to speak and went into a state of worry. Upon going up, Rollins claimed he was so nervous his mouth dried up and crumbled up his speech and spoke from his heart about work experience and life. His spontaneity worked out, however, due to the President of the university telling Rollins it was one of the best commencement speeches he’s ever heard. On that note and with three hours that passed by, Rollins bid his goodbyes and said farewell to the crowd and walked off the stage.

Everyone peacefully congregated out into the lobby either to just talk about the amazing performance put on by Rollins, or to rush to the merchandise booth to purchase tour shirts and some of his books. However, some people, myself included, were on a mission to be able to meet and talk to Henry. Around fifteen minutes of standing around a door, an employee came out with the good news that Rollins would come out and sign autographs and converse with us, but in the back alley of the venue. With high hopes, the sixteen dedicated fans walked to the back of the venue, introducing ourselves and discussing music, distracting us from the cold. About thirty minutes later, just as we were all growing anxious, Rollins emerged and greeted us. He thanked us for waiting and laughed as we formed a line for autographs and told us that was unnecessary and ordered us to gather around him instead. He took photos with us, signed autographs, and shared a few more stories about the publication of his books with "The Demon". Out of all the words I could use to describe Henry Rollins, I find myself saying "laid-back" more than anything, because that’s truly what he is. He did not make a huge spectacle of his tour, nor did he put himself on a pedestal while signing autographs and meeting us; I felt at ease and like I had a personal connection with him, just from his stories and easy-going nature. So, thank you Henry Rollins, although the world isn’t "a huge Mardi Gras party orbiting in space" like you’d sometimes prefer, you sure make it a hell of a lot better.
Henry’s Website: www.henryrollins.com

-Sarah K.-
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews