Henry Rollins, 50

Last night I went to see Henry Rollins at the Canopy Club. I'll be honest. I went into it with some doubts. I had some expectations for his spoken word or stand-up or what ever you want to call it. I must say he surprised me. He had a few 10 minute bits that were truly inspiring. When he spoke of his history and his introduction into Black Flag, I felt his excitement and felt like I could achieve some similar changes in my own life. But that was only a part of his more than two hour show.

But when he left his inspiring spoken word and started his stand-up routine I must say I hated it. He volleyed between not being funny (which he kept insisting he wasn't trying to be) and being sort of offensive. He contradicted himself over and over. At one point he praised the working class, but then later made fun of them.

But all my complaints probably stem from my own comedy geekery. I had a stupid nerd reaction. "How dare he try to become a comedian," I think I said to myself more than a few times. And he ended up with a better reaction from the crowd than most comedians I've seen. He packed the club and everyone laughed at all the right points. I didn't really get it, but everyone else seemed to lap it up.

I am impressed by his energy. He stood and screamed out into the crowd for more than two hours. I don't think he took a breath. And he's 50-years-old. I don't think I could do that now.