Review: Henry Rollins finally comes to Delaware

Henry Rollins' show at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware was another first for the first state:

It was Rollins' first ever performance in good ol' DE.



Rollins said as a kid he visited Rehoboth Beach with his mom and had good memories about Delaware.

His spoken word performance on June 7, 2009 was a great booking for the Grand in my opinion, although I was surprised the venue was only 2/3 full of Rollins fans.

Surely there are more than 1,200 Rollins fans in the DE/PA/NJ area.

Maybe it's the Rollins prejudice; there are many people who don't realize that Rollins has evolved into a superb story teller and those who even go as far to say Rollins ruined Black Flag.

Rubbish.

Rollins remains right on the mark. His sets average two and a half hours of non-stop talking; a mini-odyssey of travel, cultural observation, politics and several personal anecdotes.

He remarked several times that he's hurtling towards fifty (he's 48.) But you wouldn't know it from his stamina and intensity. Rollins gives the audience their money's worth and approached storytelling and his life adventures with the unbridled enthusiasm of an 18-year old.

One of the highlights of the night included Rollins recounting his commencement speech at Sonoma College and interactions with the school's intellectual elite. You can read the whole speech on Henry's site.

During his two and a half hour set, it remains clear that Rollins continues to guided by the same intense, if not maniacal, work ethic of the early SST records crew; you can never work and perform hard enough.

Rollins has evolved into an insanely energetic storyteller and an entertaining performer.

He's funny, a self-made intellectual and is one of those people who actually tries to make the most of every day and every opportunity life hands him.

And I think that's pretty darn cool.

Go get some Rollins stuff from amazon.com.