Tales From Henry Rollins Struggle to Find a Focus

Former Black Flag screamer, current rock band leader, writer, publisher, actor and philosopher Henry Rollins is one of rock’s true Renaissance men.

Despite his penchant for introspection, the tattooed and muscle-bound Rollins has zero tolerance for life’s gray areas. He rallies for absolute experience. And he’s done much of it through his own company--establishing his own cottage industry with a flood of books and now records.

But is the world ready for Henry Rollins, comedian?

That was the question Saturday night at the El Rey Theatre when Rollins left his music and band at home and gave a spoken word performance that tested his ability to make people laugh.

For most of the two hours, he didn’t earn high marks.

Walking onstage dressed in sophisticated basic black with a huge coffee cup as his only prop, Rollins hit the audience with material that blended the dark audacity of Lenny Bruce with the self-effacing manner of Woody Allen.

One moment he was a lewd bad boy--Andrew Dice Clay with a social conscience--wanting to win peace by forcing world leaders to masturbate each other. “ ‘Cause, men, you know how you are,” he said.

Then he meandered into the no-shtick backstage banter of Rollins as, simply, Rollins: tales from the war zone. Unfortunately, most of it felt so self-indulgent that it came across as simply cocktail-party chatter for the hard-rock set.

He began the evening with a long, animated monologue about the frustrations of airport delays--an experience that can quickly turn from anxiety to hostility. At times, the routine seemed more of a literal documentary than a comic reflection on it.

First, he’s muscling his way through life--verbally battering anyone who happens to be in his way--and then he tries to lecture, quite thoughtfully, about civil rights.

The changes of attitude were often so sharp that the performance never really found a comfortable or convincing tone.

By the end of the night, Rollins had trod so heavily on the familiar that he seemed adrift in cliches: He encapsulated his L.A. as a tiny nation of terrified people harboring weapons of destruction and characterized New York as a gutsy town of good-hearted belligerents.

It was clear from Rollins’ performance that he enjoys being a stand-up comedian . . . an average Joe who likes to spend some time onstage addressing the crowd with the informality that he’d show if they were guests in his living room . . . and a social commentator.

These multiple personalities may work fine for Rollins loyalists, but they seemed too scattered Saturday to make anyone else feel part of the party.

* Henry Rollins performs Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. $16-$18. (714) 957-0600.