Finding joy in the Bangladesh slums, killing giant insects and collecting bones on The Killing Fields – Henry Rollins‘ passport heaves under the entry stamps. For a butt-numbing but enthralling two and half hours last Tuesday night, Rollins’ played with his Vicar Street audience.

With the energy of a hundred Duracell bunnies, Rollins exploded on the Dublin stage (his first show in a marathon tour) and raced through his travelogs. Each one coloured by insane taxi drivers, language barriers crossed by shouts of “Obama, Obama, Obama” and a burning sense of wonder.

We sat on his lap in the passenger seat of the million dollar hand-built as a Saudi screamed through lunchtime traffic, pressing the phantom brake pedal. We sneaked in the Union Carbite factory in Bhopal on the 25th anniversary of the accident, took photos of ill-fated tank 610 that exploded and killed thousands. We headfucked hustlers that prey on tourists in Tiananmen Square by inquiring if they could do something for us and then asked them to leave Tibet. We shouted down Deakin from the Animal Collective  in a Timbuktu festival.

A tour obsessive, Rollins was quick to point out that his home is on the road. As the lead singer of Black Flag, he lived much of his adult life traveling. Where once he toured to play, he now tours to learn.

To understand what motivates Rollins to visit such far-flung places, one just has to look to America. He wanted to visit China to see what America’s loaner, recycler of plastics and trading partner looked like before it changed. Rollins is convinced that one must travel to learn more about their country.

The insular world view of Americans is something that irks Rollins – especially through his references to “those loud Americans”. Betreyal of principles bites him too. Despite his joy at Obama winning the presidency in 08, Rollins’ disappointment with the ongoing deployment of troops to Iraq is raw. Triumph tainted by bitter disappointment. Side swipes at our new blasphemy law book-ended proceedings.

To finish on a high note, he encouraged the spellbound crowd to travel and to pass those learnings on to the next generation. A positive note to finish on and something the crowd feasted on into freezing January darkness.

Photo: HenryRollins.com