X/Rollins Band Roll Call

I pretty much agree with Relaxer.

Rollins was great. He should release his own line of black gym shorts.

X seemed flat. Exene looked bored and/or perturbed. Zoom is creepy.

The Riverboat Gamblers were a lot of fun.

I felt sorry for the people that just came in after Rollins Band's set!!

Rollins kicked ass…Riverboat Gamblers were pretty OK, their singer was like a boisterous puppy though. X was good, but I preferred their December show (more stuff from Under the Big Black Sun was played at that one). But all in all, a great show.

Rollins was awe inspiring! I don't usually listen to that type of music, but, damn, it felt good to do some head banging and listen to some take-no-prisoners, testosterone-laden rock. Definitely worth the price of admission.

I was disappointed in X. They just weren't my cup of tea. I'm not sure what I expected, but they weren't it. I admit I'm not familiar with their ouevre. I almost left the show early, but decided to stick it out.

I thought the Riverboat Gamblers were fun. Not great, but not bad for an opener.

The highlight for me was LIAR towards the end when he was yelling "SUCKER!! SUCKER!!" Does anyone know if he tours a lot??

Also, what was the comment he said about the Bush family?

mmmmm he's so buffed, too…damn. I want to suck his toes. lol

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
Rollins was awe inspiring! I don't usually listen to that type of music, but, damn, it felt good to do some head banging and listen to some take-no-prisoners, testosterone-laden rock. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Originally posted by Joe M.:
Also, what was the comment he said about the Bush family?

At the time, I didn't think it was specifically about the Bush family. I thought he was referring to a stereotypical Republican, pro-war family. But I suspect you're right that he may have been speaking of Bush, though I didn't hear him say "Bush" at any point. It went something like this, I think: "There's a family in Washington, DC, who votes to send young men off to war to die. They sit around their dining room table and stick white linen napkins under their chin and pray to God and they think they're the good guys. Well, they're not! And there will come a day when the war comes to them and their blood will flow." Or words to that effect.

You could be right that he's referring to a typical Republican family… he mentioned about an "overweight family in this town". I don't think the Bushes are overweight.

Originally posted by Darth Ed:

Originally posted by Joe M.:
Also, what was the comment he said about the Bush family?

At the time, I didn't think it was specifically about the Bush family. I thought he was referring to a stereotypical Republican, pro-war family. But I suspect you're right that he was speaking of Bush, though I didn't hear him say "Bush" at any point. It went something like this, I think: "There's a family in Washington, DC, who votes to send young men off to war to die. They sit around their dining room table and stick white linen napkins under their chin and pray to God and they think they're the good guys. Well, they're not! And there will come a day when the war comes to them and their blood will flow." Or words to that effect.

nobody mentioned that the first act's lead singer walked from the stage to the t shirt area in the back with a wired microphone and climbed into the balcony and then moved all the way to the stage left in the balcony and then worked his way back to the stage in the reverse direction. took about 2 songs. he had his wired mic the whole time and sang. then he climbed the stage right speaker stack and climbed into the band dressing room area.
henry rollin's drummer kind of looks like henry. henry's mother, step father and ian mackaye were by the monitor board for hr's set.

I figured that might have been his mom…how funny.

Well, it's not like they had to travel far for it. His mom and step-dad live in the area.

i'll be the lone dissenting opinion here and say X were awesome. i'm probably biased though as X is one of my favorite bands of all time. bonebrake was fucking great as always and john doe was working real hard and having a blast. billy zoom is billy zoom, creepy grin and stare at the ladies, and playing almost effortlessly. i did catch exene in a few moments where she looked visibly annoyed but it seemed more like a reaction to the people up front who just stood there. she seemed to imitate this one guy who had the crossed arms locked position going the whole set. but overall, she seemed to be enjoying herself. yea, they may not be visually the most exhilerating band you'll ever see these days (can't say how they were live back in the 80s) but they're pros and they know how to rock the songs live, which at their age (yea, i went there, sorry to the older folks here) is pretty awesome in my opinion. and the fact that they followed rollins also probably had something to do with you guys seeing a "flatter" response in comparison. i loved the setlist, a good distribution of songs from their first 4 records.

i wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of rollins band in general but i enjoyed myself during his set. that guy was fucking possessed last night. anybody see rollins' mother and step father up on the stage right balcony? mom was trying to show her support for her boy but she seemed a bit, uh…uncomfortable while henry was gyrating around on stage. his step father had the grim look of death on his face the whole time. great set nontheless.

riverboat gamblers i wasn't too big on but the lead singer exploring the club was pretty entertaining. i liked his energy and cool to see him finish off the night with X on world's a mess.

all in all, a great show last night. i hope we can see john doe come back soon for his solo material.

I love X as well, but have to admit that compared to other times I've seen them, they were comparatively flat…I still enjoyed them, but I guess it's all relative. And after 2 very energetic opening bands, I can also appreciate that for people in the audience they seemed a little dry. But DJ Bonebrake really is amazing, so is Billy Zoom. They never disappoint me.

Originally posted by anarchist:
henry rollin's drummer kind of looks like henry.

Before the band came on-stage, my buddy and I (neither of us had seen any recent Rollins show or photo) were debating whether he'd be in his trademark muscles-and-shorts outfit or if… the sands of time had forced him to cover up a bit. Which was dumb because I've read every one of Henry's books and they are testaments to his obsession with muscles.

But when the drummer came out, with his back turned to the audience, we were like "Holy shit! He DID get pudgy."

And then we saw a fucking massive wall of muscles with the words SEARCH AND DESTROY rippling like puppies under a blanket, and we were quickly disabused of that notion.

It's good to see that I'm not the only one who thinks of puppies when I think of Rollins.

I agree 100%….you are not the only dissenting opinion….the X setlist was pretty damn sweet and I really enjoyed the set….not the best show of their's I have ever seen,but pretty damn awesome……only caught a few Riverboat tunes,but will check them again the next time they roll into town….Rollins was Rollins….the live show and his energy level are undeniable…and his band was hitting on all cylinders,that being said…..I have never been that big of a "sludge rock" fan….besides about 3 or 4 tunes I kinda gotta lump everything into one big "swirl" of sound…..no hooks,no melody…just some massive,loud screaming ROCK!….but it was damn good for what it is…and I saw Black Flag at least 3 times back in the day,so I've been a fan for some time…I just don't listen to that style of rock at all or very often anymore….personal taste I guess…..I did meet Henry outside at the tour bus after the show and he was super cool….short as hell,though…I towered over him,and I'm only 6'1"…..told him how much I dig his IFC show and was hoping for another season……..overall it was a pretty damn good evening…

Originally posted by andyrichter:
i'll be the lone dissenting opinion here and say X were awesome. i'm probably biased though as X is one of my favorite bands of all time. bonebrake was fucking great as always and john doe was working real hard and having a blast. billy zoom is billy zoom, creepy grin and stare at the ladies, and playing almost effortlessly. i did catch exene in a few moments where she looked visibly annoyed but it seemed more like a reaction to the people up front who just stood there. she seemed to imitate this one guy who had the crossed arms locked position going the whole set. but overall, she seemed to be enjoying herself. yea, they may not be visually the most exhilerating band you'll ever see these days (can't say how they were live back in the 80s) but they're pros and they know how to rock the songs live, which at their age (yea, i went there, sorry to the older folks here) is pretty awesome in my opinion. and the fact that they followed rollins also probably had something to do with you guys seeing a "flatter" response in comparison. i loved the setlist, a good distribution of songs from their first 4 records.

i wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of rollins band in general but i enjoyed myself during his set. that guy was fucking possessed last night. anybody see rollins' mother and step father up on the stage right balcony? mom was trying to show her support for her boy but she seemed a bit, uh…uncomfortable while henry was gyrating around on stage. his step father had the grim look of death on his face the whole time. great set nontheless.

riverboat gamblers i wasn't too big on but the lead singer exploring the club was pretty entertaining. i liked his energy and cool to see him finish off the night with X on world's a mess.

all in all, a great show last night. i hope we can see john doe come back soon for his solo material.

Not that the whole band isn't great (I'm talkin' about X), but John Doe is enough to keep them in the top slots of live acts, in my book.

Originally posted by The Bombay Doors:
Rollin's brings his parents to his shows?!?

Back in the day; as in their hey day in the early to mid 80s; Henry's mom and stepdad were at every one of Black Flag's shows in Baltimore, and they played a lot. A lot of people told me this couple actually lived in the Baltimore area, even though Henry's from DC, but I don't know that all for a fact other than that he did grow up and live in DC before he moved out to L.A.. Maybe she moved up here after marrying this new guy.

Anyway, I always thought that his mom was the best part of the whole show. Visualize a middle aged woman wearing a mid-calf length A lined skirt with your average sorority girl snowflake sweater or other common preppie wear of the day and a nice acceptable page boy hair style amongst a room full of black clad sweaty Punks.

Better yet, now visualize this same woman standing up on a chair or a table dancing her little heart out through their entire performance with her husband standing dutifully by her side smiling away, maybe breaking a slight move or two. Classic! This mom obviously loves her son.

Henry Rollins is a momma's boy! :p

I certainly respect all the opinions above, but The Riverboat Gamblers are basically my favorite band..so of course I thought they were great. I am close with the band(they all know who I am..Mike offered to get me in for free, but I already had bought my ticket..argh)! How can you not like a band where the lead singer breakdances in the middle of the crowd and climbs to the balcony? haha.

I certainly like Black Flag and Henry Rollins, but Rollins Band doesn't do much for me… and I didn't stay till the end…so I missed all of X(who I would have liked to seen).

Did anyone notice somebody falling off the balcony during the show?

From: Bob Mould's Blog
"Tuesday, August 16, 9:30 Club. Rollins Band was a loud, physical experience. Henry keeps on keeping on in his own uncompromising way, and that's why I have respect for him. X were fun as can be - lots of songs from the first two albums. An older person fell (out of the balcony?) during the set, creating a loud and palpable thud. Seeing a reflective puddle around the still form, I ran to grab a paramedic. Upon leaving the club, I saw the person standing and talking, albeit very slowly. Punk's not dead."

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Did anyone notice somebody falling off the balcony during the show?

From: Bob Mould's Blog
"Tuesday, August 16, 9:30 Club. Rollins Band was a loud, physical experience. Henry keeps on keeping on in his own uncompromising way, and that's why I have respect for him. X were fun as can be - lots of songs from the first two albums. An older person fell (out of the balcony?) during the set, creating a loud and palpable thud. Seeing a reflective puddle around the still form, I ran to grab a paramedic. Upon leaving the club, I saw the person standing and talking, albeit very slowly. Punk's not dead."

It was Grant Hart trying to get Bob's attention.