Henry Rollins
"We live in dangerous and exciting times" says singer, song-writer, actor, DJ and spoken word artist Henry Rollins as he takes to the tiny plinth of the Alternative Stage.
Dressed in his characteristic black t-shirt and black jeans combo, he is a slightly less hulking a figure that you would first assume him to be. Immediately apologising for having to speak so quickly "I just have a lot to say", the 45 minute set whips along with aplomb as Rollins recounts his days in Black Flag - "All the songs you like I didn't sing on or write" he guffaws; talks about a bizarre list of banned items from Indian aeroplanes - "baseball caps, blasting caps, bows and arrows, box cutters, brass knuckles"; and how he was nearly arrested in North Korea for having a laughing fit whilst viewing the preserved body of former leader Kim Il-sung.
Rollins is a magnetic storyteller. As he recounts a story of a large man jumping off stage into a crowd at a Black Flag gig and crushing a young girl "BANG" he shouts, slapping his outstretched arm upon his hand, with all the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a young boy telling you the plot of an violent action film . But with this brashness, he recounts with sadness that a year later the band found out that the young girl lost her sight in one eye because of the accident and knowing that the words 'I'm sorry' can never be enough in the circumstance.
From adventures in Costco, to his work with National Geographic, to meeting a very young Metallica in 1983, Rollins comes across as a dream dinner party guest. Acerbic, witty and still bursting with that famed characteristic anger, 45 minutes with him was just not enough.