Henry Rollins has done a lot, especially for maintaining such a generally low profile. Most casual music fans probably wouldn't recognize him based on his name alone, even though he's been in two different music groups: Black Flag and Rollins Band. In addition to this, he's written several books, had a few minor roles in movies (even appearing in David Lynch's Lost Highway), and even tried his hand at "Spoken Word" tours. Call it what you want, but it's essentially a stand-up presentation; a way for fans to hear the many stories Rollins has experienced over the past 20-odd years. He's an entertaining speaker, and much more well-composed than his tough-guy appearance would have you believe.

His most recent tour made a stop at Luna Park, the venue featured on this DVD. The total running time of everything here is about 100 minutes, and Rollins covers a lot of ground in the time given. Some of the topics include voicing a character on the Batman animated series, endless touring and travelling, and a short history of his music career. At one point, he even breaks into song, doing his rendition of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, which is something you'll probably only experience once in life. Overall, the show is very entertaining and makes for a good viewing experience. Fans of Rollins will undoubtedly want to check this out, and even casual fans of music or comedy will find something to enjoy as well.

Still, I have to be a little critical of certain points: the bad thing is, I watched An Evening With Kevin Smith a few weeks ago. If you've never seen it, it's most likely the funniest stand-up show from a non-comedian you're ever likely to see, so this was working at a slight disadvantage. Rollins occasionally stumbles a bit, and seems a little distanced from the audience. I would have liked to seen more interaction with the crowd, especially since most of them are obvoiusly huge fans. Still, it makes for a good show, and isn't boring in the least...Rollins obviously enjoys what he does, and it shows.

This new DVD comes to us courtesy of 2.13.61, Rollins' own company (most likely his birthdate, it would seem). The packaging promises more in the series, so fans will have much to look forward to. Overall, this was a solid effort, and the DVD isn't too bad either. Let's see what we get.

Video:
Video is better than expected, and looks quite nice considering the venue and budget. This is a small club setting, and is lit pretty dimly. Thankfully, blacks are solid and the colors look good too. This is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio...while I might have preferred a widescreen format, it's a minor complaint. Besides, there's not much else to show, other than one guy on stage. All things considered, this is a nice visual presentation, and should not disappoint in the least.

Audio:
The audio here is also better than expected. Presented in 2.0 Stereo, everything comes through loud and clear...no complaints here, even for such a low-budget production. While this isn't exactly demo material, it gets the job done nicely.

Extras:
Extras are limited to a 20-minute clip, "Rollins vs. Iggy Pop", in which he goes into detail about the friendly rivalry between the two. Apparently, this rivalry has spanned several continents! Anyway, this could have easily been left in the main feature...why it's a "bonus" is beyond me.

Menu design and presentation:
Fairly basic static menus. The main photo gives off the impression that it's a rock concert, not a stand-up routine (although it gets just as loud at times!). The packaging itself isn't bad, with a fairly unorthodox cover for a DVD release...Rollins is shown wearing a black T-shirt with the DVD title in bold letters. Pretty cool looking, if you ask me, but a few points are lost for the lack of an insert. It would have been a nice bonus to see some different photos or additional writings, though I'd imagine the "one show" scope probably limited the possibilities.

Well, the promotion of this recent "Spoken Word" tour implies that Rollins spoke one night a week for two months, delivering a new 3-hour routine each time. At well over 20 hours of comedy in all, it's a shame there's only about an hour and a half's worth of stuff here. Although filming every show might not have been an option, it would have been cool to see a broader presentation of the tour. Still, that's nitpicking: this show is Live at Luna Park, and that's what you get. Outside of more footage, there's not much more that would have been appropriate for this release.

This is a decent value and should be a solid buy for any fan of Henry Rollins. Although he's not the most entertaining storyteller I've ever seen, he's got a personality that makes him a natural in front of the mic. In addition to this, he's got a good understanding of what his fans want to see, and gives it to them. I don't know many people who could pull off 3-hour one man shows every week, but Rollins really seemed to be up to the challenge, and he did a good job overall. While I would have liked to see more interaction with the crowd in certain spots, Live at Luna Park is pretty enjoyable stuff. Any fans of Rollins (or comedy in general) can consider this Recommended. If you're not sure it's your cup of tea, give it a rental first...you might be surprised!