Henry Rollins is the first to take the stage. With just the microphone on stage, he tells the 40 minute version of his life story with great passion and humor. It begins in 1960, when his parents meet and conceive him. They get married and he is born in 1961. They get divorced soon afterwards and he spends his childhood going back and forth between their two homes. Flash forward many years and he is working at a Häagen-Dazs ice cream store. He travels up to New York City from Washington, DC to see a Black Flag show. It’s getting late and he needs to leave to get to work on time. So, he requests “Clocked In” from their 1983 album, The First Four Years, before he leaves. The band invites him to sing the song and he puts everything he has into the performance. Back in DC at the ice cream store, he gets a call from the band asking him if he would like to audition to join the band. The rest is history.

The stage crew wheels out a podium and a stool with waters placed on top it. It’s instantly clear this second half will be a bit different. David Sedaris takes the stage to great applause. He goes on to read many humorous essays that he has written. He includes a few very short stories. One of them is about the book signing he does in Cincinnati on October 15, 2023. A young woman asks him for advice about writing a college essay. He suggest writing about getting pregnant at 14 and then having an abortion. And then to say that it is very important that she gets into college to honor the sacrifices that she had to make. He also told a story that begins with him reading a ChatGPT story written in the David Sedaris style. After reading it, he exclaims that it really sucks and that he wrote a much better version. He goes on to tell a truly dark and hilarious version filled with rape and murder.

Both David Sedaris and Henry Rollins are master storytellers. While their styles certainly differ, they were both very entertaining this evening.

Cost of a ticket: $110 (Orchestra)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Half Price +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Check out the Auditorium Theatre’s website for tickets to future shows here.

Quinn Delaney