I can say so many wonderful things about last night's performance at First Avenue. Despite that I got there just late enough to not have a chair and had to stand the entire evening, I got to listen to Henry tell some great stories and provide his insight into war, peace, injured soldiers, world travel, getting to sing for one of his favorite and most influential punk bands, and many other fascinating and surprising topics.
Henry knows how to spin a tale. He'll start out at one point, take a ten minute detour to tell a seemingly unrelated anecdote, but then bring us back to the original thread of the story. The anecdote fills in some of the needed texture. I enjoy that journey, because he does well what few people do at all.
I greatly appreciate that he shares his experiences, because I can learn quite a few things about the world through his stories. My travel is very ordinary, and his is incredible. He's been to places I don't think I will have an opportunity to see in the near future. He informs his understanding through travel, and the fact that he talks about the connections he's made with people of other countries helps me to understand the world a bit better.
He is a very considerate person, and he takes the hard path through some difficult discussions and issues. He's not satisfied with easy answers. He talked about one person who has been in the news lately, and he gave me pause to think what it may be like to live in that person's shoes.
Even after speaking three hours, he was gracious to meet with fans afterwards. I will treasure getting to talk to him for two minutes and having my picture taken with him.
Edit: One of the last things that Henry talked about was the hard work that the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is doing to help the soldiers that have returned. Please visit the site and see how you can help!
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