By Rita Neyter

What may have started as typical drawn-out post-Super Bowl Monday had suddenly turned into a real hard rockin’ night for those of us lucky enough to have caught the awesome free show at the Troubadour. Jim Wilson, guitarist of L.A.’s own Mother Superior, A.K.A.Rollins Band, promised the varied and crowd, “You’re in for something good.” And Wilson stayed true to his word as he and the MS boys dove right into a handful of new tracks from their upcoming release on XXX Records due out March 6th of 2001.

Blending smooth soulful grooves with walloping drums and mind-blowing guitar, Mother Superior breezed through their set like a hurricane and just before that calm-after-the-storm feeling had a chance to set in, Mr. Part Animal/Part Machine, Henry Rollins, took control of the mic. Also trying out some never heard before stuff from a Rollins Band record (expected later on this year), clad in jeans and a tee shirt, Henry Rollins was as intense as ever, as he roared and grinded on stage. “This song’s about passion and desire,” he announced, “And having the passionate desire to destroy the fuckin’ world into million pieces!” This man is a powerhouse of hard-core, performing a tune called “10 Times” he relayed a story about sawing off and welding shut, the trigger finger of one those gun-toting “MTV motherfuckers,” who talk about beating their bitches and killin; then sending the finger to the guy’s mother because, “Real evil doesn't have to say anything it just DOES.”

This show might have been a pre-curser to future Rollins Band gigs, Wilson said. They have been throwing around the idea that Mother Superior will be the opening band for Rollins Band on their next tour. Sounds like a lot of work, but Mother Superior are no strangers to that concept; they made a name for themselves the DIY way. Putting out their last four albums on their own record label called Top Beat Records and touring incessantly.