The purity of life on the road

Henry Rollins really values the tension and aggression and focus and purity of life on tour. He feels compelled to prove something to the crowd and society by 'hitting it' every night when he gives a show. He almost seems to suggest that he would stake his life on his performances, considering how much he gives to them, and this sense of ultimate performance and ultimate sacrifice pervades Broken Summers.

The focus of life on the road is juxtaposed and contrasted with life in L.A., and even just nights off, on tour, when there is nothing to do, no reason to live, and nothing to organize Rollins' feelings and activities. While the shows use every last ounce of his personality, the days off and the periods of time between tours don't touch him, and he complains about the emptiness of 'Amerikan'...