March 17th, 2014 
Derek Scancarelli 
Ladies and gentlemen, UTG can now double-confirm that Scott Ian is a very well-spoken, hilarious, and brutally honest man. If you were able to catch our interview with him a little while back, you probably chuckled at some of that charisma while perusing our conversation with him.
When his first ever US spoken word tour came through B.B. King’s in New York City, we were able to check out the show and catch up with Ian afterwards. It was certainly interesting seeing the shredder from Anthrax take stage in a blues club, much less without any other musicians and only a microphone and a Macbook.
As mentioned in various interviews and teasers for the ‘Speaking Words’ tour, Ian’s show had a bit of structure, with four segments that particularly stood out to me: Lemmy from Motörhead, Dimebag Darrell, Q&A, and “How you shouldn’t approach a celebrity.”
Check out below the jump to see photos from the evening and an even further analysis of his performance.
A Wednesday night in New York City may not be the most convenient place or time for men who are up into their 40s and 50s to catch up on story time. For longtime metalheads, that didn’t seem to be a problem. Touted by Ian as the biggest stop on his tour, the venue was rather packed with fans that were ready to hear tales spanning the 30+ years of Anthrax’s antics.
If you ask me, the most bad-ass rockstar is one whom tells it all, even if it isn’t the most masculine story. Ian’s story of meeting Lemmy in an English bar with the Kerrang! crew was one I’ll never forget. It started out with lightweight Scott in his early 20s sharing a Jack and Coke with his idol, the frontman of Motorhead. The story esclated quickly to him defecating and vomiting all the way across Europe and facing a horrifying doctor.
The Dimebag Darrell (Pantera, Damageplan) segment featured stories from the road, how Dimebag trained Ian how to properly consume alcohol, and the long-going prank war between the two. It featured everything from extorting guitars to Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) impersonators. Darrell was even successful enough to have Scott call the cops on himself.
The question and answer segment was interesting. Just so you all know, as a born and bred New Yorker, Ian is a die-hard Yankees fan. He holds the stadium close to his heart. Scott Ian has masturbated to “She-Hulk.” We now also know that he wasn’t afraid to drop Nazi jokes at a German Festival.
When asked by comedian Jim Breuer (Ian kept him anonymous during the Q&A) to name the three best live performance he’d ever seen, he answered:
2: 1981: Iron Maiden at The Palladium (Opening for Judas Priest)
3: 1978: Van Halen (Opening up for Black Sabbath)
They’re literally all icons, so who could challenge those picks? I also don’t think it’s too often that musicians can say that they’ve performed with almost off their idols, but luckily for Anthrax, I bet all of them can.
For the final portion of the show, Ian reflected on all of the awkward, irritating, and humorous encounters with “fans” and strangers he’d bumped into. I could imagine it becomes aggravating when people try telling you your own identity or insisting that you’re actually Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down.
Overall, the show was an entertaining evening with insight into the lives and times of the most influential musicians in the history of metal. As for Ian’s delivery, I’ll give it “solid.” For someone who isn’t a career stand-up or poet, he can really deliver a story. Sometimes the laughs came at different parts of a story than he had expected, but that didn’t frazzle him. He understood how to complement his storytelling with jokes without making it cheesy or trying too hard to get a response from the crowd.
If Ian ever does a similar tour, I’d highly recommend you go see it, even if you aren’t a hardcore Anthrax fan. It’s an enjoyable experience where you can step outside of your comfort zone, take a rest from the headbanging, and just enjoy the art of speaking. A lot of people talk, but few have something to say. As cliché as that sounds, Scott Ian has something to say. It may not be a revelation about the meaning of life, but it certainly will make for some good dinner conversation.
Photographed and reviewed by: Derek Scancarelli Follow @DerekUTG
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