Blue Man Group’s multimedia show dazzles audience

By Jennifer R. Hill
jennifer@athensnews-courier.com

March 20, 2008 10:33 pm

— Blue Man Group has to be seen to be believed.
Typically, a concertgoer walks nonchalantly into a show with a yeah-yeah-I’ve-heard-of-them-before attitude and walks away in awe.
Blue Man Group brought its How To Be a Megastar Tour 2.0 to the Von Braun Center in Huntsville Wednesday night. It was very instructive.
The group has been around since the 1980s, and yet audience members still don’t know what to expect until they actually see the show.
The group, started by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink, began in New York as a small show and has developed over the years into a virtual blue empire.
Blue Man Group has recorded three albums, been nominated for a Grammy, has shows in seven major U.S. cities including Las Vegas and New York, and is currently on its second tour. It seems they have this megastar thing figured out.
The moment the stream-of-conscience messages started scrolling across the huge screens before the show, the audience was hooked. They knew this was not a traditional concert, musical, performance-art show or anything close.
Though one may never hear a word uttered from the bald, straight-faced blue trio, the audience gets “the feeling” of their message.
They begin the show with the use of their trademark PVC pipe instruments, a simple beginning that gets the audience involved from the start.
The show intertwines an assortment of multimedia instruments, including a “How To Be A Megastar” instruction video, a percussion-driven band and a multicolored procession of showmanship involving lights, paint and flare.
The instruction video gives steps on becoming a star, with tidbits of the rock-n-roll historical value thrown in. It is hard to pinpoint one direct message from the performance, and yet each viewer takes away something.
Maybe, it’s a deep message taken from the song “Persona,” a song that talks about losing one’s self by living behind a mask.
“Every morning I put it on, I walk outside and I am gone,” the lyrics go.
Maybe, it’s instruction from the song “What Is Rock.”
“Rock concert movement number six: Two-armed upward thrust with yell.
Ready, go. HEY! Again. HEY!” the song coaches.
Regardless of what audience members took away, they were definitely involved.
The group couldn’t have been more spectacular if they had donned bedazzled-sequined jumpsuits or worn blue suede shoes. Well, actually, the shoes wouldn’t be a bad idea for a megastar.

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