Blue Man Group Review
If you are looking for creative ideas in an artistic and entertaining
performance, the Blue Man Group is definitely worth checking
out. They normally play in Las Vegas, but we saw their show in
Colorado Springs on August 26, 2011, at the Pike's Peak center.
I knew they did some wacky stuff, but I had never actually seen
more than a few thirty-second clips of their performances, so
it was fun to have all the surprises in the show.
Most of what they did was apparently not a surprise to many
of the others there. With applause and excitement building before
a routine actually stared, it quickly became clear that these
were Blue Man Group Groupies (try to say that three times fast).
I would guess that almost half of the audience had seen them
perform before. When they come back for more, it's a good sign
that you're doing something right. And they are.
It is hard to describe a show like this, except to mention
some bits and pieces. The main gimmick is that the members of
the Blue Man Group are all painted a bright blue. They also never
say a word, although there is sometimes narration done by loudspeaker,
and there is extensive use of video screens as well. They play
bizarre musical instruments, which are often made of PVC drain
pipe (at least that's how it looked to me). They play drums that
are lit and covered in colored liquids. The people in the first
several rows are given protective clothing to wear, and with
good reason. We were fortunately farther back.
There are musical pieces, plenty of comedy skits, and acrobatic
numbers as well. It is actually fascinating how the members of
the group interact with the various video screens, but difficult
to describe (you'll have to go see).
Perhaps one of the parts of the performance that was the most
fun is when they turned the entire auditorium into a party, with
lights and music and... giant floating balls. The balls (about
ten of them) were perhaps six feet in diameter, and made of some
lightweight material. They were thrown out into the audience,
where they traveled around above our heads, being bounced halfway
to the ceiling at times as people reached up and pushed them.
Meanwhile the screens had a giant dancing puppet, which at some
point left the video screen and became three-dimensional.
Did I mention that the giant bouncing balls were lit up from
inside in various colors? Or that the colors were changing, and
apparently controlled by radio signals, so they might all turn
blue at once, for example? I don't think I can explain the effect
much beyond that. The Blue Man Group does a show that you have
to see, and in person (I'm not sure if they ever broadcast their
shows anyhow). It is full of creative new ideas and fun.
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