My COMDEX Review..."Blue Man Group; Live at Luxor"
Ok, so, COMDEX 2000 is over and the onslaught of reviews, predictions, gadgets this,
wireless that and so on have hit the web. Now, that is all fine and I certainly found some great
reading, but I have a slightly different subject to share.
Last year was my first COMDEX and
what a buzz! I felt it was something I just had to experience and I was right. When you get that
many techies in the same town, there is an incredible buzz in the air that really gets you going.
Other than the killer MaximumPC party at Hard Rock, by the end of the day, your feet have kicked
you in the butt and you are lucky to just reach the shower, much less hit the town. This year was
going to be different. After all, I wasn't there for business purposes since hardware is just a
hobby for me and you can just about bet, most all COMDEX vendors don't need a Web Developer. If
they do not already have a website, they probably have some fly by night scheme up their sleeve
anyway. This year I was going to get out on the town a little...
|
The fun starts before the show even starts with the audience reciting overhead
scrolling messages and funky greetings. Before you know it, everyone is reading in unison and ready
for the audience participation ahead, which was a big part of the show.
Three creative and
artistic minded men with futuristic looking bald, blue heads splatter paint and use every
imaginable prop in this off-the-wall and highly percussive show. They have no preconceptions or
fears and resemble small children; curious, playing with their food, making messes and experiencing
things for the very first time. Only the results are abstract art, unforgettable music, special
effects, unadulterated humor and a show unlike anything you've seen before. The three blue men
never speak a word, but the show is far from quiet.
The show opens with a backlit silhouette
style heavy percussion number, The drum rhythms and beats are very powerful and get your full
attention on the 1.5 million dollar sound system.
With the tribal like music, special effects and lights, it reminded me of Pink Floyd; The Wall,
only from naïve, exploring and fearless minds, not drugged out and paranoid. However, don't be
surprised if you feel like you're on a pretty darn good trip. The music was inventive and original
with instruments consisting of drums, PVC tubes, airpoles, strings and more. You can read more (and
listen to sample effects) about their uniquely created music
here.
It seems obvious
that they like to play with their food. They get quite the little jam going by munching on Captain
Crunch cereal.
A display of their off beat comedy
was a skit eating Twinkies, which included a reluctant member of the audience. The blind
participation of the volunteer would keep this an ever-changing skit and pretty darn funny. Now,
one's first thought might be, "this person was planted in the audience." Not true. This
girl was so completely wasted!
The art creation methods were uniquely entertaining to say the least. There was a
lot of paint flying around including pouring different colors of fluorescent paint on top of three
tall drums, heavy drum play and holding the canvas in the air to accept the medium.
Then there was another audience
volunteer that was taken backstage, (cameras and big screen show what's going on back there) he was
suited up in heavy duty coveralls, drenched in multi-colors of paint, hung upside down by his
ankles and swung into a huge canvas a few times. It was quite a piece of art.
One scene involved a series of messages printed on three different sets of HUGE
flash cards that will have you reading faster than you ever have, (you are only supposed to be
reading one set) and ends with the audience singing Jefferson Airplane's "Go Ask Alice."
If you're claustrophobic, be warned, the entire audience was draped with intertwined crete paper as
the three string it across every aisle. Being intertwined, there was no escape.
This only scratches the surface of this show and the stimulation of the senses that
are aroused. If you happen to be in Vegas, you would not regret this show that words can not
describe. Be forewarned, it is a good idea to be on time. Let's just say, the latecomers became
part of the show, not to mention, you wouldn't want to miss a minute. You can read more about the
Blue Man Group at their
official website.
A few other interesting clips:
TV Show - Great act about vision (what you see)
Tubes in Action incl. the band
Special thanks to
Denny Burzynski for insisting
we go!
|