Blue Man Group
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The article summarizes an upcoming performance of the Blue Man Group in Des Moines. It describes the Blue Man Group show as a spectacle involving paint splashing and confetti shooting that pokes fun at rock star egos and rituals. It notes that the Blue Men learn to be rock stars by following instructions in a manual and create tribalistic music by beating on plastic pipes and other improvised instruments. While satirizing the rock concert experience, the show ultimately creates a high energy experience shared between the audience and musicians.
Blue Man Group
- 1. site map customer service contact us subscribe now place an ad DesMoinesRegister.com weather calendar jobs cars classifieds homes apartments shopping dating Music ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Blue Man Group Blue Man Group "How to be a Megastar Tour 2.1" WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena TICKETS: $50.50 and $86, through www. dahlstickets.com Copyright 2006 The Des Moines Re associated press file photo Music Scene: Blue Man Group colors new face of rock 'n' roll By J. SHARPE SMITH SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER October 18, 2007 Add comment At the center of the paint- splashing, confetti- shooting spectacle "How to be a Megastar Tour 2.1" are three Blue Men. Stars they are, but they trade super-sized rock star egos for silence and wide, questioning eyes that peer out from their bright blue heads. That is the whole idea. "The Blue Man is an iconic figure that is absolutely unafraid to go face forward into something he doesn't understand, and at the same time being completely innocent of the situation," said Marc Roberts, who will be Blue Man today's headlines q Iowa tourism numbers rise 2:10 pm q Arrest made in 2005 murder case 11:36 am q Waukee council candidate drops out of race 2:26 pm q Panthers remain No. 1 in this week's football poll 1:34 pm Other news from the web latest headlines by topic q Arena q Progressive-Rock q The Man Powered by Topix.net ADVERTISEMENT Home :: Entertainment DesMoinesRegister.com http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/ENT04/710180361/1046/ENT (1 of 5)10/22/2007 4:43:11 PM ZOOM ZOOM news sports communities business entertainment juice Moms travel opinion obituaries All Search Des Moines
- 2. DesMoinesRegister.com Two in Saturday night's concert at Wells Fargo Arena. It is also the irony that provides the background for much of the humor and plot of the show. "The Blue Man Group's nature is to the opposite of rock 'n' roll music," Roberts said. "Instead of going with it and being emotional, they wonder, 'Why is this a rock show? What makes a rock show?' " The Blue Men learn to be mega rock stars from a manual they bought from an infomercial. That allows them to develop their characters as idiots savant. As outsiders, they have the freedom to poke at some traditional rituals of rock 'n' roll, including head bobbing, fist pumping and aimless guitar solos. The Blue Men, it seems, are always beating on something. Most of the instruments, such as the Tubulum, are made from plastic pipe. "He takes a tribalistic approach to our high-tech life," Roberts said. One instrument, the Piano http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/ENT04/710180361/1046/ENT (2 of 5)10/22/2007 4:43:11 PM
- 3. DesMoinesRegister.com Smasher, is little more than a mallet and a piano on its side. "Taking a mallet and smashing it against a piano is very satisfying," Roberts said. Musically, the show features ethereal nonlyrical tunes. The drumsticks beating the plastic pipe closely imitate the arpeggio of a synthesizer. A full rock band offers torrential blasts of rock 'n' roll. The sound is alternatingly influenced by progressive rock and European techno music, such as Bjork. "The thing I love about this show is that, at its core, it is a rock show," Roberts said. "We go from arena to arena with an enormous sound system with the most talented group of musicians that I have seen." The final irony of a Blue Man Group concert is that while making fun of the rock concert experience, it actually creates the essence of rock vibe - an energy that is shared equally by the audience and the musicians, without nary a single Megastar on stage. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/ENT04/710180361/1046/ENT (3 of 5)10/22/2007 4:43:11 PM
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