It kinda blew me away, because I don't remember any groups in my high school...band or drama or chorus or otherwise...putting on productions as impressive as the one I saw that night. They did a great job, and were thoroughly entertaining.
My nephew's a percussionist, and during one skit in the program, he and several other members of that section were in a diner setting, and used what they had around them to bang out some rhythms. A few guys used knives to "drum" on the tables they were sitting at, and a couple others used Tupperware bowls turned upside down.
The unusual "instruments" they were playing led me to make a loose connection between them and Blue Man Group. (very loose, I know.) And a light bulb went off in my head that night, that my nephew was gonna get a ticket to see them for a Christmas gift. If he could play Tupperware bowls, I wanted him to get to see guys playing PVC pipes and 55-gallon drums and...and...whatever else it is we'll find there.
I've always had an itch to see Blue Man Group. I've heard many spectacular things about how wild and energetic and wacky and unique their shows are, but for whatever reason I never did much research into finding out where they play. Turns out they have regular shows in New York and Chicago and Boston, and their biggest production shows are in Vegas, I believe.
So sometime in February, I hope, or early March, we're going to the Briar Street Theatre in Chicago to check 'em out on a Saturday or Sunday. You can bet that'll be a blog-worthy entry after I see that show. And maybe my expectations are too high, but I can see myself needing at least an annual Blue Man fix after I experience them the first time. I'm heading to Vegas in April, so if I become quickly addicted after their Chicago performance, I might have to catch their show at the Venetian, too.
Has anyone reading this ever seen them, or know anyone who's seen them, who can give me a little first- or second-hand gossip before we go down for the show? I'd be curious to hear any and all opinions.
I'm looking forward to it. They're talented, they're innovative, they're kinda crazy, they're wildly popular...
...and they're BLUE, man!
"It's a rock concert, heavy on percussion.
A display of magic and illusion.
A critique of modern technology
and information overload."
—Glenn Sumi, reviewer
No groups in high school? Perhaps you're forgetting about the 1985-1986 school year, when we were all "entertained" by some sort of long-haired wannabes called "Freedom Fair." No, they weren't from our school. But they played in the big gym. And at one point they put this big C3PO-type robot mask on Mr. Wood.
ReplyDeleteUgh.
The description of your nephew's performance reminds me of an appearance of Beck on SNL that I watched on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dCBbHtLcLqo
ReplyDeleteI'm really impressed with the creativity and effort that some high schoolers these days put into talent shows. There are a number of cool productions I've run across on YouTube. And props to YouTube for making it easy for a world of people to have the chance to see a well done high school production.