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Blue Man Group

By David Hodgson
Apr 4, 2009 - 3:37:17 PM
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Blue Man Group
I had been aware of The Blue Man Group for years without ever really knowing what the ever-so-slightly-scary mute men encased in blue  latex actually do to entertain. That said, any act that has a residency in Vegas and a worldwide tour taking in every Enormo-dome in sight must surely be doing something right (forget Riverdance for a minute), and so it was I made my way to the O2 arena convinced I was going to enjoy myself without knowing exactly why. 
Thirty seconds in and I was already vindicated (well done me). The show opens in gripping style with the BMG silhouetted behind a white canvas while strobey-type lighting effects as powerful as a biblical lightning storm rain down from above. The canvas disappears to reveal the eponymous stars already hard at work on an array of futuristic precussion instruments that resemble an air-conditioning system designed by a pissed-up Philippe Starck.
Big screens either side of the stage ensure you don't miss a trick and also inform you of the narrative for the evening. The premise of the 'How to be a megastar' show is pretty much just that - the boys take order of a DVD instructing them how to be famous and earnestly take the audience through the gamut of rock cliches in their quest to become stars. Strangely compelling instructions in rock star and crowd etiquette had your normally reticent correspondent Waving His Arms In The Air Like He Just Didn't Care, mainly because everyone else was, but also because the request was loaded with the knowing wit that permeates the entire show. Elswhere in the evening, unsuspecting members of the audience have their belongings scrutinised by handheld cameras, marshmallows are hurled repeatedly into mouths (yes, you read that part correctly) and all three group members combine artfully to play the 'drumbone'.
All of this plays out against a muscular soundtrack peformed by a twelve-strong band who, while a bit US-Generic-Rock for my taste, are tighter than Michael Owen's hamstrings - indeed it feels slightly unfair to refer to the other musicians onstage as the backing band, such is there contribution to the evening. 
The banging and shaking of strange objects culminates in a thumping rendition of Donna Summer's, 'I Feel Love' which again had everyone well and truly Waving Their Arms...you get the idea. It's a great climax to a unique show, and while I left the arena now knowing what these strange men do, I was none the wiser about what to call it; techno-vaudeville maybe, or guerilla-mime? Certainly very entertaining.
The Blue Man Group bring their inspired percussive weirdness to The Brighton Centre on May 14th 2009. At £39.50 tickets ain't cheap, but you're getting top-notch entertainment & production values that seldom make their way to us poor folk in the provinces. 
More information at www.howtobeamegastar.com     
Tickets are on sale now at:

Ticketzone - 08705 321 321, www.ticketzone.co.uk

Ticketmaster - 0870 534 4444, www.ticketmaster.co.uk

See Tickets – 0844 579 0089, www.seetickets.com


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