Over the 19 years since three friends decided to don blue latex masks, the Blue Man Group has grown from a curbside busking sideshow into an international blockbuster act.
Blue Man founders Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink combined percussive performance art, postmodern ideology and accessible rock music into an original experience that involves the audience in an interactive way.
Take three characters, give them homemade instruments made of PVC piping and add the intensity of an arena rock experience: That's Blue Man Group. Seeing Blue Man combines a visceral experience – complete with bombastic rock and a riveting multimedia display – with ideas about modern life to think about long after the last spatter of paint has hit the ground.
“The ideal of the Blue Man and the company is to make connections with others and stay connected,” said Blue Man Matt Ramsey, a member of the New York City cast for the past six and a half years. “It's so hard in this world to stay connected. The way technology is going, we can instantly communicate with someone across the worlds, but we don't even have to see them face to face. You don't even have to speak.”
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Blue Man Group
8 p.m. Saturday; Cox Arena, San Diego State University, College Area; $44-$89.50; (619) 220-TIXS
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While exposing ideals of connectivity in a cold tech-driven world through its interactive show, Blue Man also pokes fun at the cult of personality revolving around rock stars. “How to be a Megastar 2.0” uses the Blue Men to create a tongue-and-cheek guide to rock stardom.
“It's kind of ridiculous for the Blue Man to be a star, let alone guide others on how to be a star,” said Ramsey. “Essentially, our goal is allow the audience to participate in creating the environment at an arena rock concert. We want to use the audience and use the energy in the room to create together this tribal community.”
The group's current tour stems from the ongoing theatrical performances in seven cities around the world (New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Berlin, Toronto and London). With more than 60 different Blue Men and 50 musicians involved in the productions, the Blue Man Group has grown leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings in New York City.
In December 1999, the Blue Man Group released its debut album, “Audio,” on Virgin Records. The disc earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental, and the group performed with Moby and Jill Scott at the 2001 Grammy Awards. “The Complex” followed in 2003, with guest spots by Dave Matthews, Rob Swift, Dan the Automator, Venus Hum, Gavin Rossdale and Tracy Bonham. The multi-talented Bonham continues to tour with the group, singing and busting out a violin solo on a clever cover of The Who's “Baba O'Riley.”
Probably the most surprising aspect of the Blue Man's rapid rise to fame comes from the esoteric nature of performance art. But the Blue Man Group continues to entertain on a popular level through its music and sense of humor. Ramsey also feels that the Blue Man character represents an essential part of every person's character with which we can relate.
“I identify most with the aspect of the Blue Man which has no ego, which is egoless,” said Ramsey. “The character will approach a situation or an item or a person and – rather than instantly having a judgment or preconceived notion about it – the Blue Man approaches it with a childlike curiosity and a desire to learn about it. It's the childlike innocence of the character I love. And I think everyone identifies with that.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
To hear sound clips from the Blue Man Group's “The Complex,” log on to http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/258615
THE MAKING OF A BLUE MAN
The Blue Man is an enigmatic character: voiceless but not void of expression, naíve but not afraid to burst into frenzied dance, and intensely curious about the world. So the people who play the Blue Man need to have diverse skills, both theatrical and musical, while fitting in with the personality of the organization.
Some actors playing the character come from a strictly theatrical background, other are more musically inclined. The character demands skill in both mediums. Blue Man Matt Ramsey said: “Those Blue Men who have a theatrical background tend to do better in the training than those with none.”
Currently on the Megastar tour, Ramsey has a background in theater and music.
“I grew up in a small town in Idaho. I wanted to be a drummer, so I bought myself a drum set and started to teach myself the drums. When I was in college, I was in a couple of bands. After college, I pursued theater instead of music. I have a background in both music and acting, so it was a nice combination to work into the Blue Man.”
The training is intense, and the performance schedule is demanding. But beyond stamina and skill, a person playing a Blue Man needs to be a part of the community.
“The company started out as a couple of friends, a couple of actors and they grew it that way,” said Ramsey. “They wanted to make sure they always stayed a part of the company no matter how big it's grown and no matter how big it's become.”
– CHRIS NIXON
A GLOSSARY OF BLUE MAN INSTRUMENTS
How to describe the Blue Man Group's sound? Percussive, iconic rock guitar, anthemic yet sly. With odd instrumentation (mainly made of plastic PVC piping), the Blue Man Group takes the idea of found music like the percussive “Stomp” performances a step further into weirdness.
Backed by a full-on, ripping rock band, the group's concerts are part heady vaudeville and part fist-pumping rock.
Here's a rundown of a few of the instruments utilized by the Blue Man Group (all definitions are from the official Web site, blueman.com):
Drumbone: “Achieves different pitches when the tube sections are slid back and forth, changing the length of the wind column inside.”
Airpole: “A series of flexible fiberglass rods that make a satisfying 'swoosh' as they slice through the air.”
Piano Smasher: “A piano that has been stripped down to its metal frame and sound board and is smashed with a giant mallet.”
PVC instrument: “Made from hundreds of feet of PVC tubing – pitch is determined by the length of the tube. It is by far the coolest instrument ever made partly because of its sound and partly because it changes color.”
– CHRIS NIXON
