wordplay by Brian Kenney
What better way to start off the costumed season of disguise and the eve of the Feast of All Saints than with the most famous guised, mute, and blue group in the history of make up: Blue Man Group.
Once again, thousands of locals will undertake their due tribute to the group on Halloween donning the thick blue grease paint, rubber bald hair caps and black turtlenecks. The Blue Man trick on All Hallows Eve is to remain mute, which, after a few cocktails, even the most dedicated Blue Man Groupie finds hard to resist. Gentleman --and Blue Groupie Ladies alike--your game and play must rely on your mastery of the silent gesture, earmarks of the Blue Man; the “deer in headlights” quizzical look, the aloof stumble, the energetic and haphazard climbing.
Born out of performance art heavy 1980's Greenwich Village, and inspired by the John Cage-influenced "happenings," Blue Man Group have ventured from their humble and word of mouth off-Broadway garage rock beginning to a much publicized and more highly commercialized Vegas carnival. "[Beginning with] three long time friends Chris Wink, Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman [who founded] Blue Man Group on the streets of New York City, [they performed] in the art spaces of the East Village."
Utilizing junk art that, on the stage, looks prehistoric to such a degree it hearkens back to the Flintstones, Blue Man Group merged the sideshow influence of a traveling circus with the breakdown influence of electronica and heavy rock orchestrations that make Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same look like Barney and the Backyard Gang.
In some respects, the performance aspect of BMG is a direct response to the caricaturization of the "happening" when the "happening" became a cagey and campy idea of a beret and Ray Ban-wearing Beatnik personified. Combining the simplicity of what they could find in and around NYC dumpsters- PVC piping, those 1 inch diameter ringed "air poles" that you whooshed overhead as a kid, an upended piano whose exposed string are drummed on with a mallet- BMG create multilayered harmonics with a light and stage show to match.
Only New York City, with its penchant for spontaneous composition, could have given birth to this cultural icon. "Early in our career [we] were buskers, in and around the Village and the NYU art scene, ultimately ending up at the famous East Village performance space La Mama, ETC." BMG says of their history. "This led to opening the show at the Astor Place Theatre. The Boston show opened next, followed by Chicago, then Las Vegas, Berlin and Toronto."
And while the original trio of Wink, Stanton and Goldman occasionally still suit up in the infamous grease paint, the production company now fields an extended family of over 60 Blue Men and 50-80 backing musicians that makeup over eight productions yearly on concurrent tours and residences. The latest residence in Amsterdam is slated for December 2006.
Splicing junk art with garage rock, BMG have always created complex orchestrations from minimalist instruments, as witnessed in 2003's CD and DVD The Complex, including a searing house burning rapid fire percussion laden version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" BMG have followed up on the exposure generated from that tour; surpassing their success with this year's appearances at Coachella and the UK's Big Chill Festival. "The Complex Rock Tour was an entirely different Blue Man production, created as a rock concert experience." BMG comments, "[But] all performances vary nightly because the audience changes nightly."
And always attempting to redefine their art, BMG- or at least the inventors cooperating with BMG production- add one new instrument per performance. Cacophonous combinations of Hammered Dulcimer, a 98-stringed electric zither, and Shaker Gong, in addition to the aforementioned PVC, air poles, and piano smasher, build to a confetti rain climax of epic proportions
From performance art, Blue Man Group has now ventured into in an arena that will further endear them to the public: interactive education. Based on the creative vs. scientific foundations that impressed these wide eyed (and Intel Pentium advertising) mutes, BMG's Making Waves, appeared interactive museums such as Boston's Children's Museum for the duration of September 2006 with more museums to be added.
BMG has resonated globally, bringing performance art back onto the forefront of culture. Nationally, BMG preceded another NYC staple: the percussive dance troupe Stomp. The mutes' local influence is seen with the performance of Mr. Pacman.
Tardy attendees beware: BMG will bring you to attention should you not find your seat by showtime. Keep in mind, BMG are a spontaneous composition. Also to consider: the "poncho section" warning should be adhered to. The first few rows of any BMG production are suspect to a certain culinary styled "happening." The sheer volume of household elements, from food to paint, make Gallagher's watermelon sledgehammer act look like a day with finger-paint.
The Blue Man Group bring their "How to Be a Mega Star Tour 2.0" to the Pepsi Center on October 28th.
October 28th @ Pepsi Center
www.BlueMan.com