Blue Man Megastar Tour- Review
Blue Man Group's How To Be A Megastar Tour attempts to live up to the original Tubes stage show.
If you are like most people when going to see a live arts performance the first time is almost always the best. Perhaps it is because after that experience you subconciously compare the second time around with the original production that you fell in love with. In the case of Blue Man Group I find myself with mixed emotions about the new tour show that I went to see last week. While I still had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the music, I still found myself comparing the Megastar Tour to the Tubes show that I had seen at the Briar Street Theater.
The biggest difference between the two shows is the venue. The Briar Street Theater is a cozy, small theater with a fairly compact stage. No matter where you sit in the theater you still are close to the action and can see the faces of the Blue Men with no problem. The audience participation and grand finale of the theater show is what makes the entire experience so much fun and worth the $50+ ticket price to see. With the Rock Star Tour the show is produced in huge, impersonal venues with thousands of seats and distances so far to the stage that giant projection screens are used to show the people in the cheap seats what is happening on stage. While the Tour attempts to recreate the audience participation of the Tubes show it simply cannot pull it off.
On the positive side, the addition of live vocals and a great mix of new songs in with pieces of the Tubes song set add to the show's interest. Tracy Bonham is wonderful in the songs she performs in, including a very catchy tune titled "Up To The Roof." Still, her opening warm-up set prior to the Blue Man show left many in the audience worried about just what they were going to see. Bonham's own musical creations are also catchy, but I doubt I would go out and buy a CD of her music alone.
The stage and visual design of the Tour show, for the most part, was spectacular. An excellent use of video, lighting, and effects were as much a feast for the eyes as the music was for the ears. This having been the only rock concert I have been to in many years I can honestly say that if Blue Man's How To Be A MegaStar Tour comes to your community you should go see it, but if you will be in one of the cities that Blue Man has regularly scheduled performances in you will be better off waiting for the more intimate confines of one of the theatrical performances.
