Last week the Blue Man Group came to town and Tracy got us tickets for the sixth row (officially the “wet seats” though we didn’t feel anything). What follows is a few comments about the “How To Be a Megastar 2.0” show, some fairly obvious connections to U2 (specifically the Zoo TV tour), interspersed with pics from the evening.
The show began with various messages being scrolled across multiple screens, the now famous video of the EepyBird.com guys blowing up Diet Coke with Mentos tablets (they have a new video!) and Tracy Bonham giving a decent, somewhat artsy set of solo tunes complete with delays, effects and loops on her guitar and violin (The Edge would be proud of her signal processing).
Zoo TV comparison #1: The whole pre-show set the stage for an evening of over-stimulating media-driven messages centered around loss of identity, isolation and individualism, and confused humanity. The overall difference between Zoo and Megastar was that U2 tended toward very cerebral themes veiled in irony, incongruous images and contradictory messages. The Blue Man team worked with lighter more popular metaphors, though they still asked some fairly introspective questions. Oh yeah, another difference was that U2 was doing this in the early 90s – way ahead of their time!
There were really two themes running through the evening. They seemed to intersect at times through music and images in an entertaining way. The first theme: The Blue Man trio downloaded a manual which told them how to become rock superstars. Of course they had the audience participate in all the exercises. The fun was in seeing these emotionless childlike subjects interpret “rock concert movements” such as the “head bob” and the “one armed fist pump.” Great fun and eerily true to life! The second theme: A plethora of images and lyrics focusing on generic people inhabiting featureless buildings isolated by cubicles of loneliness and individualism. The concert became a journey in which these computer-generated people, often seen in welder’s masks, progressively made their way up to the metaphorical “roof.”
Zoo TV comparison #2: While there wasn’t anything nearly as diabolical as The Fly or MacPhisto, the characters on the screens were dark and hollow animations that most of us could relate to. The comparison to Jungian “shadows” was easy to make.
Throughout the show the audience was immersed in a fully participatory experience. Tracy, my wife, kept saying how much she loved it because it was so “over-stimulating.” One of the most innovative, if sometimes annoying, features of the show was the use of interactive texting. A pre-show message gave instructions for “Mobkastr,” a system that allowed audience members to receive a stream of text messages on their cell phones during the show, adding another layer of story to the evening. I received and replied to about fifteen messages. People all around me were doing the same.
Zoo TV comparison #3: Whether it was to the president, Sarajevo, a pizza joint, or a cab company, MacPhisto/Mirrorball Man made good use of the phone. And in what had to be pinched from the Vertigo tour, we were instructed via text message to wave our phones around like cigarette lighters more than once. The arena was “lit up like a Christmas tree.”
The Blue Man team managed to work in their normal set of routines: pounding on sets of PVC pipe (actually very good tones), flailing electronic whips, wearing TV sets, tossing marshmallows, and banging on metal drums laden with paint. There were a couple of other notable moments. One involved the heavy satire of a mirror clad guitar player coming out for a weighty lead. Another was when the blue boys entered the audience with a micro camera and projected close-ups of people on giant screens, ending with the inside of a man’s mouth.
Sound familiar? Zoo TV comparison #4 & #5: Mirrorball Man struttin’ his stuff and The Fly’s handy video cam work (again, way ahead of their time).
A marginally comical moment in the evening was a video spoof of our favorite front man by “Mono” and “The Side.” This bit included a humanitarian pitch for the poor old “box TV sets” which are being replaced by plasmas and flat screens. Mildly funny, you can see a low res copy captured with my digital camera here.
Zoo TV comparison #6: The Blue Man team knew they had to have a benevolent cause even if it was a lampoon of the group that can’t have a concert without one (though I admit it is less obvious on the Zoo tour than others, especially Vertigo).
Finally, the climax of the show came in a cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” which again engaged nearly all of the senses. On the main screen, the anonymous people were finding their way to the roofs of their buildings, ultimately finding hope and love among others who had also completed their solo journeys out of individualism and isolation. On the stage, Tracy Bonham sang and wore a stunning dress, itself a technical wonder, pulsing with rainbow colors in sync to the rainbow people on the roof tops and the kaleidoscope of colors on countless TV monitors and kiosks. It was a celebration akin to “City of Blinding Lights” complete with streamers.
Zoo TV comparison #7: Well, I guess this is more of a contrast than a comparison. Whereas the Blue Man show ended quite spectacularly with “I Feel Love” (and everybody really seemed to feel it!), the Zoo TV tour (from Sydney) concluded with a tired devilish character in mask singing “Love is Blindness,” screens full of b&w static, illegible words and nondescript images. And then the odd, almost parabolic twist: Bono resurfaces as worship leader for a corporate chorus of “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Odd, but effective; maybe not so different than “How To Be a Megastar” after all.
Oh, one last thought. The concert remained interactive even after coming home. Audience members were asked to upload concert pics. You can see the Fresno show here, including a few of my shots.
I'm sure other comparisons could be made between U2 and Blue Man Group. Please leave comments with your own observations.
one thing i find admirable about both these groups is their willingness to become vulnerable, to go over the edge to make a point and project an image that not everybody is going to like, and one that the fans may entirely reject. (see zootv...)
it seems like so much of the music industry today is concentrated on getting across an appealing persona, one that the fans will want to don as well. these two groups go beyond the need for assurance from fans that they are appealing... and even send messages that strive to be intentionally unappealing. that depth of understanding the group and their motives is not something that comes easily to most of the audience, and so makes them vulnerable to criticism unfounded. i am impressed...
Posted by: jessica mast | November 18, 2006 at 04:45 PM
Thanks for the good comments Jessica. I agree that they have important, not always comfortable messages. One of the things that intrigues me most is how both groups deliver their messages. Leonard Sweet challenges the church to be EPIC and even cites U2. EPIC is an acronym for Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven and Connected.
I think the church can learn a lesson from the Blue Man Group and U2 about how to engage people. Concert goers often speak of a U2 concert as something spiritual. It’s often said that the arena becomes a sanctuary. While this has much to do with the content of a U2 show (there is a definite liturgy to be seen), it also has a lot to do with how the content is delivered. U2 practically invented the “B stage” and the wrap-around ramp (the Heart and the Ellipse). Why? So they could engage their audience; they are working at removing the audience/performer barrier.
So many of our churches are performance driven today. Church members sit passively in the pews being sung at, prayed at, and preached at. The professionals own the stage and “do” the worship. What we can learn from BMG and U2 is how to create gatherings that draw people together as active participants in a community of worship. This is especially challenging (and fun!) when the topic is a difficult or uncomfortable one.
Posted by: Tim | November 18, 2006 at 05:13 PM