Blue Man Group: The Complex Tour
Just came back from a very, very good show. There were few surprises: if you read the Blue Man Group website's notes about the making of the tour, then listen to the album, you can imagine pretty much the whole show. If you can call that a flaw, it was the biggest. But the previously-mentioned themes of overcoming alienation and self-mocking rock cliches were reinforced by an impressive wall of percussion, inspired audience interaction, and a comedic performance by the Blue Men that was half Harpo Marx, half Jack Benny, and half Steve Martin -- not the Wild and Crazy one, but the warm, droll, somewhat befuddled one from L.A. Story and Father of the Bride.
OK, so that's three halves. Your point?
One sour note for me was from a few audience members living up to the redneck stereotype, hooting and hollering toward the end of "Exhibit 13," a very somber and moving piece unlike any other song in the show. I knew something they probably didn't: Exhibit 13 is Blue Man Group's tribute to the victims of September 11, composed about a year ago. The slips of paper you see falling to earth in the Flash video at the website, also displayed during the concert, were recovered in the New York area.
The other sour note was that Shannon couldn't join me; her stomach started bothering her in the afternoon and she had to cancel the babysitting. Blue Man Group has just announced that they'll be in Charlotte on Friday, November 7. I'm sorely tempted to insist that Shannon take a Mother's Evening Out, go to Charlotte, and have a great time at that show.