Known for their incredibly popular Las Vegas residency, Blue Man Group marked their long-awaited return to the UK in September and finally brought their critically-acclaimed Bluevolution World Tour to Bristol on October 16.
Taking to the stage of the Bristol Beacon, the three Blue Men, as well as a fourth extremely talented musician character, charmed audiences with their art, musical skills, and weird and wonderful stage presence. With this being a show you really need to see for yourself, it’s hard to describe it without giving too much away – but you should know it’s extremely mesmerising, euphoric in parts, and far more hilarious than we initially thought it was going to be.
From the minute we sat down we swore there was a smell of paint in the air, and screens already on stage flashed up warnings of rather ridiculous, but also incredibly justified, rules on how to behave during the show. The stage was framed by the Blue Man Group’s iconic pipework – some of which were to be used as ingenious musical instruments.
If you’re a huge fan of audience participation, then sitting in the stalls is a must for you, as you will discover a Blue Man (or three) venturing down the aisles to take a good look at you – and possibly pull you up on stage. The first three rows of the stalls are known as the ‘Poncho Zone’, and you are given a blue poncho to wear over your clothes for the duration, in order to protect them from any of the paint or other mess on stage.
But being sat this close to the stage doesn’t necessarily mean you will have to get involved – it’s purely up to the Blue Men themselves with regards to who gets ‘chosen’. If you simply wish to observe, however, (at the Beacon anyway) then sitting higher up will work wonders for you. And be warned, if you turn up late to the show for any reason, and the Blue Men catch you, you’re in for quite the bit of embarrassment – truly hilarious viewing for the rest of us, however.
When it comes to the sound, lighting, look and feel of the production as a whole, it really truly is hypnotic. We found ourselves wanting hours more of the show come the end, and there were significant parts during which we couldn’t help but roar with laughter. Then, at times, it was almost like we were watching a giant in the world of EDM perform a headline slot in the Dance Village at Glastonbury, or we were participants in a rave at Bristol’s Wake The Tiger.
The whole feel of the performance is very surreal, and a bit wacky at times, however also extremely euphoric when the music kicks in – and the Blue Men certainly know how to put on an epic finale. With Bristol’s artistic nature, street art legacy, musical roots, comedy greats, and love for the weird and wonderful, this sort of show should be resident here all the time. It would feel right at home.
Blue Man Group are in Bristol until Sunday, October 20 – get your tickets here.