Las Vegas 2004 Fanmeet
"Live at Luxor," Luxor Theater, 08/20-23/04
PAGE 2: BLUE MAN GROUP
(click here for PAGE 1: NON-TRADITIONAL JOURNAL)
OK, time for all the actual Fanmeet jibber-jabber.
Friday, August 20th, 2004
A few of us decided to hit the meet and greets to see who was around, and maybe snag some pictures. After the 7 PM show, we visited the band first, and got to meet Jordan (drummer, who's also in Uberschall), who was really nice! I ended up behind a few people though, and I couldn't hear what he was saying, so I went (with someone, I don't remember who) to see who the Blue Men were--one that looked like Jeffrey Brown, Marcus, and Isaac. I got a picture with who I thought was Jeffrey, and afterwards quietly asked him, "are you Jeffrey Brown?" He gave a small nod, and I explained that I'd seen him perform in Vegas a few years ago (twice, in fact), then backed off to give other people a chance to get pictures...
Left=Blue Man Marcus, Right=Blue Man David.
Saturday marked the actual fanmeet day... It all started with a party at the house of Greg (BLUEMANGROUP27) [thank you Greg's mom!], which was a lot of fun. The pizza was good, the TV with the "Complex Rock Tour" DVD playing was big, and I got to hear most of my Ryan Adams song ("Shakedown on 9th Street"). I think I met almost everyone, but I might have missed a couple people. It was just a lot of fun to hang out with all my fanfriends, yay! Laurie (BLUEFEET) held a giveaway, in which I won a little twinkie keychain with twinkie lipgloss in it... I accidentally got some on the outside of the cover, so I wiped it on Jay (gentner8)'s head, mwhaha. We were also introduced to the Marshmallow Shooters (a couple of which were given away in the drawing)... They were these little PVC getups that you could load with mini-marshmallows and blow in, to shoot the mallows pretty far and accurately. Laurie said they'd be giving the Shooters to all the Blue Men and band memberes that night (uh oh, hhaahhaha)--that was going to be funny, haha.
Later, we found ourself invading the 7 PM meet and greet at the Luxor... I got a few decent pictures of Blue Men Isaac and Russell (the third was Jeffrey again, I believe), to start with. When the crowd had thinned, and a few of us were around Russell, I quickly asked him if he was playing the next show. Instead of answering, he stepped forward and loomed over me, and I kind of "eep"ed and ran away. "Hahah nevermind!" That was pretty cool to see him entirely in character like that, even if it was intimidating, haha.
On the way back to the Luxor ("home," as Sonia (soniablue) accidentally called it), we--Mere (bluechick), Brian (SLC_FAN), Sonia, Cyn, and I) stopped at a dollar store... Sonia was going to buy cheap sunglasses for the performers, so she could get a picture with them all in sunglasses with her. She'd hurt her eye the week before and had a bruise, so wearing sunglasses would hide it... and would look extra-cool if everyone else was wearing shades, too. ;) While there, we found a hilarious rack of award ribbons... Like ones you'd give to little kids to congratulate them. Among them were "I can dress myself!", "I can tie my shoes!", "I can count to ten!", and my personal favorite, "I try my best." They just looked so ridiculous... there was one that said "AWESOME," and I almost bought it for Sonia to bring to Bryce (haha), but I ended up passing. I do wish we'd bought some of those funny silly ones though, and worn them around Vegas--just because we are that special. I spotted an evil-looking clacker/lollipop/whistle dude... his plastic head was on a pivot, so if you shake him, his head knocks back and forth on his ballhands--it was just too funny. Mere fished out a few blue/orange ones to give to the fanmeet Blue Men, plus Marcus (because he's cute). Damn we're silly. And all about the goodies for the performers--we should have gotten goody bags.
Blue Man Isaac
Blue Man Russell
The Ninjas: Nicole (mandelgroove iv), me (eb), Jenny (katchoo), Mere (bluechick), and Lal on the floor (haha).
Cyn and I before the show
--The Blue Men turned out to be Russell (Philpart), Anthony (Center), and Jeffrey (Mattpart).
--In Vegas, paint-drumming is done on these really huge paint drums that extend way below the pedestal where the Blue Men stand... it was very cool-looking when the paint ran down the front of the drums and splashed on the floor below (where it glowed later on in the show).
--For paint/marshmallows, the fangroup counted how many Anthony was catching--I think it ended up being something like 32 or 33 (no misses)...
--The posters are SO BIG! They are probably taller than the Blue Men themselves... and the Blue Men stand up on a rise... they don't even need to hold onto the posters--they just reach over their little wall when they need to--hee hee, Blue Man perches! When they drop the final poster along with the big boards, each one makes this loud "FWOOMP!" noise upon landing. ...to reveal the Crunch boxes... and the box on the right is SO big, LOL. In the other cities, I usually forget that it's bigger than the other ones at all... but in Vegas there's no mistaking it. The box is so big it covers the Blue Man's whole torso, hahah. I couldn't get over how silly it looked--it made the Blue Man look like a little kid trying to handle a box way too big for him.
--During Audience Exploration, the Blue Men wandered up to our section and saluted our group, who cheered loudly in response. Ben (futureblueman) turned out to be the Toblerone thrower. He chucked the first one over Anthony's head... Anthony picked it up and was going to walk it back up to Ben, but Ben was too quick for him and met him halfway and took it from him. Anthony had this look like "oh, OK, if you say so"... the next three throws were successful, however.
--In Twinkie Feast, Jeffrey looked so sad when his painting-girl got sucked off--he put his hand up to the canvas almost longingly, instead of gaping in disbelief. Later, he mimicked the Twinkie Girl's raisetilt of her fork (to feed him)... it was sort of like an airplane-feeding motion, like "here it comes!" The other two Blue Men mimicked it also--I always love to see how the girl and Mattpart feed each other, since the other two usually copy, hehe. Instead of getting queasy beFORE the last bite, Jeffrey got the girl to feed him again (he practically attacked her fork), which spurred the other Blue Men to keep stuffing him with more Twinkie (as he kept eating it eagerly)--haha! I don't think I've ever seen a Blue Man so aggressive with eating Twinkie. Oh oh, an the Twinkie girl had a shirt with a big face on it, and she'd tied crepe paper around it so the shirt-person was blindfolded, hee hee.
--That Livewire wall for Utne Wire Man is stunning... After seeing the livewire for the animation in the Rewired show, I was just imagining how insanely complex that wall must be... Craziness. I like how the Blue Men sway back and forth a little in front of the LED's before they turn and grab them for instruments... And the Wiremen aren't Iconman-like, like in Rewired--green and plush--but rather, they were unsteady little yellow dudes with heads that swung from side to side. It was really cool to watch them come out of the woodwork, so to speak. All of those swirling wires give a whole nother meaning to the phrase "Spaghetti Western"... which makes me wonder what that phrase even came from to begin with.
--At the beginning of Klein, a lot of the fangroup executed the "Chicago Cheer," which is just a big "WOO!" after a certain pattern of drums in the intro... I daresay the band paused for longer than usual the first time, upon hearing it. Later, I noticed two of the Blue Men pausing and looking at each other between drumbeats, the way they do in Boston (but not usually in Chicago or New York), which was cool to see... That connection between the guys onstage is really powerful. ...On a sillier note, when the jello was rolled out, and the last note of the song sounded, there erupted this HUGE screen of the jellomold, quietly jiggling. It was so HUGE! I was like, "look at the Jello! It's a JELLO! It's huge!" And then out of the pitch black background came these disengaged-looking blue hands to disturb it, and I just couldn't take it. It was like the hands just came out of the darkness, out of nowhere, hahahah. I don't really know why I found that so amusing, but um, yeah. And of course, Greg (BLUEMANGROUP27) got picked to be the Jellohead guy, so that was cool, hehe.
--When Anthony came to fetch paper for the beginning of KLF, he gave Cyn a good staredown on the way... and when he ran with the paper, he ran SO fast, and hurtled over the wall at the bottom of the stairs--wheeeee! And I'd forgotten that the KLF in Vegas is Blue Man's version, with tubulum and airpole and all the rest... it sounds soooooo coooooooool. *dancedance*
--During salutes and such, Jeffrey did the funniest little dance... he'd put his arms out, with his hands in fists, and slowly move them up and down (alternately)... it was like "the Monkey," only with arms farther apart, and a lot slower. He was grooving, hee hee. Lal and I both noticed it and looked at each other laughing, since she and Mere are all about the funny dances certain Blue Men seem to have patented.
After the show, we fans were supposed to wait in the lobby by the bar and wait for the performers to come back to us after meeting with the regular audience... When the band did, we all cheered for them--woooooot! Cyn excitedly pointed at Matthew Kriemelman and said "look it's Kriminal!" and we both died laughing, because we even make typos VERBALLY, now. Anywho, the way the staff was going to work it was to let us all get a big group photo with the band (and later, the Blue Men), and then get individual pictures with them in an orderly fashion. Here's my individual shot with the band (I kinda hopped up and said "HI! You guys rule!"--hee hee yay band!):
Me with the band: Nick, Richard, Billy, Vincent, Matthew K., Charles, and Corky.
The band: Nick, Matthew K., Richard, Billy, Vincent, Charles, and Corky.
Me with the Blue Men: Jeffrey, Anthony, and Russell.
PHOTO FROM JIM (BlueJim). Lal, Mere (bluechick), and I dancing um, not-with, the Blue Men--Jeffrey, Anthony, and Russell.
As the band gathered in chairs for the QandA, the fangroup was seated in the front seats of the Mezzanine (Cyn and I ended up front row, peering over the wall, haha). Before the actual question session, there were a few giveaway trivia questions (one about who is in the video during "The Complex" in the rock/tour show--Performing Director Michael Dahlen)... the big question for the Spinart asked what artist influenced the style of canvas paint drumming (Rothco), but none of us had any clue (beyond Adeline's guess of Pollack, which earned her the painting since she was closest), so Jennifer read us a really extra-long hint that Shawn had written... When we still didn't know, they were going to just tell us, but Anthony interrupted and went "w-w-w-wait!" and went on to break down the name into David Lee ROTH and CosCO, haha. Anthony was SO funny--everytime he said "AWESOME!" I thought of Bryce (who said it the same way in Chicago), and had to chuckle at it...
Laurie (BLUEFEET) handed out the Marshmallow shooters, and the ammo... I think 4 of the guys in a row shot them into the audience, and upon seeing the power and aim, went "WHOA!" or "HOLY!", all amazed and excited. Then they started shooting each other, haha... Richard pointing his up at the ceiling, shot it, then watching the mallow fall to the floor, hee hee. Later on, most of them had put the shooters away, but Russell held his in his lap the whole time, clinging to it possessively when Anthony touched it. They are so silly.
I don't actually remember all that much from the Q and A... but I'll just ramble through the things I do remember. One of the band members said that when they have a new person, they get brought into the show gradually--like one or two songs at first, and then work up to a full show. Anthony was talking about his experience performing the Rewired show in Chicago, and how the new show and all the changes were very "interesting"... Russell went on for a long time about how probably the most encompassing/broad quality about the Blue Man character is his openness... I think his whole explanation there was dead-on, and I loved hearing him talk about it. He was saying how when a Blue Man looks at someone, it's as if he's telling them it's all right... There was also a mention of how Blue Man handles humor--he recognizes it as a burst of energy and life, that can be triggered by certain things happening. There was a lot of joking around and naturalish conversation, despite the fan/performer gap. Those guys are so cool and down-to-earth, and they cannot be thanked enough for being so kind and willing to share their opinions and insights.
After the Q and A, a lot of us gathered around the performers to say hello and thank you and whatnot... Jeffrey and the band left pretty quickly, but Russell and Anthony stuck around until the bitter end. I was hanging out around Russell for a while, with a few other people, and he was just so cool to talk with--what a nice guy. At some point, he glanced around stealthily and readied his shooter, saying "is anyone leaving? ...next time someone does, I'm going to shoot them." LOL. Russell said he'd be going to Jillian's the next night, though he wasn't performing at Blue Man... Later I ended up around Anthony, and he is way too funny. He is so incredibly hyper and excitable... This continued in the Luxor lobby (we got kicked out since the staff needed to close the doors by 2 am--haha!), where he got so excited he kept dropping all his goodies and talking a mile a minute. Russell was hanging out nearby quietly, and while Anthony was chattering on, Russell got out his shooter and shot a marshmallow at Anthony from behind--haha! When Anthony got hit, he spazflailed and wheeled around at Russell--LOL, that was a really funny moment. Russell seems to be a very smart-aleck, funny-out-of-nowhere kind of guy. He kept pulling out random witty comments or doing random funny things. Hehe, he was so cool. Eventually Anthony and Russell said their goodbyes, and an awesome night came to a close. I can't believe they hung out with us for so long... they really didn't have to do that--I mean, they already stayed way later than usual--and it was highly appreciated. =) That whole night was deeply cool. =)
Sunday, August 22nd, 2004
On Sunday, I went to see the Blue Man show with Karen (nobody)... a bunch of other fans were there, scattered about the audience--Jay (gentner8) and Amy (ladybluebird), Mere (bluechick), Royal (RoyalBlue), Sonia (soniablue), and Laurie (BLUEFEET). It was a little sad to be separated! Hehe. Karen and I were 11th row, center aisle, which were really great seats--close enough to see facial expressions on the Blue Men, but far enough to clearly see the band lofts.
Karen (nobody) and I before the show.
--Blue Men of the night were David (Philpart), Marcus (Center), and Jeffrey (Mattpart). I recognized Richele (percussion) and Aki (bass/guitar I think) in the band lofts, and recognized most of the rest of them after the show (Jordan, MK, Matthew K., I think Charles... I forget who else)... Anywho... The band in Vegas kicks some serious ass. Richele especially caught my eye--she dances when she drums, and is very dramatic with arm motions and such. She's just amazing--I was so entranced watching her, and a couple times I would jab Karen and be like, "oh my god LOOK at her!!!" Just, wow.
--During Toblerone-throwing, the thrower made a fake throw... it didn't mess up the Blue Man, but it faked out the band, who after 2 marshmallows had played 3 "NEooooowCLOCK!" sounds, thinking all 3 mallows had been thrown. The Blue Men didn't wait for the actual 3rd marshmallow, since the band was already playing the continuation of the music--whoops.
--The Twinkie girl was actually very cute and a lot of fun... When the Blue Man wiggled the Jello, she gave him this big double-thumbs-up and grin as if to say "GOOD JOB!" But she'd only do it for the little jello mold, not the other things. When Jeffrey fed her, he shifted a couple inches towards her in his seat and stared her down... It was really cute to see Marcus and David both imitate it, hee hee. Karen and I huddled together and giggled like schoolgirls after that one.
--During PVC IV, Jeffrey and Marcus started staring at someone/thing in the audience, and David decided he needed to check it out too, so he stopped playing entirely and crowded into Marcus's space to get a better look... ...and then during Mandelgroove, at some point he abandoned his drums (not when he was supposed to be playing, I don't think) and wandered behind Richele and Matthew K. and started doing a little spazflail Blue Man dance, haha! David rules. Oh and when the Jellomold came out... David slapped it so hard it almost went flying off the Klein guy's head! David quickly pushed it back down but I swear I caught an "oops!" smirk on his face, haha.
--Sometime while KLF was playing, Marcus came up the row and spotted Karen and I, so he stayed a minute with big eyes and danced along with us... Hi Marcus!! Hee hee--he's cute (still, durhurh).
--While the Blue Men were performing Encore Paint Drumming, David leaned over and aimed some of his red paint into Marcus's drum, I think just to be mischievous. Marcus got him back, spewing paint in David's drum, and the two of them went back and forth like that until the end of the sequence, haha! Silly Blue Men.
--During salutes, Jeffrey busted out a short blip of the little dance he'd done the night before--I cheered, haha.
Karen and I busted out of there as the Blue Men stood behind the DNA screen, so we could hit the bathroom before speeding through the meet and greet and jetting off to Jillian's. I made a point to stop at the band... MK and... I don't remember who, were on the end, and they greeted me with friendly smiles. I ended up going down the line and shaking hands with them all, complimenting them on the show. When I got to Matthew K. (in pink), I asked if he'd been the drummer on the left, and he nodded, saying "yes, I was on this *motions* side." I clarified, "with her *motions to Richele*?" And when he nodded, I told them both that they rocked up there together. Mere had found her way to Jordan (on the end), and was talking to him about auditioning for the band in Vegas. I mentioned how awesome it would be to see her up there (because I could totally see it happening), and stuck around a little more before saying goodbye to Jordan to find Marcus (whom I wanted to hug goodbye).
Marcus was the center Blue Man... I don't remember if it was before or after I saw him, but I snuck around to the side of Jeffrey's area and gave him a smile and wave (which he subtly returned). I kinda crept up to Marcus from the wall, and the moment he was free I jumped in real quick and gave him a big hug, telling him it was a great show. He didn't seem to remember me until the hug, and then he said hello and hugged back. I told him, "I'll miss youuu!" and then asked him quickly if he'd be at Jillian's, and he said, "I don't know, but I'm going to try to make it." As I was leaving him, he chattered about how good Transit was, and Matthew Banks too--all while peering over some girl's head who was trying to get a picture with him, LOL. I felt bad running away from him but I had had to make it quick! So I gave him a final wave and smile, and he gave me a big wink before turning back for the picture he was supposed to be in, hehe.
Karen and I ended up hanging out on the other side of the hallway, watching and waiting for Mere and Sonia to be ready to go. In the meantime, Marcus gave Mere, Sonia, and Laurie big long kisses, including one on the LIPS for Laurie--LOL. After they got to say hello to David and get a couple quick pictures, we were off to Jillian's... and that's back on Page 1, haha.
Overall, I found the Vegas show amazing technically and musically, but I missed a lot of the character you get to experience in the smaller venues. It wasn't that the Blue Men were any less full of life and hilarious and adorable, just that in such a huge theatre, it's less in-your-face... And there is a lot of time that is devoted to music/effects--PVC IV, Mandelgroove, and Utne Wire Man all in a row (and Rods and Cones, too?), for example. It's not that there's LESS character in Vegas, it's just that it's different--he seems more mysterious and serious, more of an abstract being than an approachable character. The setup in Vegas doesn't really allow you to see their eyes, the little quirks on their faces--unless they happen to come up to you in the audience--and I found myself missing that. Vegas was my first Blue Man show ever, and it was FABULOUS to see it again... but now that I have been a fan for a long time, I have to say I really do prefer the smaller venues, because the big thing for me about Blue Man is the character--I never get tired of him. Not that the performances didn't rock, because they did--it is so cool to see and hear all that music performed with such a large band. There is such power and awe in that show, and I think it'd be safe to say it's like no other on earth. ;)
...I'll be back--but maybe when I'm 21 so I can go dancing at a club or something. Hee hee.
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