Skip to main content

Blue Man Group, Live in Manila!! (2016)

I drove up to the Solaire Theatre to watch the Blue Man Group's performance. I was excited to see the group perform because people kept saying that they're a really fun group to watch. The advertisements promised a combination of rock concert, theatre performance, comedy, and dance party in one night. Too bad everyone else I know wasn't available to go with me to watch this... It was going to be a great night, I knew it! Would have been even better if I weren't alone though.

As the house lights dimmed, instructions flashed above the stage. I thought that they were just regular courtesy reminders because they initially went along like this: 

Don't take photos and videos. 
This show has no intervals; it is not advisable to go out of the theatre once the show has started.
This performance uses strobe lights.
This performance uses recycled paper.

But then the messages became downright funny:

Don't take selfies.
Don't take a photo of the dinner you just ate. 
No downloading of apps, net-caching, plerking, flashpuddling, farbing...
Drone-piloting is right out.
Please don't be electronically annoying during the show.

These set the tone of the night's performance. They also reminded me of the funny pre-show reminders of Rak of Aegis. After the crowd was warmed up a bit, the scrolling screen continued to spew out instructions directed to the audience. This time the screen prompted the audiences to say their congratulations and their "happy birthday" greetings to various members of the audience.

And then, the lights dimmed and the show began...

I was amazed at how good the performers were! They were not talking at all. Instead, they were relying on music, on their facial expressions, and on their body language to get their message across. Of course, there were voice-overs, some of which I thought were biology lessons. I honestly got lost in some of the parts because I was expecting an overarching story but they performers were acting like they were in a variety show.

The most amazing part was when the lights grew dim and giant bouncy balls fell from the roof onto the audience. The concert had morphed into a party!! Confetti flew everywhere. There was a dancing giant robot balloon smack in the middle of the stage. Audience members were on their feet, dancing to the music. That was so cool!



The show finally drew to a close and everyone was asked to move outside the theatre. If we chose to stay, we could stop and have our photos taken with the cast. But as I was standing on the ascending escalator, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I was totally surprised that it was a Blue Man right behind me, trying to go forward through the crowd going up.



And then the same Blue Man stood amid the crowd as the band was having its photo opportunity with the audience. It took a few minutes before those bent on having their photos taken with the band even noticed the friendly but tight-lipped Blue Man.



And as I was leaving the theatre lobby to buy some decent food, I bumped into the same Blue Man... AGAIN!



I mean, what do you do and how do you react when you bump into a Blue Man, right? 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '