Blue Man Group - The Complex Rock Tour Live

I love everything about Blue Man Group: the concept; the music; the humor; and, of course, the weirdness. This DVD is NOT of one of the typical BMG shows from New York, Boston, Chicago, or Las Vegas, rather, it is a concert from their recent 'Complex Rock Tour', which is totally different materiel. The DVD was actually taken from two shows, one in Dallas, and one in Minneapolis. I was fortunate enough to be at the Minneapolis show that this DVD is partially taken from, and watching this is almost as good as being there. The musical performances, showmanship, sound quality, and cinematography on the DVD are breathtaking, and make me want to go see BMG again as soon as possible. There are standout performances by guest vocalists Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum (in the greatest dress I have ever seen anywhere on anyone.) I would have liked to see the Bonham opening set (especially the Led Zeppelin violin recital), but unfortunately the producers didn't accommodate my desires. Here both vocalists are used to excellent effect. The music itself is potently addictive (I have the soundtrack CD in my car) and intriguing. Of course BMG is known for percussion (which I adore), and that is spotlighted to excellent effect on the DVD. The whole band is wonderful, and provides an excellent, and often whimsical, backdrop for the antics of the three Blue Men. Particular standouts for me are "Above", "Time to Start", "Up On The Roof", and the beautiful, haunting tribute to September 11 victims, "Exhibit 13." Also of note are the comedic links used in which an offstage recorded voice gives instructions in 'Rock Star Movements' which the Blue Men then teach the audience (my personal favorites are Numbers 4 and 237.) The DVD has a couple of extras, including the music videos for "Sing Along" (featuring a dazed looking Dave Matthews), "The Current", and the magnificently minimalist "Exhibit 13." Be sure to watch these, as they give a totally different perspective on the songs. You also want to catch the DVD credits. I won't say why, but trust me on this one. All told, this is an excellent introduction to the eccentricity that is Blue Man Group, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in music, comedy, or general oddity.

I received my copy of this yesterday and didn't leave my TV for quite a while. Everyone should buy this DVD. I have seen Blue Man Group twice. Once in Boston in a small venue, very intimate and an enormous amount of fun and this past summer I was fortunate to see them at the Mann Music Center, an open air theatre in Philadelphia doing this tour. I had been raving about Blue Man since I saw them in Boston some 7 years ago and managed to talk my wife and a family friend into going. They were not disappointed in any way and my wife even commented how it was the best show she had been too since she saw King Crimson back in the 80's. After seeing the original show in Boston, I was somewhat curious how they were going to translate it into a much larger production, but they did it. When I saw the DVD out there, I was curious how they would be able to transfer the incredible thing I had seen live onto a DVD format for a small screen but they did that too! If you were not fortunate (or in contact with your real self... ) enough to have caught this tour, this is an excellent way to see who and what Blue Man Group are. This DVD is amazingly entertaining and great for the whole family. Tons of sight gags (the Blue Men don't speak), interesting instruments made of PVC pipe, not to mention the piano smash (a piano shell with a few tuned strings inside they hit with a large mallet), day glo and in some cases lighted costumes (Venus Hum wears a dress that flashes different colors), an incredible stage show, no less than 4 percussionists as well as the Blue Men themselves... this DVD takes multimedia to a level not seen yet. Those who know the Blue men from other venues will also see some staples of the Blue Man show such as the flourescent paints in the toms on either side of the stage and of curse, the exploratory antics of the Blue Men who seem as though they are just discovering everything. The music is some of the best industrial type stuff I've heard period. And yes, that's a real anvil. I highly recommend this DVD if you haven't figured that out. This will be one of my prize ones.

Nice! Thanks

Fun video for kids and adults alike families. Love the blue main group.

This video was my introduction to Venus Hum, a trio consisting of two dorky guys who do synthesized music and percussion and an adorable young lady with an operatic-quality voice. BMG never fails to amuse. Tracy Bonham, an excellent singer, appears for one number as well. This DVD is twenty years old -- I'm glad I stumbled upon it. It has aged well.

If you've never seen the Blue Man Group you're in for an amazing experience. I've had this DVD for years and just recently purchased it again because my original got scratched up. My whole family watches this 4-5 times per year and we never tire of it. The sound quality is excellent, the creativity is off the charts and the music rocks! This is the one Blue Man Group DVD that you must have - I've bought others but they don't approach this one from a musical creativity standpoint. These guys are true artists in every sense of the word. It's hard to choose a favorite from all of the songs on this, but "The Current" hits on all cylinders: artistic presentation, lyrics & meaning, lighting, delivery ... everything. New viewers at our place will often argue with us about whether the stick figure guys that are lit up in some of the songs are computer animations or actual people. Watch closely and you'll see they're actual people - on stage anyway! When they climb the ladders back up from the "underground" they may in fact be something else. I must have watched this thing beginning to end about 30-35 times and always see something new. There's a great message that underscores the entire concept, but it's not political at all and leaves you feeling in awe about the creative potential of mankind.

Suffice to say, I have seen many and varied "rock" concerts in my 41 years. This, however, was MY best! This despite the fact that we had upper balcony seats. The only reason I did not give this DVD a 5 star rating is that there was not enough prolonged footage of the full stage. You miss some of the pleasure of watching the simultaneous interaction of the performers. For example, The green silhouetted AOL-ish type figures, in and amongst the band, during The Current were amazing when seen as a whole, from the audiences point of view. Also, the line of percussionists were mesmerizing to watch as they pummeled their kits. Especially when the parts of a song featured their playing in almost choreographed unison. I am generally not a fan of showy guitarist, but these three guys genuinely and unpretensiously rocked! The overall energy of the entire band was an evening constant and was awe inspiring. We had bought tickets for my Mom & Dad (for his b-day) several months in advance. I new little of the BMG and was not really thrilled to be going the night of this (I believe) the last show of the tour, in Grand Prarie. I was merely expecting some mild "performance art" entertainment and nothing more. We dutifully arrived on time, but the horrendous parking situation caused us to miss the opening acts (Venus Hum & Tracy Bonham). When the show started I immediately began smiling and could tell this was going to be an enchanted evening indeed! When the show concluded, I turned to M'Lady and declared that it was the best concert I had ever seen to date. The DVD captures the show almost perfectly. I do regret that White Rabbit was not able to be included (I wonder why?). I guess I'll have to get the Compex CD for that one. As for Piano Smasher, we at least get to see a lttle smashin' during Baba O'Riley. Overall, highly recommended.

I really don't care what the other reviewers have said...but,(now it does take a moment),once the BMG,(Blue Man Group),performance gets started,IT IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. They perform their songs,they do what they do, and,it's "kind of/sort of" like you are actually at one of their performances. Consider this... a ticket for a single person to buy and see the Blue Man Group costs approximately $80.00 for a cheap seat,(more if you want a decent seat),in Boston,MA. This gives you all of the thrills without the high ticket price,hopefully,you won't have to pay for the ride home. This is worth the price you have to pay. Update: November 29,2017: I've said this before,but,I'll say it again,"This is a great show !! You get all of the stuff,without all of the irritation. The BMG puts on a outstanding show and you,(as a viewer),get to enjoy it. Is there stuff that makes you say,"Well,I don't know." PERHAPS,but,that's just you. Overall,that might be just you,this is a show that doesn't cross lines and it doesn't offend anybody. It just shows STUFF that doesn't offend anybody,it just shows STUFF. It just shows STUFF,won't offend anybody,it just shows people ENJOYING THEMSELVES, and,hopefully,nobody should complain.

Muy bueno lastima que no está en Blu-ray y la versión en dts increíble, los extras del disco valen la pena y el tiempo de entrega excelente

Sinceramente… non conoscevo i Blue Man Group fino al giorno in cui, cercando un video di “I feel love” di Donna Summer, mi sono imbattuto nella loro versione. All’inizio pensavo fosse una “performance” (tra l’altro molto divertente) sullo stile degli “Stomp”, fino a quando sul palco non è salita Annette Strean (cantante del gruppo Venus Hum) e la musica è letteralmente esplosa in una potente versione Rock/Hard Rock della canzone. Sono rimasto favorevolmente colpito, dato che sono un amante del genere ed ho deciso di acquistare il DVD del concerto. Cercando qui su Amazon, ho trovato questo DVD che, per fortuna, riporta nella descrizione la “scaletta”, dove ho potuto constatare la presenza del brano in questione. Ma la dicitura “US version NTSC” nella lista delle versioni, la contemporanea mancanza della copertina completa del disco e la presenza di svariate recensioni negative, mi hanno fatto sospettare che il disco fosse illeggibile perché fosse un “Region 1” ossia prodotto per il mercato americano, per cui ho sospeso l’acquisto. Grazie ad un famoso database musicale, sono riuscito a recuperare il codice a barre di un prodotto sicuramente “Region 2” e quando ho rifatto la ricerca qui su Amazon, è uscita la stessa pagina. Pur con qualche apprensione, ho acquistato il DVD ed oggi, con sollievo, posso affermare che SI… il DVD contrassegnato con il codice a barre “0085365313828” è un DVD Regione 2 (in realtà è 2-3-4-5-6) quindi pienamente compatibile con i lettori DVD/Blu Ray nostrani, anche datati (giusto per completezza, ho aperto il DVD anche con un lettore Blu Ray per PC e visto i vari filmati con VLC e funziona tutto (o quasi) benissimo. (Per conferma ho inserito in questa recensione la foto del retro della cover, con le caratteristiche principali) Ora, tralascio la recensione del concerto… per chi conosce i BMG non sarà certo una sorpresa. Mi soffermo invece su una recensione tecnica, visto che molti miei predecessori hanno sollevato dei dubbi, a partire da quelli che dicono (stranieri) che nel DVD ci sono solo foto sfocate con musica di sottofondo… non voglio offendere nessuno ma probabilmente non hanno girato il disco. Eh, si… perché il DVD in questione è un raro DVD10 ossia “Doppia faccia, singolo strato”. Un lato A e uno B, come nei cari vecchi LP. E difatti, proprio nel lato B ci sono SOLO 3 tracce audio (ma in formato DD5.1 e DTS 5.1 oltre al LPCM2.0) per cui è normale che non ci sia video. O meglio… per video ci sono delle foto in sequenza e niente più. È sul lato A che c’è il concerto vero e proprio, quindi bisogna estrarlo dal cassetto del lettore e girarlo. Veniamo al video… effettivamente le immagini sono di qualità inferiore al normale, ma anche per questo c’è una spiegazione… i DVD10 hanno un solo strato per faccia, quindi solo 4.3Gb per lato a disposizione. Dovendo mettere un concerto di quasi 80 minuti con 2 tracce audio (di cui una in 5.1), 4 tracce extra (una non musicale) di poco più di 14 minuti più una manciata di sottotitoli, è ovvio che hanno dovuto comprimere il video al limite dell’accettabile. Sarebbe stato meglio utilizzare un normale DVD9 (Singola faccia-doppio strato) per il concerto e mettere il materiale extra su un altro DVD (Anche un DVD 5, Singola faccia-Singolo strato). Tuttavia i moderni lettori e i più recenti televisori hanno a bordo sofisticati processori in grado di restituire vitalità a video di medio-bassa qualità. Non aspettatevi però video “like BD”… i processori moderni sono potenti ma non fanno miracoli. Per quanto riguarda invece l’audio, anche se per adesso ho ascoltato ben poca roba, devo dire che non è male: ho ascoltato con la cuffia (una Sennheiser HD380 Pro) direttamente collegata alla TV il brano “I feel love” sia utilizzando la traccia “Dolby Digital 5.1” (ovviamente mixata in 2.0) che direttamente la traccia “Dolby Digital 2.0” e alle mie orecchie la qualità è sembrata ben più che accettabile: la musica non sovrasta la voce, i bassi sono puliti, potenti ma non opprimenti e le frequenze alte sono ben riprodotte. Non mi sembra che ci siano degli squilibri, ma anche qui forse bisogna ringraziare i moderni processori audio. Spero che questa recensione sia di aiuto per gli utenti italiani ed europei che come me, hanno titubato nell’acquisto per paura di prendere una fregatura. Poi, oh… la sfortuna è cieca e mi scuso fin da ora se qualcuno riscontrasse dei problemi. Giudizio finale: Audio (per me): 5 stelle – Video (sempre per me): 4 stelle – Concerto: 5 stelle – Extra: 4 stelle = 4.5 stelle. Non potendo dare la mezza stella, arrotondo per difetto a 4.

sin duda el mejor concierto de los blue man group de la historia, nada que ver con lo que han hecho luego

excellent dvd

I was fortunate to see the Blue Man Group and their in-your-face performance at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas where I stayed for my 50th Birthday in November 2008. They had no available UK format DVDs in their store there, disappointing, so you can't imagine my delight when I received this DVD & found that it was just as inviting to drag in an audience and keep them captivated, entertained and wholly engaged throughout. Played at the appropriate volume, neighbours out, the resulting cacophone can rip apart any living room & the hypnotic lighting effects exploding from the 50" flat screen make for a dramatic private party. Totally uplifting, massively powerful entertainment passing energy from the performers directly into your brainwaves. Tune in & enjoy, totally recommended, nothing lost here on the live performance, a wow factor DVD.