Blast!: An Explosive Musical Celebration

If your favorite part of a football game is when the marching band takes the field, then you're going to love Blast. Think of the most rousing, in-sync band that you ever saw, turn them way up, add cool costumes and a black-and-white checkered stage with colored spotlights, throw in a good helping of the Stomp vibe, and you've got Blast.

Color is the theme that threads the different musical pieces together. Beginning with Ravel's Bolero, the audience is pulled into this new music/dance/theatre experience as the band takes the stage marching, twirling, and weaving. The performers aren't simply musicians--they dance, sing, act, and play their brass and drums. "Loss," in the Blue section of the color wheel, is particularly touching. Even the flag team--a very sexy and talented flag team--is represented. The Green section melds into a sober and lovely rendition of "Simple Gifts," then concludes quietly with Copland's Appalachian Spring. In the black light of "Battery Battle," you're pulled into the rhythm of the lone drummer, then dueling snare drums, and finally a row of energetic, blindfolded drummers who never miss a beat. "Medea" combines movement and music in a dramatic interpretation of Samuel Barber's piece, and, set to a dance-club beat, "Lemon Techno" is a flurry of yellow flags, poles, and sensuous movement. A spectacularly sultry "Malaguena" drenched in red ends the program.

It's easy to see why Blast is a PBS favorite. It's an amazing new type of performance--one that every high school marching band member will want to emulate. Included here is a 25-minute documentary, Music in Motion: The Making of Blast, which takes you behind the scenes to the conception of the show and into the ensemble's homes and lives as they perform in London's West End. --Dana Van Nest

Average Customer Review: ( 96 customer reviews )
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They've mixed it in Dolby 5.1, the sound on the DVD is awesome. They were careful about the sound levels, so that the soft parts were soft - the loud parts loud - with no clipping (over loudness). This release really shows off the DVD's capabilities.

The picture is FABULOUS! None of the VHS tape limitations on quality are evident. It is crisp and superb!

The behind the scenes special feature is very interesting. As a musician, I appreciate ALL of the technical things that the performers exhibit while on stage.

I *strongly* recommend the DVD version to any music enthusiast / home theater nut.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Visual MusicMar 19, 2004
By Joshua Koppel
Ballet, modern dance, marching bands, drum and bugle corps, flag dancers, bell ringers, army drill teams and more are what you can expect from this original and fascinating visual display of music.

This collection of music and movement does its best to avoid classification. There is simply nothing like it. Imagine seeing the following:

A drum team with the precision of Riverdance
A trombone player riding a unicycle
Dancers dancing with giant blades of grass
Colorful flag throw across stage in musical precision
Officer Krupke done in a way that makes West Side Story look dull
A xylophonist playing while chasing his instrument
Drum rolls so fact the sound like bees
Beautiful ballet and precision dance while playing instruments
Swords and rifles used for dance and as drumsticks
Blindfolded drummer who change drum sets without missing a beat
Some of the best horn playing around
A dozen tubas gyrating to a rhumba beat
More more more...

There are two themes that thread through all of the productions. The first is the use of color. Flags, lights, costumes and props take the production through the rainbow. The second is that these performers really love what they are doing. Just look at their faces.

The camera work is well done. Angle change to show what is going on without being to spastic like in Lord of the Dance. There is even an intermission where several performers join the audience and use stools for drums.

My only complaint is that some numbers are actually several pieces in a row without their own separate tracks. So when watching the drum battle, if you want to see the precision blindfolds, you will have to watch the pieces before it (at least until you set your own bookmarks).

My whole family really loves this one from my wife and myself to my one-year-old and my four-year-old. The visuals are gripping and unbelievable. While the music itself is great, anyone who just gets the CD is really missing out.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

BUY THIS VIDEO NOW!Dec 20, 2000

I saw Blast! live on stage, and was thoroughly impressed by the whole thing. The performers (musicians and dancers alike) have an energy and spirit which is hard to capture fully on television or video. Although the VHS is nothing like the show, it is the very next best thing (still better than ANYTHING you will ever see again) and well worth buying. Sadly, as I live in the UK, I cannot watch this version of the show on my VCR. My only hope would be a DVD release, as I have a multi-region DVD player. People of America- You have no idea how lucky you are to be able to buy and watch this musical and performing arts phenomenon! I loved it, so will you!

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Blast From The FutureJul 10, 2001

I saw the show in New York and loved it. The DVD is of the London version which has been improved somewhat for the Broadway performance extended for six months, and new second cast that is now at Epcot.

Blast is of special interest to those who have an interest in Drum and Bugle Corps or Marching Bands. It is an example of what a drum corps can do with all the time in the world, a professional cast (almost all have degrees in either music performance, dance or music education) and a bottomless pot of corporate money. The performances are flawless and the show has been put together with a lot of imagination. This is likely a precurser of what we will be seeing in band and drum corps performances in the future.

The particular advantage of the DVD, in addition to the expected superb picture and sound are the several sections that have the director's voice-over explaining how the show was created. Several opportunities for alternate camera angles let you see the show in wide angle if you don'te want the more creative closups.

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