# Blue Man Group: My first taste **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354 "2009-07-08T18:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/1 "2009-07-08T18:31:19Z")
Browsing Apple’s HD video page, I decided to click on the link to a Blue Man Group performance video: [http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/blue\_man.html](http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/blue_man.html) (It appears you’ll need at least QuickTime 7 to view the video.) Holy crap, that was awesome! I think I’ll buy the DVD, if I can find it. But one question: Who is the woman singing with them, and why am I finding her so overwhelmingly sexually attractive when she doesn’t physically match anything I normally find most attractive (and she’s not really doing anything sensual - she’s just singing)? Maybe it’s the same thing I have with Jennifer Nettles - physically I’d normally find her “meh”, except her voice gives me a hard-on, and as a result I find the whole package irresistible. Reading their WikiPedia page I see they’ve had a number of guest vocalists. I’ve looked up each of those listed, and she probably comes closest to maybe being Tracy Bonham (who, upon watching a few of her videos, I found to be completely awesome), but I don’t think it’s her. Tracy is much thinner. Then again, the Tracy Bonham stuff I found was mostly from 10+ years ago, but the face still doesn’t quite match. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/2 "2009-07-08T18:52:48Z")
I don’t have the plug-in to view this, but is it the [Venus Hum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Hum) segment (with the girl in the rainbow-light dress)? She is quite gorgeous, and Venus Hum’s own music is worth a listen. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/3 "2009-07-08T19:06:31Z")
D’OH! It occurred to me that I could just take some screenshots of the singer while the video played on my Mac … [http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman1.jpg](http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman1.jpg) [http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman2.jpg](http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman2.jpg) [http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman3.jpg](http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman3.jpg) The song being performed is “Up to the Roof”. I checked the girl from Venus Hum earlier and determined it wasn’t her. (At least I didn’t think she looked anything like the singer in the video.) ETA: There’s actually a bit of Sarah Palin resemblance going on 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/4 "2009-07-08T19:12:07Z")
Oh, and speaking of the “rainbow-light dress”, this is in the video playing on the screen behind the group: [http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman4.jpg](http://www.mister-rik.com/hosted/blueman4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/5 "2009-07-08T19:12:45Z")
In the BMG show that I saw, the girl in the rainbow light dress WAS Tracy Bonham. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/6 "2009-07-08T19:41:48Z")
Poking around on YouTube, apparently Tracy Bonham _was_ the original singer for _Up to the Roof_: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvRd_wGiMig) And one of the comments on that vid clued me in that the current singer (in the HD video from Apple’s site) is [Adrian Hartley](http://www.adrianhartley.com/?mpf=frame&). (Auto-play sound on that site.) So that answers that 🙂 And this video shows it was the singer from Venus Hum in the rainbow dress in the original version of _I Feel Love_: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-ClvcHtK4) ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/7 "2009-07-08T20:00:18Z")
**Rik** if you poke around the internet a little more, you’ll find BMG doing The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” with Tracy Bonham singing and playing violin, from the NBC show “America’s Got talent” first season final episode. You should check it out ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/8 "2009-07-08T20:29:57Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > And this video shows it was the singer from Venus Hum in the rainbow dress in the original version of _I Feel Love_: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-ClvcHtK4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-ClvcHtK4) That…is awesome. I have seen the BMG show in NYC a number of times, but not a concert. But the minute I saw “I Feel Love” mentioned in the thread I immediately thought - ooo, the synth line would lend itself perfectly to their tube-drumming - and boy does it ever. That sounds very cool and the big guitars and strong female vocals round it out nicely. Bet that is quite a show to see live… ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/9 "2009-07-08T21:13:25Z")
Yeah, I’m gonna keep my eyes open in case they ever play Seattle. Of course, with my luck the date will be right in the middle of one of our busy stretches at work and I won’t be able to get away. ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/10 "2009-07-09T04:23:30Z")
I saw them in concert a few years ago. They were EXCELLENT! My only disappointment was that the show was only around an hour long. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/11 "2009-07-09T16:32:19Z")
I saw the BMG Complex Rock tour with Tracy Bonham doing up on the roof, and Venus Hum’s lead singer, Annette Strean, in the electric dress doing “I feel Love.” It was one of the most amazing…uh…maybe concert isn’t the right word…how about experience? ---
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/12 "2009-07-09T16:52:06Z")
> [@Sean\_Factotum](#): > > **Rik** if you poke around the internet a little more, you’ll find BMG doing The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” with Tracy Bonham singing and playing violin, from the NBC show “America’s Got talent” first season final episode. You should check it out Being pedantic, I’m going to point out it’s “Baba Riley”. BMG mistitled it as “Baba O’Riley” in one of their programs, and on the CD is a humorous footnote explaining the supposed history of the song’s title, and why their typo is “actually correct.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/13 "2009-07-09T18:01:12Z")
> [@InkBlot](#): > > Being pedantic, I’m going to point out it’s “Baba Riley”. BMG mistitled it as “Baba O’Riley” in one of their programs, and on the CD is a humorous footnote explaining the supposed history of the song’s title, and why their typo is “actually correct.” Cite for this? It was Baba O’Riley on my copy of that particular Who album, which was purchased in the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/14 "2009-07-09T18:03:35Z")
> [@Nom\_de\_Plume](#): > > I saw the BMG Complex Rock tour with Tracy Bonham doing up on the roof, and Venus Hum’s lead singer, Annette Strean, in the electric dress doing “I feel Love.” It was one of the most amazing…uh…maybe concert isn’t the right word…how about experience? I like the explanation of the name “Venus Hum”: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Venus Hum is an electronic pop music group from Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of vocalist Annette Strean and multi-instrumentalists Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle. Miracle has a rare heart condition which results in perpetually hearing his own heartbeat in his ears. This condition is known as “venous hum”, from which the group’s name is derived. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/15 "2009-07-09T18:24:12Z")
SWMBO and I went to see BMG in Las Vegas last February. Awesome doesn’t even come close to describing them. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/16 "2009-07-09T19:07:48Z")
The whole DVD of The Complex Rock Tour is Awesome! (I think I’m going to have to dig that out and watch it again!). I first saw the show on the DirecTV channel that played free concerts on weekends (can’t remember what it was called then, it’s changed names several times since I had it) and bought the DVD not too long after that because I enjoyed it so much. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/17 "2009-07-09T19:08:01Z")
> [@InkBlot](#): > > Being pedantic, I’m going to point out it’s “Baba Riley”. BMG mistitled it as “Baba O’Riley” in one of their programs, and on the CD is a humorous footnote explaining the supposed history of the song’s title, and why their typo is “actually correct.” > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Cite for this? It was Baba O’Riley on my copy of that particular Who album, which was purchased in the 70’s. The BMG mispelling was “Baba O’ Reilly”: (note that they spelled Townshend wrong…on purpose, maybe?) > [@](#): > > Why is Baba O’Riley spelled incorrectly as “Baba O’ Reilly” on the Complex Rock Tour Live DVD? Actually it is spelled correctly. It is the version on “Who’s Next” that is wrong. Here’s what happened: When the artwork for Who’s Next was first printed back in 1971, someone in the record company misread Pete Townsend’s messy handwriting and spelled the song “Baba O’ Riley” instead of “Baba O’ Reilly.” Townsend was despondent about the spelling mistake because the song was meant to reference a cousin who he was particularly fond of. The label agreed to correct the mistake during the second printing of the album but within weeks of the release of Who’s Next, Baba O’Riley got heavy airplay on “progressive” FM radio stations throughout the world. As a result, Townsend was forced to live with the mistake. When Blue Man Group contacted Townsend to ask permission for their cover version of the song, his one stipulation was that Blue Man group restore the song to its original spelling. "I owe it to my cousin, even if it means thousands of blokes thinking that the people at Blue Man Group have a poor grasp on rock history. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/18 "2009-07-10T00:28:03Z")
> [@FalconFinder](#): > > The whole DVD of The Complex Rock Tour is Awesome! (I think I’m going to have to dig that out and watch it again!). I second that emotion! ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/19 "2009-07-10T18:29:49Z")
I’ve been a fan of BMG for a lot of years after seeing one of their original shows in Vegas. I saw The Complex concert also, and I have to say I was mildly disappointed with it. The Blue Man Group “show” in Vegas was vastly superior, inventive, and just mind-blowingly odd/fascinating/delightful. The Complex tour was much more of a concert than an experience. I still enjoyed The Complex, but wasn’t blown away (as I was hoping and expecting). For anyone unfamiliar with BMG, go see their show first, not their concerts. I know it plays in Vegas, and (after just looking it up on their site) also in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Orlando. J. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354/20 "2009-07-10T18:36:35Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The BMG mispelling was “Baba O’ Reilly”: (note that they spelled Townshend wrong…on purpose, maybe?) Thanks. I _knew_ **inkblot** ’s assertion couldn’t be right. Unless I’d moved to a parallel universe, anyway. Oh, and I like BMG too, seen em in Chicago twice now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-man-group-my-first-taste/502354.md?page=2)