Blast!

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

ccAdditional 25 minutes of "Music in Motion: The Making of Blast!"
5.1 surround sound
Alternate camera angles and producer commentary on seleted pieces

Blast is a troupe of high-energy performers who travel the globe reinventing classical music with a postmodern formula. This video features the group performing several numbers and provides a behind-the-scenes look at their formation. Blast consists of more than 60 singers and dancers, each one a professional musician, who turn old favorites into something brand-new, often blending several pieces of music into one abstract medley. On this tape, viewers can experience Ravel's "Bolero," Copland's "Appalachian Spring," Mangione's "Land of Make Believe," and more. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide

• Side #1 --
  • Song Select
  • Play Blast!
  • Special Features
    • Special Feature: Alternate Angles
      • Bolero
      • Villa Borghese
      • Officer Krupke
    • Music in Motion: The Making of Blast!
    • Producer Commentary: Jim Mason
      • Bolero
      • Villa Borghese
      • Officer Krupke
      • Land of Make Believe
    • Sound Options: 5.1 Surround Sound
      • Turn 5.1 Surround Sound: On
      • Turn 5.1 Surround Sound: Off
    • Web Link: PBS Online
      • www.pbs.org/dvd/blast

Side #1 --
1. Introduction
2. Bolero
3. Villa Borghese
4. Split Complementaries
5. Everybody Loves the Blues
6. Loss
7. Down by the Wood
8. Simple Gifts
9. Appalachian Spring
10. Battery Battle
11. Medea
12. Blast Intermission
13. Colour Wheel
14. Officer Krupke
15. Lemon Techno
16. Tangerinamadidge
17. Land of Make Believe
18. Marimba Spiritual/Earth Beat
19. Malaguena
20. Encore/Credits