It isn’t quite “Stomp,” though there is plenty of noise to be made.
Nor is it in Blue Man Group or Cirque du Soleil territory, despite an emphasis on visuals and color.
So what is “Blast,” the percussion-heavy spectacle thundering into Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre this weekend?
“It’s halftime meets musical theater,” said Lindsey Gray, a French horn player in the 35-member cast and a native of Snellville.
This current “Blast” tour, which began in the fall and will continue through the end of the year with a multiple-month visit to Japan, is the first for Gray, a University of Georgia graduate and musician since childhood.
But Gray has the perfect tour guide for her inaugural journey -- “Blast” veteran Lance Kindl, a fellow Snellville resident, ace percussionist and also Gray’s boyfriend.
Kindl, who sometimes plays in the Atlanta Falcons drumline when he’s home, met Gray when he returned to UGA to earn a master’s degree in performance.
When the time came for him to enlist in his seventh “Blast” outing, Gray initially thought, “Well, it stinks for me, but it’s really awesome for him,” but she then used Kindl’s success as motivation.
“I decided that now is the time, so I put together my audition tape and I got cast, too,” she said.
During a chat at an area Starbucks while in town to visit family over the holidays, a chatty Kindl, 29, and perky Gray, 23, were unflagging in complimenting each other’s work.
Kindl frequently pulled from his deep knowledge of the production -- and his status as a road warrior used to traveling on a 55-passenger bus and scrounging for food from drive-thrus and gas stations post-show -- to explain the intricacies of “Blast.”
“It’s not just a dance thing or not just drums. With brass involved, they’re a huge part of the show, they play all of the melodies and harmonies so you get very tuneful songs,” he said. “There isn’t a story [in the show], but what separates us from ‘Blue Man’ or ‘Stomp’ is that we have traditional instruments and the performers do all of the movement.”
There is also the Visual Ensemble, the color guard team specializing in synchronized spinning and equipment-tossing.
“These people are crazy in a good way,” Kindl said with a laugh. “They’re fearless.”
Since its inception in London in 1999, “Blast,” which was originally conceived by organizers of the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, has been pared from a 75-member cast to 55 when it played Broadway in 2001 (and won a Tony for best special theatrical event) to its current cap of 35.
That pruning meant hiring multi-talented performers capable of handling playing instruments while engaging in coordinated movements and even some minor – wordless – acting.
“Everybody on stage really puts out energy to the audience. The first time my parents came to the show, they were like, ‘Who are you? What happened to our son?’ Growing up, I was always kinda quiet. It was in here somewhere,” Kindle said, pointing to his chest. “I just had to tap into it.”
Of the 15 color-themed segments in “Blast,” Kindl and Gray estimate they’re in a dozen, including performances of “Everybody Loves the Blues," in which the cast is drenched in a blue hue, and "Malagueña," performed in red, for Latin spice.
With its collection of jazz, blues and contemporary music, all swaddled in high-spirited performance moves, “Blast” is the proverbial something for all ages. Especially fans of snazzy percussion.
“We all trust each other as performers,” Kindl said. “It feels like magic when we’re all onstage and everything is going the right way.”
Event preview
Blast
8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $25-$51. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
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