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I was excited to hear that STOMP was coming to town. In fact I was very excited. I first  learned of the percussion troop when I lived in the UK where the concept of STOMP was born in the sea side town of Brighton nearly two decades ago. So I had been waiting a long time for the show. Maybe my excitement was because; in my mid 30s I am still a raver at heart. Maybe because I collect instruments, that typically collect dust. Maybe I was just excited at going to the theaters for a show that would require little more thought from me other than to tap my foot in time to huge tribal beats, along with a capacity crowd at the magnificent Pantages Theatre. So the planets aligned and I finally got my tickets to STOMP. Front row, center on opening night. Needless to say, I had high expectations.
Silence as the stage lights settled on a lone guy with a broom who could have been  mistaken for a janitor that was cleaning up for the upcoming act, but then he started to sweep his way to the front of the stage. He stopped what he was doing and engaged the crowd with a quizzical look and then carried on with the task at hand. Sweeping, tapping, clicking heals and sweeping some more. From that point on the entire audience was to be transfixed for the next 90 minutes. Swoosh, tap, swoosh swoosh tap, he is joined on the stage by 7 other janitor types adding ever increasing layers of rhythm. Every part of the stage, set and the artist bodies was part of their musical ensemble.
The show quickly moves through each rhythmical scene with energy and grace, each  artist establishing their characters with apparent ease, the solo man, the clown, the pretty boy, the buffoon, the dancer, each working together and alone but never overshadowing or out doing each other; adults having fun like children, experimenting with just about anything that makes a sound.
Clapping solos that defy reason, a matchbox dance off , a hose pipe symphony that was both beautiful and hilarious, oil drums, paint cans, a Zippo light show, sawdust, inner tubes, news paper, buckets, fire extinguishers, hanging from the ceiling, break dancing, martial arts and just enough comedy to turn my constant smile into laughter. This really is the show with everything for the family, including the kitchen sink!
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