When people hang out for the halftime show at football games to watch the marching band, a lot of people are not looking at the tuba or bass drum players thinking "Man, I want to be them." Otherwise, the most popular video game in the country would be "French Horn Hero III."

But on Thursday, Jan. 17 at the Missouri Theater in front of a near sold-out crowd of 1,100 people, the drum and bugle corps Broadway spectacular 'Blast!' came to town. After it was all said and done, based on the multiple purchases of souvenir drum sticks and the crowd's enthusiastic reaction, it was the "band geeks" who became rock stars.

Bringing a drum and bugle corps-style performance from the football field to the stage may seem tricky. Hash marks and yard lines were replaced with three rows of six black squares with white outlines and an upper level was built in the back of the stage to house timpanis, a drumset, marimbas, xylophones and anything else you can go make go "clang," "boom" or "thwack."

It was clear from the opening number of Ravel's "Bolero" with it's single snare drum placed centerstage with their powerful and mobile brass section that this event was going to have an exhilerating sweep-you-off-your feet effect. It was also abundantly clear that this performance group did a lot more than play their instruments and roll their feet marching. Between the trumpet players tossing their instruments skyward only to catch them and keep playing and incorporating complicated choreography, wardrobe changes, use of props and lighting scheme reassured audiences that this was theater, no question.

Of course, all of this would mean nothing if these performers didn't dance and play their butts off. The trumpet soloist hit high enough notes on the "Chicago"-esque "Everybody Loves The Blues" that dogs could be heard barking within a mile radius.

And then there was the highlight of Act I. The "Battery Battle" featured two of the best marching band snare drummers you will ever hear. The first one played on a standing snare, utilizing the drum's stand, shell and any other part he could hit to do rapid fire rolls and stick clicks, balancing his sticks on his shoulders, forearms and even his ear while still keeping a metronome-steady beat. The second snare drummer carried his marching-band style, juggling sticks and executing similar how-did-he-do-that drum tactics. The real thrills came later in the number, when the two snare drummers "battled," imitating a street fight, accenting moves with hits and rim shots as they ran around the stage (at one time, they imitated a full-on bull fight, dramatic drum roll included).

It only got better when the lights dimmed and black-lit to highlight their pants and sticks. Other drummers joined them one-by-one playing in unison only to have a rack of elevated tom toms and cymbals lowered in front of them to let them bang out the piece's exciting final movement.

Act II (which was preceded by a sort of "Stomp"-inspired intermission number with drum sticks, stools and an upside down plastic trash can) had several numbers that featured the dancers and color guard, with a visual stunner involving syncronized glow stick baton work. Surprises seemed to be a common theme in the act. Whether it be the musicians running out in the crowd playing and occasionally extending a high five to an audience member, a number where the cast played didgeridoos or the showstopping three part finale "Spirtual of the Earth" with its Latin and African rhythms, the possibilities of 'Blast!' seemed limitless.

The horns were loud and virtuously played, the drums blew your mind, the choreography was top notch (especially considering they were playing and dancing simultaneously). I could go on. Based on the standing ovation at the end, 'Blast!' was not just the name of the performance, it's also what everyone in the audience had.