Clip of the Week: Invisible Drum Kit

Rowan Atkinson is somewhat of a genius. Not everyone will hold as high an opinion of him as I do, but then again, not everyone has seen Atkinson’s insane drum skills, sans real drums.

Atkinson, known best for his TV and movie role as the bumbling Mr. Bean, sweeps his way onto a bare stage, like a janitor in the wrong room. His broom hits a non-existent drum, and he’s visibly surprised. He picks up a pair of invisible drumsticks, and a spotlight is instantly focused directly on him.

Sitting down on a stool, the stage’s only real prop, he begins to test the empty space in front of him, gradually finding the drums and cymbals. Of course he manages to get his hand caught in the high-hat.

As he gains confidence, the solos get more complicated, and he manages to match his pit counterpart perfectly. If you squint, you could almost see the drums.

For a different sound, he opens a bottle of water, non-existent of course, and alters the amount of water until it reaches the perfect pitch.

I won’t ruin all of the jokes, but by the end of the clip, he will play the foot pedals with his hand, kick a cymbal, run down an impossible length of drums and irreparably damage a (fake) cat.

I wish I could play real drums that well.

-Eric Meyers, asst. copy editor

Published on October 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm