Witz End Podcast - JAA Profile, Music, History and More

The stars lined up for me to do a podcast with Rich Williams and Millie Allen for their Witz End podcast. Was great to be interviewed for a change, and once we got past the tell-us-about-being-an-analyst part, we had some fun. They quizzed me about music and Canadian history, and there was even some impromptu piano playing. Not your everyday podcast, but it keeps things interesting, and if you want to check it out, here’s the link. Ok -back to work now.

Next Stop - Jacksonville for NEC and Another SIPTones Gig!

I've been following NEC for a long time, and this will be my first time attending their annual event. The main focus will be customers and partners, but there will also be some analysts and consultants at NEC's Advantage Executive Conference.

Am looking forward to meeting more of NEC's executive team, along with roadmap updates, especially for their UC platform, Univerge Blue.

I'll also be part of the fun, doing another stint on keyboards with the SIPTones. We've been working on our songs, and as per the agenda, we're playing poolside for attendees Thursday night. Hope to see you there, ready to dance!

If you haven't seen us play, here's our most recent gig at last fall's SCTC conference in Atlanta:

Making Music with the SIPtones at Interactions 2014

Most of you know me as an analyst, and I'm not in the habit of putting my personal life on public display. I still get my share of spam, but let's keep this upbeat!

Music is my biggest passion, and I've been playing piano and guitar most of my life. If you follow how my youngest son, Dean, is progressing with his music career, that should give you some clues as to where that's coming from. I can only take some of the credit, though - he's got a real gift, and my job is help him take it to full potential.

He bypassed my guitar playing years ago, but I still love to play, mostly blues, R&B and some jazz. I was really happy to have a chance to do that recently with the SIPtones, who got play a long, two hour set at Indy's top blues bar, the Slippery Noodle.

The gig took place earlier this month during the Interactions 2014 event, held by Interactive Intelligence, a vendor most of you will be familiar with. The SIPtones are all consultants by day, and they've been doing this a while. By night, it's Wayne Sos on bass, Stephen Leaden on drums, Rick Hathaway on saxes, and Mike Moszynski on guitar and harp.

They were nice enough to let me guest on a few numbers, with all but one on keyboard. Towards the end of the night, I comped on guitar while Mike did a Juke-like harp raveup, Off the Wall, including playing on top of the tables in the crowd. Whoo hoo!

Rick is the bandleader, and like all good bandleaders, he documents their gigs. He put together a nine minute highlight reel of the evening, and it's been posted now to YouTube. Unless you're a SIPtones groupie, you'll never find it, so I'm being the brand ambassador here and sharing it with you.

I'm on keyboard off and on throughout the compilation, and while the sound isn't great, I'm easy to spot on the far left of the stage. When comping Mike on guitar, I'm on the far right - that clip is near the end of the video.

Anyhow, watch as much as you like, and please share it with anyone who might enjoy it - or better yet, sign the band to a mega-deal and world tour. Rick is standing by on his SIP phone, and I'll keep practicing to keep the dream alive.  :-)









Remember When Rock Was Fun?

It's been a very intense week getting the Smart Grid Summit planned and launched. Anyone who thinks conferences are easy to do haven't done this before! It definitely gets easier over time, but we're after a new market and new audience, so most of what we're doing is laying the foundation for something we think has a long road ahead.

It's Friday, and to look on the lighter side, I wanted to de-stress a bit with a post about the Chickenfoot concert the other night. For those who follow these things, Chickenfoot is a very fun, happening hard rock mashup, with 4 veterans playing some great rock music - Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith. I'm not a huge fan of their legacy bands, but I'm a guitar guy, so Satch is pretty special. More importantly, my younger son is a budding guitar shred-meister, and seeing players like this in person is a real treat. Chickenfoot is just finding their touring legs, and their Toronto show here on Wednesday was fantastic.

All I can say is if you love a good rock show, go see these guys. There's a reason why 80's rock went away, and there's only a little of that in their show - and hopefully they'll winnow that out as their tour progresses. Otherwise, these guys really rock, and just plain have FUN. I don't know about you, but I don't have enough fun any more, and it really takes you back to when all the rock shows were this good and this much fun. Sure makes you miss being a teenager, but I can take turning back the clock for a few hours for something like this.

I'm back to work now, but here's a bit of what we were seeing the other night.




Fall VON - Photo/Video Highlights

Am back from Fall VON now, and have not had much chance at all to blog. Got a bunch of things coming, and this is the first one up. I'm just doing photos and a Herding Cats video clip here - really to showcase the Nokia N90, since it doubles as my camera/camcorder when I travel. More posts coming tomorrow - just too tired to do anything else right now!



Two ways to make yourself look larger than life - me and my shadow, and Jeff on one of the big video monitors during his keynote on Tuesday. It's ok for Jeff to be larger than life here - it was his birthday!

Image306.jpgImage324.jpg


Jeff doing his keynote, and one of his slides about how voice is really just an Internet application. Much of his keynote focused on how video is no different with IP, and that the same disruption we saw with voice is happening now with video.

Image323.jpgImage319.jpg


Jeff gave several examples of how video and broadcasting are quickly becoming Net-centric. He's just gotten into Second Life, and here's a shot of avatars watching Jeff present in his virtual world call Pulveria. The really cool thing is that Jeff actually conversed with one of these avatars in real time during his preso, which all of us could see and hear. For those of you who need something more that what real life has to offer, this is a pretty neat way to put your imagination to work in a virtual world.

Image325.jpg


Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman of AOL probably gave the most dynamic presentation of the show, and really opened us up to some of the cool things that AOL is offering today, as they try to take Web 2.0 mainstream. While not quite the 10 Commandments, here are his 7 "web virtues" for success in this space. He's good!

Image331.jpgImage332.jpg


Other stuff of note. First, Iotum's screen interface at the AIM PhoneLine booth. They are one of the developers being showcased by AIM at the show. Second photo - the VON youth brigade - a panel called "Next Generation Networking - Literally". Some of these guys aren't old enought to drink yet, but they sure know what works in the Web 2.0 world.

Image348.jpgImage335.jpg


The blogger's panel - moderated by Alec Saunders, and joined by Jeff Pulver, Andy Abramson, Dan York, Martin Geddes, Brough Turner, and remotely via SightSpeed, Om Malik.

Image346.jpgImage347.jpg


If there's a sacred cow in Boston, it's my Red Sox. What a cool idea. If you must see this for yourself, it's in the lobby of the Marriott in Copley Square. Love the hat and the shoes!

Image350.jpg


Time to move on to the party last night. Got some good photos - and lots of bad ones, plus a video clip down below. If you haven't seen the Herding Cats, you're missing the most fun band around, and they've become a staple at Jeff's parties.

Oh, and if you like this, and want to see more Herding Cats photos and video clips, you'll enjoy my post about their show at Globalcomm this summer.


Image375.jpgImage388.jpg


Image365.jpgImage390.jpg


If you've seen the finale of their show, you'll know what song this is. The water spraying up from the drums is a great effect they use during Whole Lotta Love. I'm wondering if anyone out there noticed a subtle lick they managed to work in while they were grooving along on this song. It was a short take on Cream's Spoonful, which I picked up right away, being a Clapton afficianado. I just loved that one - anyone else out there catch that? I hadn't heard that one before - nice twist.

Image391.jpg


Finally, here's my video clip of their take on Bon Jovi via my Nokia N90 - very fun. Gotta love YouTube...





Technorati tags: , , ,

Jazz Ringtones � Who Says Art and Commerce Don�t Mix?

Don�t get me wrong, I love VoIP, and think tech is pretty cool, but if I was stranded on an island with the choice of one inanimate distraction, it would be a piano, hands-down. Jazz and blues are real core passions, and when a jazz buddy shared this with me, I just had to post about it.

If you�re a jazz fan, you know all about Blue Note Records - and if you don�t, but want to, look for me at VON, and we�ll walk over to Berklee and go from there. Anyhow, Blue Note recently launched a series of custom ringtones, drawing from their incredible catalog of modern jazz, mostly from the 50s and 60s. The jazz mind thrills to the thought of having the cell phone ring with classics like Watermelon Man, My Funny Valentine or Straight No Chaser. And my favorite, Horace Silver�s Song For My Father. If you�re a big-time Steely Dan fan like me, you�ll really want that one. In case you don�t know it, this is the tune the catchy riff from Ricky Don�t Lose That Number was lifted from. Check it out if you don�t believe me�..

And to whet your appetite,I can think of no better image to bring this together than the vintage Blue Note album from one of my faves, Dexter Gordon � appropriately titled Dexter Calling, with a cover shot of Dex making a call from a phone booth. How cool is that? Of course if Dex was still with us, he'd be doing it today with a mobile phone.

Dexter Callilng.jpg



Nobody ever thought ring tones would be a big business, and it�s incredible what people will � and will not � spend money on. As frivolous as ring tones are, Blue Note is simply extending the idea in a creative way that totally works for their audience. It�s tasteful and hip at the same time � not crass marketing, and it�s not Warholian pop culture. And if it liberates a few disposable dollars from cell phone users and funnels them back to the jazz community, then we have capitalism that even Castro would like.

That�s what�s so great about IP and a lot of today�s other technologies � they work equally well for a large market as for a niche market. In that regard, IP is a lot like the improvisational nature of jazz � it�s flexible, open, and thrives on user-defined content and highly personalized experiences. Now if we could just make jazz as popular�..










Technorati tags: , , ,

Globalcomm - House of Blues Parties - Herding Cats Photos/Video Clips

Tuesday had lots of parties and receptions. I'm sure I was with the herd and stuck with one venue. The House of Blues had two events - Pulvermedia's blowout show with Jeff's perennial house band, the Herding Cats. These guys are flat out great, and this was the best I've seen them for sure. MetaSwitch also had a party at HOB, but a more scaled down event. It was still fun, though, and I particularly enjoyed it because they had a great blues band, Mississippi Heat. That's my kind of music, and Chicago is where you go for the real thing, so I was pretty happy to see them.
So, here are the best photos plus a 3 part video of the Herding Cats, all shot from my Nokia N90. If you've seen the Herding Cats before, you'll love this post. I haven't come across any clips of them, so this could be a first. The clips are highlights from their signature closer, "Whole Lotta Love", and if you haven't seen them, this will be a treat. Links to the clips are at the end of this post, after all the photos. Hope you like it, and please let me know what you think!
Ok, here we go....
I didn't realize HOB was next door to the Marina City Towers, definitely the coolest apartment complex (marina included) I've ever seen. Chicago is one vertical town.

 

Carol Daniels, MetaSwitch's gracious host, among many other things; Mississippi Heat band


Herding Cats photos....

Every rock star's fantasy- the women in the crowd couldn't help themselves, and just had to get up onstage and do their thing - ye-ahhh, baby.......
The star of the show - this guy is just plain awesome. Ginger Baker is still my all-time fave, but this guy will give a run for his money. Note to self - suggest to band they cover Toad, Ginger's showstopper from Cream....
Let's not forget the rest of the band - this is one tight unit...

And finally, no Herding Cats show is complete without the incomparable "Mustang" Farrell Shapiro. He always does a great Mustang Sally, along with Tiny Dancer and a rocking You Shook Me All Night Long. He's so at home on stage.
It's Jeff's party, so if he wants to get up there and lead the sing-along, nobody's going to object. All together now - "Ride, Sally Ride"...

Herding Cats video clips - each is about 2-3 minutes long, and should be watched in order. The whole Led Zep performance is longer than this, but hey, I'm doing this off a phone, not a HandyCam....

Part 1 - that opening riff is sooooo cool - you just know this is going to be good...

Part 2 - check out the strobe light effect - at certain points, the video looks out of synch with the audio

Part 3 - anyone who has seen their show will know why this clip opens with a shot of an empty water bottle. The drummer - John - pours water over the top of his drums during this sequence, and when he brings down the drumsticks full force, the water explodes upwards - very cool effect, but I didn't catch it on tape - dang!

Technorati tags: , , ,

Join Moby and Me on a ConCall to Save the Internet!

For those of you wrapped up in the Net Neutrality debate, and happen to be passionate about music and artistic freedom, you probably know about Save the Internet.com

Got an email late today about a concall being hosted by Moby - yes, Moby - Play, 18, etc. - about how musicians are banding together in an effort to keep the Internet open, accessible and democratic.

THE CALL IS TODAY - THURSDAY - AT 12:15 EST. SEE DETAILS AT THE END OF THE PRESS RELEASE BELOW TO RSVP AND DIAL IN. HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT.


Pretty interesting stuff, and I'm sure we'll be seeing more voices like this from other corners of the arts world. Digital media is so disruptive, and Net Neutrality speaks to the essence of how important the Internet has become as a distribution channel and vital link between recording artists and their audience. Nobody has got this figured out yet, and much like what we saw with Napster, this is another step along the way to how IP is redefining an industry faster than anyone can comprehend.

Anyone who saw Michael Geist speak at the Mesh conference this week in Toronto will understand this totally.


The press release isn't up on their website yet, but here's the gist of it....

R.E.M. and Moby Speak Out for Internet Freedom, Against Corporate Web Takeover
Musicians band together to demand Net Neutrality with congressional showdown over the future of the Internet imminent

WASHINGTON -- Rock group R.E.M. is joining Moby and a growing list of musicians pushing Congress to protect the Internet from corporate takeover by AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and other telecommunications giants.

Major artists and musicians are signing the "Artists and Musicians for Internet Freedom" petition -- joining Internet advocates, political groups on the right and left, consumer advocates, and more than 600 diverse organizations on the SavetheInternet.com Coalition. This coalition is uniting Internet users against a congressional proposal to gut Network Neutrality -- the Internet's First Amendment.

"This is yet another attempt by corporations and their congressional buddies to pull our society backward rather than moving us forward," Michael Stipe of R.E.M said. "These corporations are trying to set up tollbooths on the information superhighway. We need to keep Net Neutrality so the Internet remains a free and level playing field."

R.E.M. also blogged about this issue as the top item on their Web site, www.remhq.com.

Net Neutrality ensures that small music blogs and independent news sites open just as easily on people's computers as large corporate sites. Companies like AT&T are spending millions lobbying Congress to let them decide which Web sites work best based on which corporations pay them the most.

"If Congress guts Net Neutrality, independent music and news sites would be choked off, consumer choice would be limited, and the Internet will be become a private toll road auctioned off by companies like AT&T," warned Moby. "We need to stand up for Internet freedom now. Congress must uphold Network Neutrality."

Moby will join Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet, for a Net Neutrality event Thursday in Washington.

The Save the Internet.com Coalition -- an alliance of organizations from across the political spectrum, consumer groups, educators, small businesses and bloggers that have joined together to protect Internet freedom -- has galvanized support for Internet freedom from artists, musicians and hundreds of thousands of average citizens who will hold Congress accountable on this issue. Nearly 700,000 people have signed an Internet Freedom petition to Congress on the site, more than 7,000 friends have joined SavetheInternet.com's MySpace, and thousands of blogs have linked to the coalition.

R.E.M's announcement: www.remhq.com
SavetheInternet.com Coalition: www.savetheinternet.com

RSVP for Thursday's conference call with Moby to cstevens@fenton.com

******CONFERENCE CALL WITH MOBY******
Date/Time: Thursday, May 18th - 12:15pm (EST)/9:15am (PST)
Participant Dial In: 1-800-905-0392 - Password: Net Neutrality
RSVP - cstevens@fenton.com



Maple Blues Awards - Photos

I'm at the TMC ITExpo this week. It's quiet this morning, but things will get busy real soon. The weather is great down here - can't complain, that's for sure.

I've been meaning to post some photos of the MBA event last week. This is the major awards event for the Canadian blues scene, put on by the Toronto Blues Society. I took a bunch of photos my Nokia N90 phone. Very mixed quality, but here are some of the better shots. Took some video clips as well, and the sound is pretty good. I plan to post these on the bloggers site, developed specially for N90 users. Was planning to post these on Friday, but our high speed service went down that night, and my next chance was last night, but the PC I was using kept crashing on me! But now I've got the right horses, and here we are.


G Mason.jpg

Rising star from Nova Scotia, Garrett Mason



C Linden.jpg

Vancouver-based David Hurricane Hoerhl, blowing harp with the Maple Blues house band

Ian Angus.jpg

Canada's telecom guru, Ian Angus, wearing his other hat as a TBS mainstay

Image177.jpg

The ever versatile and always excellent Colin Linden with the crack Maple Blues house band.

Maple Blues Awards Winners

Just a quick post about the winners on Monday night from the Maple Blues Awards, held here in Toronto. I promised to pass this on - you never know who might be a Canadian blues fan out there. The event was first rate, and if anyone was wondering if the blues were alive in Canada, this is all they would have to see to know what the real deal is.

I took many photos and some video on my Nokia N90. Being in a club, the lighting conditions were very uneven, but there were some photos worthy of posting. Also the sound quality on the video segments is pretty good for a phonecam! Just been too busy to get them posted - hopefully later in the week.

Life Goes On � Patriots Out, Big Night for the Blues

Just a quick post about some of the other important things in my life�

Am still in shock about how the Patriots lost to Denver.

I�ll be brief and then move on. It�s hard to ignore how their incredible run � certainly one of the top 5 NFL runs of all time � could end in such an ugly, ignomious way. Will just say they were NOT beaten by a better team. A couple of BAD calls were enough to do them in, and on top that, those 5 turnovers were just plain unreal. Vinateri missing a chip shot. Brady getting picked when they were on the verge of taking the game over. They don�t make mistakes like this � absolutely no explanation for it.

Denver�s offense was a non-factor in the game � all their points came at the expense of Patriot miscues and bad calls that robbed them of a game they should have won. To be fair, Denver�s defence really was the story � they forced a lot of those mistakes that did the Pats in � they beat themselves - this was no Orange Crush, and Jake Plummer is no Tom Brady. And the AFC final should be a great game.

All I can say is that the same sports gods who slipped the mojo of my Red Sox to the Chisox decided it was time to do the same to the Patriots. It�s just how they even things out in the big scheme of things. All the breaks that always seemed to go the Patriots� way the past 4 years were balanced out in one game here, and most of that in the last 90 seconds of the first half! Cruel, cruel, ye gods.

No doubt, the �tuck rule� Super Bowl Patriots would have had those calls go their way � so, pass interference getting called on Denver, not us � which is what should have happened. Ben Watson�s brilliant effort to stop Champ Bailey could have resulted in a Patriot touchback, changing the whole complexion of the game. But they didn�t get those calls, and the gods can now rest easy � there will be no 3peat, and the rest of the football world can take solace in watching the Pats get some comeuppance. Ok, I'm over it now.

Given this was a full moon weekend, and it was Friday the 13th, it�s not surprising that the sports gods had other teams on their mind as well. How else do you explain Vangerjagt missing yesterday with the season on the line?? All I could think of was how similar it was to Vinateri missing in a situation on Saturday where he�s come through without fail. Of course, Van�s was much more critical, and it didn�t help to be wearing #13! I�ll bet those two guys will have a lot to commiserate about in the off-season.

And Bettis fumbling for the first time all year, in a situation that could/should have let Indy pull off a fantastic come from behinder??? This just doesn�t happen. And it�s no way for the Bus to end his great career. And just to come full circle, I had a feeling Pittsburgh would win, letting them do the dirty work to dispatch the Colts. All the Pats had to do was beat Denver � as they should have � and the road to Detroit would have then gone through Foxborough, where you know they would have beaten the Steelers. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bring on the Panthers�.. I�ll be busy reading up on the Red Sox spring training schedule�..


Let�s move on the present � it�s much more uplifting�.

Blues is another of my passions, and tonight is our version of the Academy Awards in Canada. I�m a long time board member of the Toronto Blues Society, and tonight is our Maple Blues Awards event. In recent years this has grown to a national event and I recently posted a link for Canadian blues fans to vote online for their favorite homegrown blues performers. It�s really cool and it�s a great way to recognize our best, many of whom toil endlessly in the clubs, keeping the blues alive. Can�t help but notice it�s on MLK day this year � a happy coincidence, although the holiday has zero significance in Canada unfortunately.

Tomorrow I�ll post the highlights of all the winners � can�t do that now � it�s a big secret! Until then, I�m posting a wonderful profile of Richard Flohil, which ran in the Globe & Mail on Saturday. Richard has served the TBS for many years on the board, and is one of those seen-it-all guys with great stories about everyone in the blues biz over the past 40 years or so. In recognition for a lifetime of making Canadian blues happen, Richard is being honored with our Blues Booster Award. The article has some great anecdotes of his that any blues lover will enjoy, so check it out!

On the Topic of Voting - Vote for the Blues if You're Canadian

This is my third posting with a voting theme in the past two days - not sure if there's a trend here, but I needed to bring this one into the mix.

Blues is one of my passions, and I'm a lifer on the board of the Toronto Blues Society. We have an annual awards program for the Canadian blues community - the MBAs - Maple Blues Awards. It's grown into a truly national event in the past few years, and the balloting has now moved online.

If you're a blues fan, and live in Canada, we'd love your participation!! I need to clarify that only Canadian residents are eligible to vote, so this posting may only be of interest to a handful of you out there. I'll go on the honor system here, folks. Just trying to bring the blues to the blogosphere!


TBS.gif






You can read all about it and cast your votes here. Most of the categories are for Canadian blues artists, and if you don't know the local scene, that's ok. There are some categories for international artists, so if you're a blues fan, but don't get out that much, you can still vote.

Cream at MSG - Living Vicariously is Better Than Nothing at All

Some of you know Fred Wilson, a NY-based VC. He's quite a guy, and loves a lot of the things that I love, including great music. I recently got introduced to him, and I smiled very broadly when I saw his posting on the Cream concert from Monday night at MSG. Fred's not your ordinary VC, that's for sure.

I'm a huge fan, and Clapton is one of those guys who changed my life and brought me deep into blues music, where I still dwell! That's a whole web site unto itself - another time. I was too young to see Cream in their heyday, but have some great stills of their only Toronto appearance from a friend of mine - I think it was '68.

Needless to say, I didn't see Monday's show, but Fred was there, and he's posted his photos - what a lucky guy. Thanks, Fred - and I hope you don't mind me sharing this!

Red, White & Blue - It's All Good

This is one of my occasional postings that's not about IP, and touches on some of the other things that keep me up at night! Being both Canadian and American, I take extra solace in the halo of all the flag-waving that just passed this weekend. This was one of those years where both Canada Day and Independence Day lined up as bookends to the weekend. Both countries have things to feel good about, although you'd never know it from the G8 meetings. That said, there's some nice convergence there for me that covers red, white and blue!

Now a little bit more on red and little bit on blue....

My beloved Red Sox are somehow in first place! As we approach the All Star break, I read somewhere that the Sox haven't been in first place this late in the season since 2001. At face value this is good news, but any card-carrying member of the Nation just sees this as a harbinger of doom. Are the Yankees making their move now? Will they stay this hot? What if Schilling's return doesn't pick up the pitching staff? What if Foulke is done? What if Clement's run is over? What if Bellhorn keeps striking out at this rate? What if nobody else steps up the offense aside from Manny and Ortiz? What happens when Damon's hit streak ends? What if Renteria keeps making errors and just hits ok? Will Millar ever find his swing? What's wrong with Trot? What happens if someone gets hurt? What happens if they can't find a way to beat the Blue Jays? I could go on forever, but I think you get the idea. I only posted once about the Sox at the very beginning of the season, and I still have the same doubts now. But at least this time, we're in first place. I'll check back in again on this after the next Sox-Yankees series.

Blue is about the blues - my favorite form of music. Blues are a big part of my life, and I've been on the board of the Toronto Blues Society forever. We just celebrated our 20th anniversary, and I'm wearing my TBS hat now to share that news with the blogging community. To commemorate the event, we just produced a special CD that showcases Canada's best blues talent. If you're a blues fan, and want a taste of what's coming from the Great White North, this is the ultimate sampler. It's a double CD, with 37 tracks - household names for Canadian blues fans, and a great way to broaden your horizons for first rate blues.


TBS 20th Ann.jpg








If you want to check it out, or learn more about the Toronto Blues Society, please visit our website. You can also order the CD online or call our toll free number, which is posted on the site. At $20 CDN it's a great deal. While you're there, check out our t-shirts, hats and mugs. We'll get you covered and feeling good about the blues in no time!

Blue Man Group - Stanley Kubrick Meets David Byrne

This weekend I saw the Blue Man Group here in Toronto. BMG has been around a long time, but they just recently started a Toronto production. This may be old news to many of you, but I suspect if you saw the show in Las Vegas, it will feel more like entertainment than if you see it your local theater, where the whole experience seemed quite intimate, even though these guys never say a word.

As entertainment, it's superb - fun to watch, witty, funny, great music, colorful, inventive - well, you get the idea. And I won't give away the ending - very interactive and participatory. That stuff isn't hard to miss - these guys are good.

What I really liked was just how original the whole thing is. To me, this counts a lot considering how much things are recycled these days, or badly re-made. You don't see much out there that's really different, and also challenges you. I just love the way they explore the relationship between man and machine, and where art fits into a world that is becoming more and more based on technology and automation.

Not since Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey, have I seen something that's really explored this territory in a way that connects with you on a primal level. It's really not much of stretch to switch how the Blue Men react to everyday life with the way the apes reacted to the monolith in beginning of the film. That sense of fascination and wonder - that's what gives the Blue Men their charm - you can't really tell if they are man or machine.

I had to bring David Byrne into this because he also explores some of these themes in his music, and really brings it to life in his music, and a strong sense of rhythm and percussion. I'm a huge Heads fan, and I can see how their music might have evolved into something like what BMG does. It's really primal and edgy and keeps you connected to the ideas that the Blue Men are trying to get across. I especially liked the way they showed how Internet technology is actually increasing urban alienation rather than bringing us all together.

On the positive side, the central message for me is that BMG is showing us their vision of how to combine music and art with technology, and they're doing it in an original way that is really good. So, technology can serve a higher purpose than just making our lives more efficient, but it's hard as hell to do. That's what I liked most about BMG. It can be done, and you don't have to rely on everything that's come before.

Isn't that what we're trying to do with IP communications? Right - building a new communications network that is simply better for the age we live in - much like how the telephone displaced the telegraph. That seems appropriate to say given how effectively the Internet was used this weekend to broadcast all the Live8 concerts.

If you want to see what David Byrne is up to these days, and how he sees the role of art evolving in our global village, check out his Journal - it's really great. And while you're there, he's got a very cool Internet radio station. I think he's a great visionary for where art and technology meet and can make the world a better place.

Ok, so where's the VoIP tie-in? Well, this one's a stretch, but anyone who has seen the Herding Cats perform at Jeff Pulver's VON events will know where I'm coming from. Their showstopper is a killer version of Whole Lotta Love. This is one of those cases where the cover version really is as good as or better than original. I've certainly got my fave examples - but we'll have to take that conversation offline - that's another topic! Anyhow, the Cats version is really great, and at one point, their drummer, Jon, pours water onto his drums, and if you've seen the show, you know just how cool the effect is when he pounds away, and the water shoots up like a volcano.

BMG does this too, but with different colors of paint, and the effect is even more spectacular, and of course, much more theatrical. So, for the handful of us who have seen BMG and the Cats, you can't help but make the connection. Anybody out there know who actually came up with the idea? Maybe it was neither of them. Whatever - it's a great effect.