Just got home from the Area2 concert. Busta Rhymes was the up-and-coming group, but Woz's mom and my son didn't appreciate them at all (we sat behind Woz's mom who was nice, but kept to herself, mostly, although you could tell she was royalty in this particular box -- Woz has 32 seats at Shoreline Amphitheater, which isn't a secret since there's a big sign on them that says "Woz" -- and lots came up to Woz's mom with hugs and kisses and such).

My son doesn't like hip hop. I think I'll hold that against him when he's a teenager in a few years.

Some interesting moments: walking around my eight-year-old son grabbed a condom from a table (Trojan was handing them out and I don't see any reason to shield him from the adult stuff in life, particularly since he's already asking me questions about sex and stuff like that) and asked "what's this?" That started an interesting discussion which grossed him out. Ahh, to be eight again when such things are gross. My son's growing up, though. I had my first sexual encounter when I was 11. For him that's 2.5 years away.

He told me that two of his classmates were found in bed naked together too. Oh, Catholic schools!

Yikes.

Woz and Dave were engaged briefly in an interesting conversation about music copyrights and all the stuff that the RIAA is doing. Woz is concerned that the industry is trying to keep us from enjoying their product to its fullest extent. He's wondering whether his next TV will keep him from recording shows and/or sharing them with his friends.

Woz had the usual assortment of techie toys which I didn't really get to see in depth. There was the prerequisite GameBoy (he's an addict and has been for more than 10 years) and a cool camera that he snuck by the security guards. I tried sneaking mine in and they made me put it back in my car.

Moby was the hit of the show. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around for more than three of his songs. Patrick was quite uncomfortable and I think he's coming down with something. It sounds like I'm gonna have to keep him home tomorrow which is a shame cause his summer camp is going to Santa Cruz for the day. It sucks to be sick on your summer vacation. Hopefully he's better in the morning.

David Bowie was good, but not great. I've seen a lot better concerts. He just lacked the energy or crowd rapport that you'd expect out of an entertainer of his stature. I remember seeing Garth Brooks about 10 years ago in the same venue and he just had the audience eating out of his hand. Dave Winer commented to me that Bowie sounded old. Yeah, you definitely get that feeling that his career is in maintanance mode. He has less to prove than Busta Rhymes does (or Moby).

The Blue Man Group was interesting too. Folks around me said it was the best opening act they'd ever seen. To me, that was too generous (Garth Brooks opened for the Judds in 1991 there and Garth was far better than the Blue Men Group).

Did we learn anything about Woz's new company? Nope. They were all very quiet. Stealth mode.

Oh, Guy Kawasaki dropped by looking for Woz. I wonder if he's looking for a job. Everyone's looking for a job in the valley lately and Woz has one of the few companies to get funding. You can sense how hype builds in the valley. If you can stay quiet, the quiet alone will build hype.

I hope Woz (er, Wheels of Zeus) builds a wireless gameboy. That'd be cool.

Anyway, thanks to Dave Winer and Steve Wozniak for inviting me along. It was a great experience and one I'll remember forever.