Offermann.us

“I’m just trying to figure out this audience…it’s all dudes…Google is run by dudes!”
—Bret McKenzie, from Flight of the Conchords, as he surveyed the crowd during their performance at Google IO last week.

Google Put on Quite a Show Last Week

In my last posts that focused on the developer sessions and keynotes, I didn’t really capture the overall feel of Google IO, leaving out a few key details…

Like the Food

Google is famous for pampering its employees with their gourmet fare, and they went all out to pamper their conference goers as well. Full breakfasts, numerous lunch choices (I went with the grilled skirt steak myself), and an endless sea of snacks. There was a wall of candy bins, freezers full of Haagen Dazs Ice Cream bars, and constantly replenished sodas.

And, strategically placed throughout the Moscone Center were Googly colored bean bags upon which you could plop down and enjoy the bounty.

The Evening Party

Where there was even more food. And everflowing beer and wine…and molten chocolate. (Yes, there were fountains of molten chocolate, in which you could dip your marshmallows and cakes on a stick.) But, there was more than food. Everywhere you looked: Dozens of video games. Foosball tables. Billiards. Air Hockey. Big screen Wiis.

As I overheard one conference goer describe the scene:

"It's like a sixth grader's wet dream."

Did I Mention the Band?

Now, understand that I’m old. And, I don’t have HBO. So, I’d never heard of Flight of the Conchords. (When I looked them up on YouTube, I was shocked that each of their songs had over 1 million views. What do I know?) It turns out that this “folk-comedy duo” from New Zealand is kind of a thinking man’s Spinal Tap, with a gift for deadpan, hipster patter.

Because, it wasn’t so much their songs that had me entertained, as it was their rambling stories that they interwove into the music. They told tales of traveling in time, and being locked in David Bowie’s bathroom with not one, but two Tina Turners (one from the future, naturally), and fathering tiny, imaginary children.

At least that’s what I thought as I walked back to my hotel on Wednesday night: funny shtick, funny stories, amazing delivery.

But, I was wrong. Their music made more of an impact than I first gave it credit for, because it is now 5 days later, and I still have their closing number going through my head. You know, the one where the entire audience rose from their Googly bean bags, waved their hands in the air, and sang along:

  Brown paper, white paper
  Stick it together with tape
  The tape of love
  The sticky stuff.