Charlie Morrow's Toot 'n Blink

Down at the Battery the other evening musician/conceptual artist/ soundscapist Charlie Morrow and his cohorts conducted an "orchestra" of about a dozen boats, including a Port Imperial Ferry and a NYC fire boat, in a tribute to the birthday of John Cage. The event was modeled on a similar performance Charlie put together in Chicago in 1992, also for Cage's birthday - only there they had 150 boats tooting and blinking off the Navy Pier in Lake Michigan.
Each of the boats down at the Battery had a horn (Toot)and a light (Blink) and were given their cues on a common radio band. The performance was also broadcast on an FM station and computer-cast around the globe, which is only fitting, since Charlie spends a good part of his time nowadays in Helsinki, Finland, thinking up new ways to use 3-D sound to enhance all kinds of spaces. Conceptual art is not for sissies - for this performance in our busy harbor, Charlie had to obtain not only all the local permissions, but also a special Act of Congress.
For me, the highlights of the performance were a "waltz" between three of the boats - after a few tries, they actually began to swing a bit - and a magnificent display from the fire boat of the kind of long, arching sprays that would greet a new ocean liner. And, of course, that part of New York is always awe-inspiring after dark
After the show, as were walking through Battery Park, one of Charlie's fellow sound mavens had us stop for a minute in silence to listen to the crickets chirping like crazy. "Soon they'll be gone for the winter," he said, a little sadly.

Announcers "conducting" the toots and blinks while broadcasting the event on radio.

If you squint a bit, you can see about half the fleet.