One of my favorite bands from the late 70’s and early 80’s was DEVO.
I especially liked their first 3 albums, Q: Are We Not Men?, Duty Now for the Future, and Freedom of Choice. DEVO had a homemade punk sensibility with a sarcastic sense of humor. And nobody, I mean nobody, sounded like DEVO in those days. I saw them 5 times from 1979 to 1981 and loved every single show.
Then they traded in their guitars for synthesizers and their punk edge for a cartoony cuteness which wasn’t as appealing to me. I missed the old DEVO. (Now don’t get me wrong, I like synthesizers. I just thought DEVO was at their best when the number of guitars on stage balanced the number of keyboards.)
So I was intrigued when I heard that DEVO was touring their Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice albums on a limited tour this year. I mean, they guys are all 10 to 14 years older than me, and I’m not sure I could get up on stage and rock like that. But I thought, maybe Marc and Jerry are thinking that they wanted to get out there and rock it one more time before they qualified for Medicare. My wife bought me tickets and my daughter Chani and I trekked down to Seattle to see if DEVO had devolved beyond recognition or whether they still had some gas in the old tank.
Reggie Watts started the show. He is a mad man with a loop machine and stream of consciousness humor. He has to be seen to be believed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs7LSgxoj64&feature=related
Reggie kept asking the crowd, “Who is this Steve O guy, anyway?”
Finally, the Spud boys themselves took to the stage. They had gray and thinning hair. There was a bit of pudge on the bellies. But they came out in the classic yellow radiation suits from the 1970s and 3D glasses, strapped on their guitars and started to rock. They played the entire Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are DEVO album in order. They tore off the yellow suits during Jocko Homo and continued the show in black tees, black shorts and knee pads. For an encore they did Smart Patrol/Mister DNA from Duty Now for the Future and Gates of Steel from Freedom of Choice.
The crowd was mostly over 30, well okay 40. But there was a good percentage of younger fans. And Chani is only 14, so she brought the average age down a bit. There was a guy across the isle from me that looked like Santa with a long gray beard dancing in the isle and singing along with all the lyrics. Everyone was on their feet, dancing and having a great time.
I especially liked their first 3 albums, Q: Are We Not Men?, Duty Now for the Future, and Freedom of Choice. DEVO had a homemade punk sensibility with a sarcastic sense of humor. And nobody, I mean nobody, sounded like DEVO in those days. I saw them 5 times from 1979 to 1981 and loved every single show.
Then they traded in their guitars for synthesizers and their punk edge for a cartoony cuteness which wasn’t as appealing to me. I missed the old DEVO. (Now don’t get me wrong, I like synthesizers. I just thought DEVO was at their best when the number of guitars on stage balanced the number of keyboards.)
So I was intrigued when I heard that DEVO was touring their Q: Are We Not Men? and Freedom of Choice albums on a limited tour this year. I mean, they guys are all 10 to 14 years older than me, and I’m not sure I could get up on stage and rock like that. But I thought, maybe Marc and Jerry are thinking that they wanted to get out there and rock it one more time before they qualified for Medicare. My wife bought me tickets and my daughter Chani and I trekked down to Seattle to see if DEVO had devolved beyond recognition or whether they still had some gas in the old tank.
Reggie Watts started the show. He is a mad man with a loop machine and stream of consciousness humor. He has to be seen to be believed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs7LSgxoj64&feature=related
Reggie kept asking the crowd, “Who is this Steve O guy, anyway?”
Finally, the Spud boys themselves took to the stage. They had gray and thinning hair. There was a bit of pudge on the bellies. But they came out in the classic yellow radiation suits from the 1970s and 3D glasses, strapped on their guitars and started to rock. They played the entire Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are DEVO album in order. They tore off the yellow suits during Jocko Homo and continued the show in black tees, black shorts and knee pads. For an encore they did Smart Patrol/Mister DNA from Duty Now for the Future and Gates of Steel from Freedom of Choice.
The crowd was mostly over 30, well okay 40. But there was a good percentage of younger fans. And Chani is only 14, so she brought the average age down a bit. There was a guy across the isle from me that looked like Santa with a long gray beard dancing in the isle and singing along with all the lyrics. Everyone was on their feet, dancing and having a great time.
Tonight DEVO is performing the Freedom of Choice album, but I can’t afford two concerts in the same week. Tickets were $55 bucks and T-shirts cost $30 more. It was a bit more than the $10 dollars I spent to see them the first time in L.A. But the show was fun and it brought back a lot of good memories.
On their website, http://www.clubdevo.com/, the band says they are working on a new album for 2010 and a full tour for next year. So if you are a DEVO devotee, check them out if they come to your town.
On their website, http://www.clubdevo.com/, the band says they are working on a new album for 2010 and a full tour for next year. So if you are a DEVO devotee, check them out if they come to your town.
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