Considering they are some of the most innovative musical and cultural mavens of the past thirty years, I was honored to have the chance to see Devo live with the Dirty Projectors at the Congress Theater. This quote taken from Devo’s bio pretty much sums it up;
“Of all the bands who came from the underground and actually made it in the mainstream, Devo is the most challenging and subversive of all.” -Kurt Cobain
I have to agree. What makes this fact even more incredible is the degree to which they have embedded themselves in the fabric of American culture over the past three decades. In fact, there is very little that has happened in the past thirty years that original Devo members, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, and Gerald and Bob Casale have not had their hands in.
Exhibit A.
A video of Mark Mothersbaugh talking about the first commercial he made for Hawaiian Punch. It’s delightful subliminal, I suggest you give it a view.
Or how about Devo’s 1984 Honda Scooter ad. Anyone see the Devo resemblance in Foo Fighters “I’ll Stick Around” directed by Gerald Casale?
Nobody does forward thinking like Devo. And now more than thirty years after the release of their groundbreaking album Are We Not Men, they have successfully proved their theory of de-evolution. All you had to do was look at the intensely mixed bag of attendees at the eighty-year-old Congress theater.
This text message sent at 10:24pm, slightly before Devo took the stage, pretty much sums it up:
Me: Weird crowd.
Erik: What’s it like?
Me: Teenagers and sleaze bags.
Erik: Sleazager Rock.
That isn’t to overlook the dorks, lord knows there were dorks there, but suprisingly there were a rather large number of bulging bicep bearing meatheads. But herein lies the beauty and brilliance of Devo; no one is excluded and we are all in it together.
With the help of cutting-edge artists and producers, such as Santigold and John King of the Dust Brothers, Devo has masterfully crafted a triumvirate of, punk, techno, and grunge, on Something For Everyone, a satisfying album that truly lives up to its title.
The set list included a comprehensive amalgam of gems, both new and old, including, but not limited to such classics as: “Whip It” and “Girl U Want,” and some new favorites like, “Don’t Shoot (I’m A Man)” and “Please Baby Please.” Visually “What We Do” was one of the highlights of the show and an undeniably catchy stand out on the recent album. Also, as a long time Nine Inch Nails fan, it tickled me pink to witness Josh Freese (of Nine Inch Nails notoriety) drumming his heart out to the band he learned to drum to.
And I didn’t get any shots of it, for fear of being plagued by nightmares for the rest of the month, but during the last song of their encore the audience was treated to what can only be described as the creepiest Devo incarnation in existence–Booji Boy (pronounced Boogie Boy)–or rather Mark Mothersbaugh in a large, rubber fat-kid mask singing “Beautiful World” in unintelligible falsetto.
I can only imagine the de-evolution when Devo plays Lollapalooza. And with that I will leave you with this quote from Gerald Casale:
“We’re inspired by reality, because the world is so ridiculous and stupid. DE-EVOLUTION IS REAL.”
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