3.18.2011

Devo 2011


We Ain't Gettin' Any Younger

I saw Devo two nights ago. It was amazing. The show was too F'ing expensive and it was at the worst venue in Portland, but it was easily one of the best concerts of my life. A few quick observations:

Devo started as more of a performance art group than a "band" in so many words, and that has always given them an incredible sense of theatricality that translates brilliantly to live performance. They had a huge video screen, multiple costume changes, and overall fantastic stagecraft.

I am a lifelong hardcore Devo fan, but I never thought of them as being "rocking," really...it was more like a great intellectual exercise to listen to Devo for me. No longer. Devo rocked harder than Motorhead did last month, really. The energy level was intense.

They are amazing musicians. They didn't miss a fucking note. Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer, was particularly incredible.

The thing about Devo is that they are truly inimitable. They have had an incalculable impact on music but no one ever has or ever will sound "like" them.

3 comments:

Ransom said...

Good points, all.

Looking at the above picture, all I can think is, "Can you wear a power dome at a jaunty angle?"

I guess you can if you're Mark Mothersbaugh.

clear screen said...

"Like" (i'm sorry, fb has infected my brain).
have you experienced "Yo Gabba Gabba" yet? If so, thoughts? (mothersbaugh writes their songs, i think.)

kungfuramone said...

I haven't - this must be a kid thing I will encounter when Plan C is a little closer to the Age of Reason.

I support all of Mothersbaugh's commercial work, anyway...