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DEVO
@ International Convention Centre
(ICC) Sydney,
26th November 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Alec Smart

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Devo performed at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Sydney on their Final Tour on 26 November 2023. The show, performed in front of a giant screen featuring animations of recurring psychedelic patterns and surreal landscapes, consisted of three segments divided by short videos during which the band made two costume changes.

Although Devo have released nine studio albums, the band played a set list consisting mainly of material from their commercially better-known first and third albums, Are We Not Men? (1978) and Freedom of Choice (1980).

However, of the 18 songs’ set, they only performed one – Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man) – from their most recent album, Something for Everybody (released June 2010, their first studio record in two decades), and no songs from Shout (1984) Total Devo (1988) and Smooth Noodle Maps (1990).

Devo are celebrating their 50th anniversary since their 1973 foundation in Akron, Ohio, USA, then known as the “Rubber Capital of the World” due to its large tyre manufacturing industry (where Goodyear, Firestone, General Tyre and BF Goodrich ran factories).

Despite their foundations in a city characterised by heavy industry, Devo emerged during the booming ‘New Wave’ global music trend that brought punk and synthesised electronic rock to the mainstream – both of which had a significant influence on their creativity.

They introduced samplers into the mix, with futuristic costumes and stage sets, agit-prop ideas, and (later) comical, conical, pyramidical red hats. Fans queued to purchase these bizarre plastic hats at the ICC merchandise stall.

Devo is primarily centred on of two sets of brothers, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, and Gerald and Bob Casale, plus other collaborators who have come and gone. They are still active in their 70s, although, sadly, founding member Bob Casale (aka ‘Bob 2’) died of heart failure aged 61 in February 2014. Josh Hager has replaced him on rhythm guitar and keyboards.

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The quartet is currently supplemented by legendary percussionist Josh Freese, formerly of Guns & Roses and The Vandals, and regular drummer with the Foo Fighters.

The name Devo was derived from a satirical concept that humans are in the process of de-evolution, having reached their peak and heading backwards. The tongue-in-cheek philosophy suggests humanity is regressing to a smaller-brained more primitive species, which is characterised by its herd-mentality, shallow culture and dim-witted politicians.

Devo have frequently played on this theme of mankind’s regression in their lyrics and music videos, although occasionally misunderstood or misinterpreted, including accusations of fascism or mere clowns.

Devo have spoofed this too, sometimes opening their owns shows appearing as a lame Christian soft-rock rock act called Dove, at others releasing pamphlets and video games furthering the tomfoolery.

The Sydney show began with a historic parody video of a cigar-puffing record company executive named ‘Rod Rooter’ advising the younger band members to embrace commercial pop and abandon their weirdness. Then it cut to contemporary time with an aged Rod Rooter pedalling on an exercise bike, still dispensing the same condescending advice and revealing his biggest career regret was signing Devo.

The band’s on-stage costumes included bright yellow safety coveralls, which vocalist Mark eventually ripped off his bandmates, and a black shorts, socks and T-shirts combination, although three of them wore knee supports which suggested advanced arthritis or recent surgery.

The much-loved songs Girl U Want followed by Whip It got the seated audience up and dancing; afterwards Mark skimmed a few of their iconic red terraced ‘energy dome’ hats into the crowd.

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Bassist-vocalist and principle lyricist, Gerald Casale, made a few quips about the dire state of contemporary American politics before introducing Mark as ‘Booji Boy’, a blonde-haired adult-boy in orange and yellow striped shorts and shirt (an earlier incarnation wore an orange nuclear protection suit).

Booji Boy is a long-running character who was first introduced in Devo’s 1976 short film The Truth About De-Evolution intended to satirise regression.

Pronounced ‘Boogie Boy’, the misspelling came about during days of Letraset transfers when the band ran out of ‘Gs’ during the captioning of a film and substituted a ‘J’ instead – afterwards opting to retain the typo.

On stage, Mark adorns the rubber mask and sings the song Beautiful World in a falsetto voice, which was the closer of the Sydney concert.

As the performance ended, with Booji Boy requesting the audience return in 50 years’ time – 2073 – for the band’s 100th anniversary, he bounced a bucketful of rubber ‘super-balls’ into the crowd.

Then, as he made his way backstage, he tripped over a foldback speaker and fell forward – presumably due to limited vision from within the rubber mask – and I thought it lucky he was wearing knee pads.

Gerald joked “he did it on purpose!” and then the house lights came on, no encores.

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Devo set list
26 Nov 2023

Rod Rooter then and now Video

* Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)

* Peek-A-Boo!

* Going Under

* That’s Good

* Girl U Want

* Whip It

* Planet Earth

Carl Sagan video while Devo exits stage for costume change

* (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction [Rolling Stones cover]

* Secret Agent Man [P.F. Sloan cover]

* Uncontrollable Urge

* Mongoloid

* Jocko Homo [with a snippet of ‘Ohio’]

* Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA

* Gates of Steel

DEVO Corporate Anthem video while Devo exits stage for costume change

* Freedom of Choice

* Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)

* Beautiful World [with Booji Boy]

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Follow DEVO
Website – Facebook – Instagram
Twitter – YouTube

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AMNPLIFY – DB