Before taking to the stage, Devo show a wickedly funny pre-show short film that mocks the po-faced style of ’70s educational videos. In a hilariously deadpan oratory, a middle-aged man advises us about how best to enjoy the Devo live experience, following which a collage of archive footage, surrealist clips and snippets from the Devo manifesto heralds the arrival of Mark Mothersbaugh and co.
Although the paunchy figures and receding hairlines betray the fact that Devo first concocted their potent mix of sardonic social commentary, kitsch sci-fi and satirical humour over three decades ago, the quintet still put remarkable energy and imagination into their live shows. Dressed in yellow boilersuits and their trademark “energy domes” (available at the merchandise stand, these striking headwear items are also sported by a sizeable portion of the audience), the quintet come across like a more excitable Kraftwerk.
Mothersbaugh bounds around the stage, cajoling the audience, pantomimically snatching at his bandmates’ outfits to illustrate the lyric of ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ and, during a brilliantly raucous ‘Mongoloid’, even undertaking a spot of cheerleading with a pair of pom-poms. The setlist, of course, is absolutely immaculate, a cavalcade of art-rock classics: ‘Peek-A-Boo’, ‘Girl U Want’, ‘Secret Agent Man’, ‘Whip It’, the gonzo retooling of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ – the list goes on.
Whilst biting humour looms large in the Devo canon, there is an undercurrent of taut anxiety to their music that reminds you how the group seriously embraced the theory of devolution in the aftermath of the Kent State shootings. Impressively, the show retains its unpredictability right to the finish. The group strip down to t-shirts, shorts and knee-pads for a thumping ‘Jocko Homo’, while the closing ‘Beautiful World’ is performed by Mothersbaugh in the guise of the oddly disturbing, infantile Booji Boy character, whom the band have recently reintroduced after a long absence.
It’s a fittingly offbeat end to a weird and very wonderful show. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo-tees.