In 1978 they released their major label debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! Produced by Brian Eno, the album announced the arrival of, in Bowie’s words, “The band of the future.” The film caught the attention of David Bowie, who helped Devo secure a recording contract with Warner Brothers. In 1976 they hired Chuck Statler to film a surreal musical manifesto, The Truth About Devolution, which won the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977. With an emphasis on electronics, they anticipated New Wave, but Devo has always resisted categorization. Inspired by a diverse group of musicians including Morton Subotnick, Soft Machine, Captain Beefheart, and the Residents, early Devo shows were an eclectic blend of prog, punk, and performance art. Known for their satirical demonstrations, bizarre publications, and even an occasional musical performance or two, Devo eventually coalesced into an art-punk band organized around a Dadaist mythology of its own creation, complete with masked alter-egos, cult-like manifestos, and their own Devolutionary Oath. The fact that much of their aesthetic was derived from comic books and crackpot religious pamphlets was half the fun, but the intent was serious, in part an artistic response to the social derangement of the Kent State shootings. Again.Formed by Kent State University students Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale, Devo started as a guerrilla art project based around the idea of “devolution,” a kind of regressive evolution by which humanity were degenerating back into apes. And then the rain came down, and everyone got soaked. Wearing a nightgown and a child mask, he sang “Beautiful World” and told the audience that De-evolution is real. “We are Devo!” the crowd yelled back.Īs an encore, Mothersbaugh ran off stage to emerge a minute later as “Booji Boy” (pronounced Boogie Boy), his prepubescent alter ego. People danced in mud puddles to “Girl You Want” and “Gates of Steel.”At one point someone even climbed up a lamppost in the crowd to get a better look and wave at the cameras, but lost his grip and dropped to the ground before the song was over. ![]() They played “Whip It” to a crowd full of fathers and daughters, and everyone threw up their fists in whip-pantomiming unison. The aging pop legends may have changed a lot physically since the last time they played in Central Park 25 years ago–gray hair, no hair and pot bellies–but they still knew how to satisfy their fans. Picture phones flashed, and Devo ran out in yellow jump suits with a choreographed dance. Then the rain stopped, the umbrellas dropped, and the red hats popped out. YYY went out like the end of Fever to Tell, with a slow song and a bow. Songs like “Rich” and “Maps,” off of their latest effort, Fever to Tell, were so well rounded, it was almost unnoticeable that there was no bass and only one guitar. Karen punched the air with her mic as her poncho fell apart–revealing a neon spandex leotard–as she challengedthe rain to pour on down. As the songs gained momentum, so did the crowd’s cheers. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage next, and Karen O was in near-perfect form as she strutted around, tearing at her clear rain poncho and yelling herself hoarse into the mic. ![]() Also Read Compact Discs: Sound of the Future
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