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Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh. (Jay connor for the boston globe) |
Music
Complete with yellow jumpsuits, they are still Devo
Music "from the '80s" is often unfairly maligned, with silly haircut bad apples spoiling people's memories of a pretty interesting and influential bunch. Friday night at the
Sporting their trademark yellow jumpsuits and energy-trapping red flower-pot chapeaus, the geek princes of Devo played a tight 80-minute set that reminded the adoring two-thirds capacity crowd of the prescience of their theory of de-evolution as the perils, hypocrisies, and absurdities of the "modern" world they observed in the late '70s and early '80s have only intensified.
The band - aided immeasurably by metronomic Nine Inch Nails drummer Josh Freese - kicked off with the robotic yet funky rhythms of "That's Good" with leader Mark Mothersbaugh's angular sing-song vocals and theatrical miming at full throttle. He would later maniacally tear at his and his bandmates' suits during, appropriately, "Uncontrollable Urge."
Famously deconstructed covers of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and Johnny Rivers's "Secret Agent Man" - yowled by Bob Mothersbaugh, who provided deliriously skewed solos as well - prompted enthusiastic pogo-ing to the off-kilter beats. The tension of the needling guitars of "Girl U Want" and lone big hit "Whip It" retained sneering, stinging charms.
Gerald Casale took to the microphone for the controversial "Mongoloid," which thrilled with its deep bass thrum and whizzering keyboard riffs.
The anthem "Jocko Homo" received the night's biggest cheers, however, as the band ripped off their jumpsuits - to reveal matching ensembles of black Devo T-shirts, shorts, and kneepads - while chanting "Are we not men?" as the crowd shouted back "We are Devo!"
The infamous "Booji Boy" - Mark Mothersbaugh in choir robe and mask - appeared for an encore of "Beautiful World" which was marred only by the decision to sing it in a silly falsetto.
The buoyant dance grooves of Talking Heads offshoot Tom Tom Club garnered a more modest reception, due in part no doubt to the too-loud sound mix that plagued Devo to a lesser extent. But married leaders and rhythm section aces Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Frantz (drums) and their merry band were determinedly cheerful.
The group worked up a serious lather during the second half of its hourlong set with the dreamy "The Man With the 4-Way Hips" flowing into the liquid bounce and girlish harmonies of "Genius of Love." For that, the crowd rose to its feet and some stayed there for the fun-loving cover of "You Sexy Thing," the playful but provocative hip-hop track "Wordy Rappinghood," and the closer, a soulful stomp through the Talking Heads-associated Al Green classic "Take Me to the River."
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