Devo
8 out of 10 - Great. Good show.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
McCarren Pool, New York
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Tom Tom Club
Dan Deacon
I was on the fence for the past few months about attending the Devo, Tom Tom Club show at McCarren Pool because of the fifty-two dollar ticket price (without fees). On one hand, we have two amazing new wave bands performing, and on the other, a huge gouge in the ol' bank account. A friend e-mailed me a link to a contest a few days ago. I entered it and won a ticket via Music Box music site! I was instantly relieved of a huge financial commitment and very excited to attend the concert.
When I arrived at the venue, it was fairly empty in comparison to prior pool shows I’ve attended. I think if Live Nation had lowered the ticket price a bit more, people would have attended. First up was Dan Deacon. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would see him. I’d read about him on tons of blogs, but something about him didn’t seem very appealing to me. Seeing pictures online of his sweaty body in day-glo clothes with his hands clutched to a microphone, which looked like he was screaming . . . I thought he was like modern day GG Allin. Wow, was I ever wrong. His music was fun and exciting, and he turned out to be a very likeable guy. Deacon had the crowd eating out of the palms of his hands. They were dancing and bobbing to his effect-pedal-controlled electronic music like nobody’s business. Towards the end of his set, he picked out a guy from the audience and had the crowd form a very large circle in the pool. He had the guy he picked start running around the ring of people smacking people’s hands and then picking people to run around with him. (See the video clip below.)
Then he had a few people stand parallel across from each other with their hands touching overhead, creating a tunnel. People would run through the human tunnel, and then once they reached the end, they would add themselves to the tunnel’s length. As more and more would run through from the front to back, it was as though the line of dancers were collapsing in upon themselves, creating a black-hole-like effect. (See the video clip below.)
Next up was Tom Tom Club. Drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth, both originally from Talking Heads, took the stage for their musical side project. The Connecticut couple was accompanied on stage by a DJ, keyboardist, guitarist, and two vocalists. They performed an hour set as Tina dedicated the song “She's Dangerous” to Condoleezza Rice. It was a mixed crowd: young teens and an older crowd who first witnessed these bands back in the days at CBGB. The band was very tight as they ripped through “L’Elephant,” “Wordy Rappinghood,” and their cover of Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing.” The crowd went wild when they performed "Genius of Love," the most sampled song in showbiz. At the end of their set, they covered “Take Me To The River” from their former band Talking Heads. They band took a huge bow and left the stage. (Check out Amy Wagner's video of the entire song “Genius of Love.”)
Devo was up next. Tons of lights were added to the stage, and a drummer riser was set out front stage left. A film started in the back of the stage (see the video clip below), and the crowd went wild chanting “Devo!” over and over. The band took the stage by storm, dressed in yellow jumpsuits and red energy dome hats. They performed classic songs like “Whip It,” “Freedom of Choice,” “Girl U Want,” and also their more art punk songs such as “Mongoloid” and “Gut Feeling” and the radical cover of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” They also played their great cover of P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri’s “Secret Agent Man.” The gray-haired Devo leader Mark Mothersbaugh kept the crowd entertained like he was in his teens, running all over the stage, singing, and playing his Moog keyboard. Lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh played some epic guitar solos completely breaking all the strings off his guitar in one tune. Gerald Casale donned his headless, left-handed bass as his brother Bob kept the rhythm guitar in tune with Josh Freese’s phenomenal drumming. Devo are a band that ages well. I could see them old and gray in walkers or in wheelchairs, and it still would be a Devolution! The band came out for an encore of “Freedom of Choice” and “Gut Feeling!” and was ready to dive into another song when the show promoters said “no more.” The band left the stage, and the lights came on, but a large crowd of Devo lovers stood strong chanting for more even as the roadies were disassembling their gear.
All three bands gave it their all. It was an amazing new wave show, which has set a pretty high mark for summer concert expectations. The only thing better would be to have had more people experience this show by offering a more reasonable price of admission.
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