One of rock music’s strangest groups came together for a magical night at New York’s Pier 17. Fans of the New Wave group have been anticipating this performance for months after the original show in September of last year was postponed due to COVID. The New Wave icons also took this opportunity to celebrate frontman Mark Mothersbaugh’s 72nd birthday. The whole venue was celebrating the birth of a revolutionary musician and a night of Devo’s futuristic chord progressions. Their setlist was expansive and included some of Devo’s best songs and covers.
The crowd dawned on the classic red cone hat made famous by the band in their early years. The motivation behind Devo’s music is “de-evolution”, suggesting that the human race is actually regressing. Before their major label deal with Warner Records and debut album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! The philosophical band released a collection of 7-inch records via the U.K. based label Stiff Records in 1978, since then they have been pushing their agenda through their punk-influenced, electronic sound.
Last night (May 18), Devo revisited old tracks like “Marigold” and the cult classic “Whip It”. Fans seem elated to finally see their post-punk heroes live.
Check out videos/photos from the performance below;
DEVO doing Uncontrollable Urge at Pier 17 tonight. Killer show, as always. pic.twitter.com/mv8OZSazqP
— Larry (@LarryGuitarSG) May 19, 2022
One Response
‘Marigold’ is a ShadowParty song. The connection to DEVO is Josh Hager and Jeff Friedl (occasional DEVO drummer). I think the author of this article meant ‘Mongoloid’ as is listed in the set list. Lyrics are fabulous if you take the time to read them.