So my mate Dave (aka Mr Potatohead) and I went to see Devo at Festival Hall last night, and man it was a great show.  These two spuds were a bit shocked at first at how old and pudgy they looked (as can be expected after 25 odd years, which was incidentally the last time they were in Melbourne?).  After a slow start (imho), they picked up pace and rocked the house (there was one point in Peek-a-Boo when Mark lost sync with the music).  These guys still have what it takes to put on a good show (tho it did seem a bit choreographed at times, the guys aren't as nimble on the stage as they probably once were).  They played all our favourite tracks (except Come Back Jonee) and really outdone themselves on the rockin' songs like Secret Agent Man, Uncontrollable Urge, Gates of Steel. 

It was funny to see middle-aged folks wearing their red energy domes (aka "flower pots").  Devo themselves came out in their classic plastic yellow jumpsuits and red hats, which they then proceeded to gradually tear off and finally discard to their black t's, shorts and kneepads underneath.  Classic.

The audience was very interesting, a wide range of people, ranging in age from people in their 60s down to teenagers, with mostly middle-aged types in between.  Old-school Devo fans, no doubt.  It was a good crowd tho, very appreciative of the lads back after so long, and playing all their hits (one good thing about reunion tours), and singing along and dancing with great gusto (and not that screechy whiny singing/shouting of the teenyboppers at Green Day!).  The vibe was quite similar to the livehouses in Japan, excited reservedness.  More my scene than raging moshpits, screaming, shouting and drunken disorderliness (cf Ramones, Festival Hall, 1990).

The opening acts were supposed to be Regurgitator and Eddy Current Suppression Ring (ECSR).  I'm not sure what happened to Regurgitator (did we miss them?) but it seemed they'd been replaced by another band. ECSR was already playing when we arrived.  They were all huddled on one side of the stage which was a bit odd (except for the lead vocals dude, who was vibrating all over the place).  The other band (Regurgitator's replacements?) put on a much more energetic show imho, even tho I had no idea who they were (the bass player looked like Kenny Everett, according to Mr Potatohead).

Devo didn't play any of their later stuff (from Smooth Noodle Maps or later) nor from Shout.  But it was a good mix of their early and mid-career stuff, spanning about 90 mins all up (not including the 5 min retrospective intro movie projected on the back screen).  Anyway here's Devo's play list:

That's Good
Going Under
Peek-a-Boo!
Girl U Want
Whip It!
Secret Agent Man
Satisfaction
Uncontrollable Urge
Mongaloid
Blockhead
Jocko Homo
Smart Patrol / Mr DNA
Gates of Steel

Encore:
Freedom of Choice
Gut Feeling / Slap Your Mammy
Beautiful World (by "special guest" Booji Boy)


Mmm not so sure about Booji Boy (even tho he's the integral "fifth member") singing Beautiful World, I would have preferred to have heard Gerald singing it.  There's just something about Booji's squeaky voice that's a bit off-putting.

Damn good show tho, very impressive. 
Are we not men?  We are Devo!!