Review: Devo, At Homecoming Stop in Cleveland, Shows Band Going Out on Top

DEVO at TempleLive in Cleveland Credit: Photo by Brian Lumley

More than 50 years after forming, perhaps Akron’s greatest musical export says it’s on its way out. If Sunday’s show is really Devo’s live farewell to Northeast Ohio, the band left on a high note.

The arty new-wave band’s 17-song, 85-minute set in front of a capacity TempleLive Cleveland Masonic was a captivating overview of its highs. Devo didn’t sound like they were saying goodbye, as it claims it’s doing with its current tour. Instead, it was more like, “Hey, remember us and everything we stood for?”

We sure do. In addition to a strong performance, the show was a good reminder of the band’s theory of de-evolution and how it remains relevant.

Concert Photos: Devo Delivers a Proper Homecoming Sendoff in Cleveland on Farewell Tour

Not that anyone in Northeast Ohio would forget, even if it was the band’s first area concert since a 2008 benefit for local Democrats in Akron as Barack Obama sought his first term as president. In addition to influencing generations of punk, post-punk, synth-pop and other bands, nary a year goes by without some sort of local tribute, exhibit or retrospective, with the most prominent being an annual fan gathering at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland.

But Devo’s remaining founding members—Mark Mothersbaugh, his brother Bob “Bob 1” Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale (Gerald’s brother—Bob “Bob 2” Casale, died in 2014) performed like they had something to prove. Joined by drummer Jeff Friedl and guitarist/keyboardist Josh Hager, the songs were taut, fast and energetic.

Following a video introduction featuring “music executive” Rod Rooter, the band tore into “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man).” Friedl’s drums pulsated as Casale ran in place and pecked bass lines on a keyboard. The three original members, each well into their 70s, were just as energetic as their more youthful counterparts.

That went double for Mark Mothersbaugh, whose lead vocalist and keyboardist duties required him to run from the lip of the stage to behind his rig multiple times during multiple songs. He was in constant motion, be it marching in place during “That’s Good,” tearing off his and his bandmates’ yellow factory jumpsuits during “Uncontrollable Urge” and jumping offstage during “Jocko Homo.”

Bassist Casale and guitarist Bob 1 were no slouches either, and each got a showcase, from the former’s lead vocal on “Planet Earth” and the latter’s deranged solo on “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA.”

And yes, Devo played its best-known song, “Whip It,” though the screen behind them showed a line of smiling cartoon faces as if to say “look, we played the hit.”
If there was one gripe, it’s that the band stuck to the setlist it played on other tour stops. And save for references to Akron, Cleveland and myriad suburbs that Mark Mothersbaugh—then performing as the childlike and falsetto-voiced character “Booji Boy”—listed off during a monologue about political involvement during closer “Beautiful World,” there was little to indicate that this was a homecoming show.

Even the band’s tribute to the Buckeye State during “Jocko Homo” (“I got a rhyme that comes in a riddle, O-Hi-O. What’s round on the end and high in the middle? O-Hi-O”) was a mainstay long before Sunday.

But that’s a minor quibble and certainly doesn’t mean Devo was on autopilot. Heck, I’m not sure it’s possible to cruise with their complex songs, like the careening “Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)” and the pounding “Gates of Steel.”

If this really was a farewell, the band is going out without diminishing returns. And unlike humanity in their eyes, Devo hasn’t de-evolved just yet.

Setlist:
1. Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)
2. Peek-A-Boo!
3. Going Under
4. That’s Good
5. Girl U Want
6. Whip It
7. Planet Earth
8. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
9. Secret Agent Man
10. Uncontrollable Urge
11. Mongoloid
12. Jocko Homo
13. Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA
14. Gates of Steel
15. Freedom of Choice
16. Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)
17. Beautiful World