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Everyone knows Devo. "Whip It" has become a staple of '80s compilations, and the video for the song has become synonymous with both the infancy of MTV and the use of music videos as commercial tools. Of course, the irony is that Devo has always been a band apart, going to painful lengths (you try doing an hour show in a paper suit, plastic hair and an energy dome!) to stand apart from the remainder of the new-wave pop nation, or "idiot music", as the band members themselves were prone to calling it.
Though there are more than a few Devo DVDs currently on the market, Live 1980 stands head and shoulders above each and every one of them, and not just because of the audio content on its DualDisc flipside. This is the first "official" concert video to capture the band at the height of their powers (both physically and commercially), ripping through a ferocious set culled from their first three classic albums -- Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!, Duty Now for the Future and Freedom of Choice. Sure, their videos were groundbreaking (see The Complete Truth About De-Evolution for those), but it was in the live arena that they truly shined, melding cutting-edge technology, ironic posturing and punk execution in a snarky audio/visual mindfuck that has yet to be duplicated.
Few bands would have the audacity to begin their set with their best-known song, but Devo don't even blink as they open the proceedings with a spitting, biting version of "Whip It", which then dovetails nicely into a speedball run through a severely muscled-up "Snowball". They start big, but the tempo rarely lags, as the remainder of the hour-long set is a dizzying mixture of classic Devo moments ("Girl U Want", "Uncontrollable Urge" and their alienoid take on "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), as well as a host of mind-melting album cuts ("Gates of Steel", "Pink Pussycat" and "Blockhead") to satiate the hardcore spuds in the first few rows. Elsewhere, the closing triad of "Jocko Homo", "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" and "Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy" is a beguiling way to end the set, with neck-snapping programming slamming headlong into nasty blasts of frosty, angular guitar and the deliciously deadpan vocal stammer of Mark Mothersbaugh. They rocked, they rolled and they destroyed an army of Moog products while they were at it.
As the closing "Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy" dissolves into a jerky, mongoloid version of "Johnny B. Goode", it becomes clear how strange a hybrid Devo truly were. Their harsh rewiring of one of the best-known rock 'n' roll song of all time is telling on several levels: they demonstrate a staggering ability to drain the humanity out of such a ubiquitous tune, replacing the original's blood, sweat and tears with crimped wire, robotic shouting and stuttering, silica-laced guitar jabs. More than that, it shows what a unique creation this band truly was, how completely out of step they were, not only in their own era, but in the historical pantheon of rock 'n' roll as well.
Watching the performances on Live 1980, it's remarkable how comfortable the band looks in this type of large, packed-out setting -- T.Rex in X-Ray Spex, if you will. This fact is especially interesting when you consider that their next album, New Traditionalists, marked a huge departure for the band, veering away from synth-whipped pop perfection into decidedly darker territory. Though it spawned a hit in spite of itself (the austere ballad "Beautiful World"), and is considered by many (myself included) to be their masterstroke, it's clear that Devo were heading further into the leftfield with each release, even though they came from the factory with "made for use on ironic pop hits" stamped into their backsides.
Whether you're only into Devo for "the hits", or a die-hard spud who stills wears his plastic hair and too-small Nutra shirt to the grocery store, Live 1980 is a fantastic document, both aurally and visually, of one of the strangest, most confounding pop bands of the past twenty-five years. They may well be on your Totally Hits of the '80s disc, but rest assured, they're not happy about it.
-- Jason Jackowiak
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