If Devo are bitter and twisted, they hide it well. Genuine trailblazers of that oddball genre – electronic angular guitar music, I suppose – that they created in the 80s, the band are on record as rather peeved that genuine fame and fortune somehow passed them by, while bands from XTC all the way through to Franz Ferdinand owe a debt to Devo for paving the way.Indeed, Glasgow sports a whole host of excitably wiry guitar and synth acts, spearheaded by Flying Matchstick Men and We Are The Physics. Thus, it`s a mystery how support act Scanners are opening for Akron`s finest tonight, their rock chic hair and waistcoats as at odds with the main act as their ploddy guitar rock.
So when the video screens fire up and General Boy introduces the act, it`s a blessed relief to all, as much the fact that the band have made it back to Scotland after 25 years – even if half the surprisingly varied audience weren`t even born then.
Looking for the world like they`ve returned from a day at Hunterston, the dayglo jumpsuits, and flowerpots – sorry, energy dome hats – form their uniforms which are perhaps a little tighter than when the band started out in the 70s. But that`s the only concession to the years – the band gratifyingly throw themselves into their 100-minute set – a frenetic `That`s Good` setting the tone for the show.
Of course, with no comeback album in tow, the band truly concentrate on the greatest hits, even eschewing the later material – which, let`s face it, is no match for `Uncontrollable Urge`, `Gut Feeling`, or `Whip It`, each accompanied by spasmodic dancing and OTT theatrics from the band. Which includes hats, bouncing balls, and pieces of their yellow suits being distributed to the audience, as the band strip to natty shorts/kneepads combos. Their version of Devo`s `Satisfaction` is for many their career high, but like their signature tune, `Jocko Homo`, it`s tossed into the mix, mid-set, making for an almost anti-climactic end. There`s even no need for the tiresome rigmarole of baying for an encore – instead, archive footage of the band saluting their `Corporate Anthem` is relayed before Booji Boy, aka singer Mark Mothersbaugh wearing a sinister child`s mask, leads the band into `Beautiful World`, and unheeded calls for a second encore from the sizable crowd.
They may regard themselves as the Pioneers Who Got Scalped, but finally for Devo, it`s payback time.
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
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