Rod Rooter, CEO of Big Entertainment (now Big Media), would like to know that DEVO were his biggest disappointment.
“Some things never change. That goes for the spuds you are about to see,” Rod says via a video played before the recent show for the 50 Years of De-Evolution… Continued! Tour at The Anthem in DC.
The clever short film, a callback to a ’70s and ’80s series of them, predated mockumentaries as a commercial form of entertainment. And it accurately paints a picture of DEVO as avant-garde devil-may-care musical adventurers who care more about de-evolution than slick marketing.
Still, DEVO truly makes great glossy music, and the quintet snapped through a career-spanning set of 17 songs that demonstrate how the band is truly smart, catchy, and fantastic at The Anthem on May 3.
In performance, the band had the audience singing along as it threw the spotlight on Freedom of Choice (1980), their third studio album. Not only is Freedom of Choice a terrific DEVO album, it’s one of the greatest albums of all time. DEVO capped the first third of their concert with the ubiquitous “Whip It” from Freedom of Choice, eliciting audience participation and breakout pockets of dancing.
But DEVO’s selections from Freedom of Choice featured other top pop songs — “Gates of Steel” and the title track, two of the best DEVO songs ever for my money. Both are witty new wave tunes that not only address common DEVO things like human desire in “Gates of Steel” (A man is real/Not made of steel!”) and de-evolution in “Freedom of Choice” (“Freedom from choice/ Is what you want!”). The classic “Freedom of Choice” music video played behind DEVO as they performed the song.
Watch the official music video for “Freedom of Choice” by DEVO on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/dVGINIsLnqU?si=COlS64Q3UQjvoOPX
To the delight of everyone in the room, DEVO gave a fair amount of attention to debut record Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), playing “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Mongoloid,” and “Jocko Homo” in a row at the setlist’s two-thirds mark. The band made a few costume changes, and they made one transition several songs earlier when they emerged from an instrumental break in their iconic yellow jumpsuits. Lead vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh wrapped away the jumpsuits from his bandmates to accentuate the points of “Uncontrollable Urge,” revealing the men in black DEVO t-shirts and short pants.
Throughout the show, Mark Mothersbaugh seemed more amused than anyone to be there, and he was clearly enjoying himself as he stomped and twisted through the DEVO catalog. He occasionally took to stage left where he played synthesizers with Josh Hager who surfaced from his concentration on the music on occasion to mug and otherwise make deadpan expressions at various effective points. Also positioned on stage left, Bob Mothersbaugh looked positively stoic, and rather regal, as he played guitar.
Our DEVO show truly realized its full potential thanks to scene-steeler Gerald Casale, who was there laying the very foundations of DEVO with Mark in 1973. Gerry’s shout-out vocal parts made a big impression — particularly beginning with his ha-ha-ha-ha laughter during “Peek a Boo!” — from 1982’s Oh No! It’s DEVO! — early in the show. DEVO gets a lot of its soul from Gerry’s subversive sense of humor and quick wit, and he’s also a master on bass and keyboard. Gerry spent much of the show on stage right with drummer Jeff Friedl. Jeff was a perfect study in power and precision as he built up each song, and he’s clearly a valuable member of the band (and this band in particular with its often surprising rhythmic shifts).
Together, the five members of DEVO really clicked, and their satirical spirit shown through. The band members fully conveyed the humor and the pathos of DEVO’s songs while really contributing their individual strengths to a strong musical whole. Interestingly, DEVO’s covers of “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones and “Secret Agent Man” by PF Sloan — both performed back to back in the middle of the show — perhaps best demonstrate their formidable musical prowess in their reimagining of those tunes.
Watch DEVO perform “Secret Agent Man” live for Moscham on YouTube:
DEVO were in fine form indeed, and it is a pleasant surprise that they continue to perform at the top of their game. Get behind their smart societal commentary and enjoy some truly great tunes by catching DEVO in action. Maybe I’ll see you at the front of the stage for their performance at the Cruel World Festival, where they truly made a splash with a knockout set in their debut performance there in 2022.
Here are some photos of DEVO performing live at The Anthem on May 3, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
