Page 8-Wednesday, July 16, 1980-The Michigan Daily Arts: Devo! Shut up and dance! By STEVE HOOK If people would begin to regard Devo for what they are-a fun dance band-the spudboys from Akron might get a little more respect today. For the last few years, they have been touring America in radiation suits, playing wooden-plank guitars to schizophrenic vocals, percussion, and keyboards, and supposedly espousing a philosophical doctrine called "de-evolution:" As a species, our development has peaked, and we're regressing steadily back to stone-age mentality. Unfortunately, the fundamental asset going for this band-its fierce energy, "Me and my friends here, you see, have formed a secret club. We meet in the treehouse in Alan's backyard where we do secret experiments with our chemistry sets. We might take over the world some day if our moms don't find out what we did with their flower pots." i - L at Ponderosa ! BaLihuhsntreLuccpeil 4 Eat _ i En(os ourfarnous All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bar with these three Lunch Specials STEAKHOUSE DELUXE " FISH SANDWICH " SUPER SALAD AND TAB 3354 East Washtenaw Ave. 11.00 am to 4:0mbpm Tob" Wsarogitr tSad marki AtvPrticipatngSteakhouses. Just N -oth ofnterdecyio. 11:00jo am sto :0 Os its deliberate dancability, is largely overshadowed in the minds of many, who take their approach seriously and are intimidated by it. This preoc- cupation, largely a conceptual pitfall that they (the musicans) should have expected, has discolored Devo's more legitimate roll as an innovative, playful, and self-parodying con- tribution to American rock and roll. MONDAY NIGHT in the steamy Motor City Roller Rink, we saw Devo in their natural environment, playing vir- tually non-stop for ninety minutes to a gleefully pogoing crowd in 120-degree heat. Their political ideology paturally took a back seat during their appearan- ce, to the hyperactive, wildly spirited pace of their music, which had the sweat-soaked audience dancing from beginning to end, and had them hissing angrily when Booji Boy came out after the closing "Corporate Anthem" film and squealed, "Good night spuds, we're all Devo. We're aall Devo!" It was a fun, hilarious appearance, no more no less. The band appeared neither pretentious nor glittery-their product was modest, straight-forward rock and roll. Concentrating on their new material (from Freedom of Choice) during their first set, and their earlier works from Are We Not Men and Duty Now for the Future in their closing set, the ornate orchestrations and eccentric lyrics did not inhibit the music's energy-they added to its comic flair. Songs like "Gates of Steel," "Gut Feeling" and "Come Back John- ny" were performed with power and in-- tensity-those poses are a thing of the past. There were no real twists or diversions in the treatment of their material, however, which was one disappointment in their performan- ce-but the familiar works heard live remained engaing throughout the con- cert, and the lack of spontaneous im- provisations was not too disturbing. ICHIGA REP -'80 Blithe Spirit Nol Coward at his sophisti- cated est. In an attempt to earn about the occult, a man gets far more than he bargains for when the ghost of his first wife returns from "beyond" to complicate life with his second wife. July ic, TONIGHT AT 8 PM POWER CENTER Tickets at PTP-MI League, Noon-5pm, M-F Charges by phone 764-0450 Power Center boofoflice opens at 6pm (763-3333) TOMORROW NIGHT: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Neither was the absence of any real showmanship. Though they weren't playing like robots in most songs (ex- cepting the ultra-mechanical treatment of "Satisfaction," for instance), the musicians remained fairly sedentary onstage, and fairly blase visually. Lead singer-keyboardist Mark -Mothersbaugh (pictured in center of accompanying photograph), who epitomized Devo's derang- ed, almost psychotic appeal, performed most of the group's theatrics, and dealt most closely with the elbowing crowd at his feet. Bassist Jerry Casale dominated the spotlight in songs like "Mongoloid," the Talking Heads parody "Planet Earth," and the Devoesque interpretation of "Secret Agent Man," but kept in the background generally. Bob Mother- sbaugh (alias Bob No. 2) handled the herky-jerky rhythm guitar with mechanical effortlessness, yet his stage presence was fairly transparent. Drummer Alan Myers and Bob Casale also remained relatively secluded on- stage. In general, Devo is not much to watch for any length of time. Once the effect of their spudsuits and helmets, and their bizarre, alien gestures became familiar (which was one motivation for seeing them live) it was time to pogo. Although many in the Detroit-based crowd seemed uncomfor- table with this apparently unfamiliar activity-as one spectator mused after the concert: "When we began to really start dancing, the people around us moved away, like they thought we were dangerous." THE BOTTOM LINE for many in the roller rink, unfortunately, was the heat-throughout the show, a steady flow of prostrated Devotees shuffled towards the lobby, which was slippery with a quarter-inch pool of sweat. In or- der to truly see any band at this arena, which contains no seats whatsoever, one has to squeeze through the ill- tempered spectators to the stage. But to many, the suffocating heat made en- joying the concert prohibitive, and they gathered around the snack bar making snide comments like "This is really great, both a concert and a sauna bath for the price of one," and "Boy, I've been wanting to lose weight, and I've just lost 15 pounds." Between the barely habitable temperature in the building, and the lack of seats (which is directly discriminate against the small and meek, who end up with no view at all), the Motor City Roller Rink is among the shabbier spots to see concer- ts-but they've brought us The B-52s The Clash, and Devo in the past year, which makes such complaints slightly less emphatic. Devo has been cited as being a "one- joke novelty band" with no real depth, and their "pseudo-philosophical" ideology is dismissed as pretentious pap. These people seem to be missing the point-they're expecting too much. After seeing them in concert, and hearing their albums over and over in recent days, it becomes clear what this band really is-a fun rock and roll dan- ce band. Nothing more, nothing less. And hey, the Devo-movies before and after theshow were real neat too.