THE OBAMA '08 SMART PATROL: THEY SHOVE THE POLES IN THE HOLES

DEVO - Friday, October 17 Akron Civic Theater

From the land of lampblack, smokestacks and soot sprouted rock's most beloved spuds. In the late 70's, Devo's vulcanization of rock, punk and new wave music with experimental film and video made them pioneers of what became the modern day music video, which the MTV generation of bands would soon copy. It's hard to believe that this band, which is so closely identified with Akron, Ohio, had not actually performed in Akron since moving to the west coast 30 years ago. It took a political fund raiser for the Summit County Democrats in the middle of Obama-mania to bring Devo back to the site of their last show here, the beautifully restored Akron Civic Theater. Does this mean my ticket stub is tax deductible as a political contribution? I love this country!

Akron mayor Don Plusquellic and other local Democrat big-wigs were in attendance, along with Rolling Stone magazine and other Obama cheerleaders from the national media. But with fellow hometown rock heroes Chrissie Hynde and the Black Keys also on the bill, the show's focus shifted from politics to a celebration of Akron's place on the rock and roll map with some of the people who put it there.

Rosavelt's Chris Allen opened the show with a short acoustic set, followed by the Black Keys (Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney), who came out and did what they always do: they brought the big, industrial sized can of Rubber City Whoop-Ass. While Chrissie Hynde and Rachel Roberts were performing, I went backstage to interview Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh. I listened as he talked to the guy from Rolling Stone, who kept asking for thoughts on politics and Obama. When it was my turn, Mark seemed happy to change the subject and talk about music. I asked him to compare the show they were about to perform with their last Akron show in 1978, and what the club scene was like for them back then: “There's gonna be a lot of people that were here at the last show – or their kids. (laughs) It'll be a different audience. The band will be somewhat different but we will retain some of the songs from that show, and the look is gonna be quite similar.

“We had a very small following here in Akron. At the time that we were playing Akron, bands that played original music were not – people weren't looking to go to a club to hear them. That's different now, you know, trends have changed. Back then people wanted to hear bar bands play Top 40 material. So we used to sometimes lie and say we were a Top 40 band, and we'd end up at a club where about 3 or 4 songs into it, by the time we went 'and here's another one by Foghat, it's called MONGOLOID!' by then you'd have all these guys that had just got off work and they're bummed out, they're trying to avoid going home, and they're listening to this guy saying they're gonna play a song called 'Mongoloid' and then it's 'Jocko Homo,' and we used to stretch that out to be like half an hour long, just to make people go crazy anyhow, and it would incite people to come up and get in fights with us! We got paid to quit probably as many times as we got to finish sets back in those days. Except for when we finally started playing at this club called the Crypt, a friend of mine opened this club and there was just a few bands that played there. So there would be like 20 or 30 people that would show up. That was our fan base back then.”

Devo took the stage to a thunderous welcome home ovation, dressed in their classic yellow hazmat suits. Their trademark red energy domes were making their Akron debut – they were first donned in 1980 for the Freedom of Choice album and tour. No, they're not flower pots, although I suppose they could be used as such. The all ages crowd was on it's feet for the entire concert, 14 songs in just over an hour. The band still puts on a high energy show. Except for current drummer Josh Freese (from A Perfect Circle, who was absent for this show), the guys are all well into their fifties. Mark still jumps around good at 58. Opening with “That's Good” from 1982's Oh No, It's Devo! , the guys played a set of hits and favorites, wisely sticking to the early, guitar driven songs where Bob Mothersbaugh (Bob 1) and multi-instrumentalist Bob Casale (Bob 2) shined and away from their disco/club music infused later period. “Going Under” from 1981's New Traditionalists was an odd choice, considering that album also yielded “Jerkin' Back and Forth,” “Through Being Cool,” and “Beautiful World,” none of which were performed, unfortunately. Neil Taylor sat in admirably, and aggressively, behind the drum kit in place of Josh, not to mention Alan Myers, wherever he is.

“Peek-A-Boo” and “Girl U Want” followed, and then bassist/keyboardist Jerry Casale gave a political set up to Devo's mega-hit, “Whip It”: “Many years ago Devo said when a problem comes along, you must whip it. And we have a big problem. A huge, ugly, 8-year long nightmare perpetrated by ideologues, mean spirited menial minds oriented towards greed. Are we gonna whip it on November 4th here in Ohio? Are those 20 electoral votes going to the right place this time? All right, come on, say it – whip it good! Whip it good! Whip it now!” The wildly cheering Democrat spuds ate it up.

Devo's covers of “Secret Agent Man” (sung by Bob 1) and the Stone's “Satisfaction” were probably performed 30 years ago as they were this night, along with “Mongoloid,” “Uncontrollable Urge” (a drunk spud jumped on stage for this one, then disappeared into the crowd) and their de-evolution strip-down “Jocko Homo” from their 1978 debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! The main set closed with the mind blowing synth workout “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA” and futuristic power chord rocker “Gates of Steel.” They left the stage and returned wearing Obama – Duty Now for the Future T-shirts for “Freedom of Choice,” and then Chrissie Hynde, the Black Keys and Rachel Roberts joined Devo on stage for a jam on Chrissie's new Pretenders song, “Break Up the Concrete.” One floppy, drunk 50-something woman at the front of the stage got so excited she started to take her top off, causing one security guard to wince in horror and look away as he forced her arms back down and escorted her out of the crowd. Who says these guys have it easy? He saved our eyes from witnessing the truth of de-evolution.

The VIP after show party in the balcony was crowded with politicians, musicians, Mothersbaugh, Casale, and Hynde family and friends, and ordinary spuds who coughed up $150 for the Democrat coffers, with all-you-could-eat food, beer and wine. I loaded up on meatballs, cheese cubes and other fancy goodies, but then I had no room left for the free beer! What a silly spud I am! Bob 1 left early but the other Devo guys stuck around and mingled with everyone. To their credit, Chrissie Hynde (who got absolutely mobbed, but was cool to everybody) and Mark Mothersbaugh were among the very last to leave around 1 a.m.

That same weekend featured the Ghoulardi-Fest at the Independence Holiday Inn. Since the Mothersbaughs grew up in this area, I asked Mark before the show if Cleveland's late night TV legend of the 60's, Ernie “Ghoulardi” Anderson, and later, Hoolihan & Big Chuck, were an influence on him as a kid. Rolling Stone wouldn't know nor care to ask such a question. I'm glad I did. “Ghoulardi – specifically – made my mind, at that age. He saved my life. There was nothing to do before I had a driver's license on weekends, in the cold, I was in Cuyahoga Falls and I'd be sitting in the basement at my parents house. But then I'd turn on Ghoulardi, and he was the most radical thing that had ever happened in my life. I was totally blown away by him and his kind of sac religious, artistic, creative deconstruction of old movies that I'd already seen like ten times, like “One Million B.C.” and “Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman” and stuff like that. When he would, like, step into the movie and do his stupid shtick with it, I loved that so much! He was my hero.

“The only thing weird that happened was – once he came to my high school. They played something called donkey basketball, where all the teachers get on donkeys and then all the TV personalities get on donkeys and they played basketball. And I just remember I saw him – I was turning down one of the hallways at my school and I saw Ghoulardi at the other end walking my way. And I looked down there and my eyes went gigantic and I was like – oh my god, that's my hero, that's Ghoulardi! And I was trembling, and I got up close to him and I said - I said 'Ghoulardi!' and he said 'F**K YOU!' and that was it! He kept going and I was like – what did I do?!”

Donkey basketball. Sounds like a fun Democrat party fund raiser. I did find a few stealth Republicans in the crowd. We spoke in hushed tones. As a staunch independent, here's my endorsement for November 4th: Vote your heart, vote your soul, I'm just here for the rock and roll. Give the past a slip, and while you're at it, pass me some more meatballs and cheese cubes. I've got a swelling, itching brain to vote for my dream ticket of General Boy for President and Booji Boy for VP. Ooooooo! Sarah Cuda! God bless the USA – it's still a wiggly world, if not always a beautiful one. Continue to rock.

SUPER POTSIE
Host of Rock Stew on Radio Free Canton

90.7 FM - www.radiofreecanton.net
e-mail: superpotsie@radiofreecanton.net

I've got an uncontrollable urge to play donkey basketball.