DEVO-OBSESSO
Event Report FAN
GATHERING •
CLEVELAND, O-Hi-O • AUGUST 14/15, 2015
DEVOtional 2015 sets attendance record! The DEVOtional 2015 was the most well-attended in the history of the event! The first-ever DEVOtional was way back in 2000.
A couple major factors played a part in this year's larger-than-normal attendance. It didn't hurt that there was an unveiling of permanent DEVO street art scheduled in Akron, OH on the morning of Sat., Aug 15th - the main day of our DEVOtional event in Cleveland. We got TONS of press because of that art installation, which really helped spread the word. Another reason for the increased ticket sales was the limited edition "Nutty Buddy" tape given to the first 100 advance ticket buyers. Thanks to Futurismo for that! (Futurismo is the UK label who released DEVO's "Miracle Witness Hour (Live 1977 at Eagle Street Saloon)" LP/CD in 2014). We sold 100 tickets in advance for the first time ever - thanks, Spuds! We're going to offer something similar next year to advance ticket buyers, so stay tuned.
Our DEVOtional 2015 special guests included Gerald V. Casale of DEVO, Josh "Josh2" Hager of DEVO, David Kendrick (Former drummer for DEVO), and Evie Nagy, author of 33/ 1/3 "Freedom Of Choice" book. A gaggle of great
bands performed on both Friday & Saturday: DEVOmatix, Lieutenant Dance, Ken The Magic Corner God, Hep-Z, Rural War Room, Eric Nassau, and Mutant Mountain Boys.
This year we welcomed DEVOtees from all over the globe to our DEVOtional event. In addition to the spuds who traveled from all over the USA, we also had DEVOted visitors from Canada, Scotland, Japan, and Chile! Pre-event online press:
Click
imagery for larger view, more info, and to view other
photos in chronological order.
Pre-event photos:
DEVOtional 2015 Schedule:
Friday, Aug. 14th
In Cleveland (Beachland Tavern):
7:00pm: Eric Nassau
7:45pm: Ultrabunny
9:30pm: Lieutenant Dance
Saturday, Aug. 15th
in Akron (@ 182 S. Main St. Akron, OH 44308):
10:00am: Booji Boy Clones in Akron
11:00am-1pm: DEVO Street Art Unveiling FREE FOOD starts at 11am.
Speakers/Ceremony at 12noon.
Free Chili Dogs & Tacos!
In Cleveland (Beachland Ballroom):
2:00pm: DOORS OPEN
3:00pm: Ken The Magic Corner God
4:00pm: Evie Nagy
4:30pm: Devo Movie (Unreleased Hardcore 2014 Footage!)
5:30pm: Devomatix
6:30pm: Josh Hager
7:00pm: David Kendrick
7:30pm: Hep*Z
8:30pm: Gerald Casale
9:00pm: The Fantastic Plastics
10:00pm: Mutant Mountain Boys
10:30pm: Rural War Room
THANX 2 ALLISON ANNE FOR FLYER ART ASSISTANCE! >>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fri.,
Aug. 14 - Bands @ Beachland Tavern
DEVOtees started showing up at The Beachland Tavern late on Friday afternoon to mingle with mutants they hadn't seen since last year's DEVOtional and brand new spud buddies they only knew online until now. It's always nice to see how many different decade-spanning DEVO T-Shirts are on display during DEVOtional weekend!
Oddly enough, there was a pajama party/concert going on in the Beachland Ballroom while we were having our Friday DEVOtional in the Beachland Tavern.
The bar opened around 6pm and bands started pretty close to 7pm. I think we finally went back to the hotel sometime after 1am....then found reason to stay up chatting till around 3am. Wait, don't I have to get up early in the morning again...?
Click imagery for larger view, more info, and to view other photos in chronological order.
Video of Eric Nassau playing acoustic "Going Under" by DEVO
Fri. Aug 14/Beachland Tavern
Video by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video of Ultrabunny - Fri. Aug 14/Beachland Tavern
Video by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video of Lieutenant Dance - Fri. Aug 14/Beachland Tavern
Video by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sat.,
Aug. 15th (Morning) - DEVO Street Art Unveiling in Akron
Me and my spudly comrades (Tim, Antonio, and Allison) had to show up mega early in Akron to set up for the morning's events, including the DEVO art unveiling, march of the Booji Boy clones, etc. We had limited edition prints, Energy Domes & t-shirts to sell, so we wanted to get there in time to secure a good spot for our table.
Did I mention we stayed up until 3am the night before? Oh...and the night before that, too. When there's DEVO fans from all over the globe hanging out at the same hotel, then that time-consuming sleep can wait till I get back home to North Carolina! Spud time is quality time.
Video of Street Art Event in Akron - Sat. Aug. 15 Footage by
Muckety Muck
Booji Boy Clones Take the Streets of Akron - Sat. Aug. 15th Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Akron Booji Walk/Wall Art Event Video
by JIM DORIA
Video of Speakers in Akron - Sat. Aug. 15th Footage by ALLEN SMITH
Sat.,
Aug. 15th Cleveland - DEVOtional @ Beachland
I was already exhausted from the activities in Akron when I showed up in Cleveland to set up my DEVOtional wares at the Beachland Ballroom on Saturday. We drove straight from the Akron art unveiling directly to the Beachland...no lunch...no time to spare! Had 1 hour to set up in time for doors to open at 2pm....but seeing the friendly, familiar faces of my DEVOtees gave me the energy I needed to continue on (with the additional help of an ice cold Red Bull... the legal drug)!
I've tried to remember details from the 12-hour event...but all I can recall is a blurry whirlwind of activity and conversations from 2pm until late that night. Thank goodness we have phones with cameras these days to help fill in the blanks! That said, I'll let the photos & videos do most of the talking. Check out the thumbnail images & links below!
Click
imagery for larger view, more info, and to view other
photos in chronological order.
Hep Z.'s rendition of DEVO's "Swelling Itching Brain"- Sat. Aug. 15th Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video of DEVOmatix performing "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise" Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video of DEVOmatix performing "Beautiful World" w/ Jerry Casale Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video DEVOmatix & Jerry Casale of DEVO performing "Be Stiff" Footage by Fred Hollins
Video of DEVOmatix performing "Going Under" Footage by Fred Hollins
Thanks to everyone who came together to donate their time, money and resources to make this event happen - Nick Ciasullo (for being our fearless manager of all the gory details), Joe & Ren Provo (as always!), Rev. Toth Wilder (in the trenches in Ohio!), all the bands & artists and everyone who contributed in any way! It couldn't be done without you, of course. Let's do it again in 2016! Post event online articles:
