----DEVOtional 2017 - Our annual fan gathering has again exceeded attendence numbers of our previous year's event. We sold over 100 tickets in advance for the first time, and had plenty of people pay at the door on the day of. Special guests: Gerald V. Casale of DEVO, David Kendrick of DEVO/Sparks/Gleaming Spires, and Bob Lewis of DEVO's formative years.
----This year we were VERY pleased to add an encore event to our DEVOtional weekend - The FIRST annual 5KDEVO Race in Akron! Yes, this will be an annual event going forward. Over 800 racers registered for the event! Check out racer times & winner names at the 5KDEVO site.
----We're always excited to welcome DEVOtees from all over Planet Earth. This year, in addition to Spuds who traveled from all corners of the USA, we were also thrilled to meet some very dedicated Spuds from Canada, Australia, and the UK. Thanks for making the trip, everyone!
----Last year, we offered a special gift to the first 100 advance ticket buyers (limited edition Deluxe Energy Dome lapel pin courtesy of Futurismo Inc.), and this year we offered an embroidered DEVO patch & lapel pin set courtesy of Atom Age Industries (DEVO's merchandiser). Printed materials, press, etc:
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Pre-event photos:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday
July 28th @ Beachland Tavern
----It was a hot night at the Beachland Tavern for our Friday festivities...but admittedly much cooler than when we held past events in late August. I'm a fan of July DEVOtionals, for sure.
----Bands performing on Friday night were Johnny Hates 45s, Eric Nassau, and DEVOtional faves Lt. Dance. Check out the photos & video clips below.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday July 29th Cleveland @ Beachland
----Spuds dutifully showed up a little early...just before doors opened at 2pm. With over 100 pre-sale tickets sold, we had a nice crowd starting off the day...with lots of walk-ups who purchased tickets at the door.
----The live music entertainment started with local Ohio boys, MANSWERK (featuring members of Ohio legends SOCKEYE and BOY IN LOVE). They dished out some heavy devolved stuff, as usual! Featuring Matt Lindsey on guitar, whose DEVO covers are always the rockinest. Up next was Dagen Julty, a performance artist clown from NYC...who was suffiently weird with a nifty gloopy-glorpy soundtrack to boot. 3rd in line was a DEVOtional favorite, Al Mothersbaugh with his MASSIVE HOTDOG RECALL band. Everytime they cover DEVO's "Shout", smiles break out across the room. ----Jerry Casale and his old friend Bob Lewis then took the stage to play music together for the first time in 40+ years...performing a couple old Hardcore DEVO era tracks with help from members of SPUDBOYS. Bob Lewis played a huge role in mapping out theory & aesthetic during DEVO's formative years. It was such a treat to see such old songs brought to life in a gritty live performance. I vote for this to happen again next year with alternate Hardcore DEVO era songs. :)
Special thanks to Bob Lewis for making it to his first DEVOtional (and hoping it's not his last!).
----The main room at Beachland was packed with spuds for most of the day, who enjoyed hearing tracks from DEVO's upcoming "Recombo DNA" release, an autograph session with Jerry Casale, David Kendrick, and Bob Lewis...plus the highly entertaining sets performed by Dagen The Clown, Malcolm Tent, and XPosed 4Heads. BTW: XPosed 4Heads have just released a new album called "Urgency Squad", which was available for sale on vinyl LP at the DEVOtional. Congrats on a great sounding record, comrades!
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Video: Manswerk "That's Pep"
Sat. July 29th Beachland Ballroom Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Dagen Julty the Clown
Sat. July 28th Beachland Ballroom Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Massive Hotdog Recall (feat. Al Mothersbaugh) "SHOUT"
Sat. July 28th Beachland Ballroom Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Massive Hotdog Recall
"The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise"
Sat. July 29th Beachland Ballroom Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Massive Hotdog Recall
Sat. July 29th Beachland Ballroom Footage by BLNKRBOY
Video: Xposed 4Heads "System Overload"
Sat. July 29th Beachland Ballroom Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Sunday July 30th Akron - 5KDEVO Race
----The 1st Annual 5KDEVO Race hit Akron, OH on this day! We were happy & surprised to see SO MANY racers...over 800 registered humans! The weather was perfect and people started gathering at Lock 3 in downtown Akron around 6:30am to prep for the 8am start time.
----Jerry Casale started the race with a "D-E-V-O...GO!" countdown, and racers traveled through the streets of Akron for the next hour or so. Everyone culminated in the Lock 3 yard downtown to see the presentation of awards, and we got LOTS of positive feedback from runners saying they would definitely attend next year.
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imagery for larger view, more info, and to view other
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Video: Jerry Casale Counts Down The Start of Race!
Sun. July 30th - 5KDEVO Race in Akron Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Racers Run The Streets of Akron!
Sun. July 30th - 5KDEVO Race in Akron Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Energy Dome Awards Await Top Winners
Sun. July 30th - 5KDEVO Race in Akron Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
Video: Jerry Casale Addresses Runners Post-Race
Sun. July 30th - 5KDEVO Race in Akron Footage by Michael Pilmer/Devo-Obsesso
As always, a big devolved THANK YOU to everyone who donated their time, money, and resources to make this event happen - Nick Ciasullo (for managing this thing for the last few years), Jim Chaney (for all his hard work on 5KDEVO), Joe & Ren Provo (as always!), all the special guests, bands, artists, photographers, and everyone who contributed in any way. It couldn't be done without you humans!
We're already planning for a great DEVOtional weekend in 2018!
Duty Now,
-Michael Pilmer - for DEVO, Inc. &
Devo-Obsesso.com
