Shortly before beginning the band’s set, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh learned we have a closet full of stage props and costumes — everything from lab coats and wigs to a rubber chicken and fake blood. After quickly rummaging through the boxes and racks of clothes, he returned with a stack of hats that he eventually (and repeatedly) swapped out during a sometimes breathless performance.
The band’s set — coming after releasing a career-spanning box set, 50 Years of De-Evolution (1973-2023), late last year — included songs members say they hadn’t performed in more than 40 years. They opened with “It Takes a Worried Man,” a track Devo had originally recorded for the little-known 1982 comedy film Human Highway. The group also performed a skittering version of 1979’s “Blockhead,” and “Come Back Jonee” from the band’s 1978 debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Now 74, Mothersbaugh hasn’t slowed down or lost the playfully subversive style that’s defined his time with Devo, at one point working his way into the audience with a megaphone to ask people just inches away what they’re doing with their hands (for the song “Praying Hands”).
SET LIST
- “It Takes a Worried Man”
- “Blockhead”
- “Praying Hands”
- “Come Back Jonee”
MUSICIANS
- Gerald Casale: bass, vocals
- Jeff Friedl: percussion
- Josh Hager: guitar, vocals
- Mark Mothersbaugh: keys, vocals
- Bob Mothersbaugh: guitar, vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Christina Shaman
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
- Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
- Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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