on a vhs tape. Which is where I saw it almost two decades before youtube existed. my copy was even worse quality than this fourth or fifth generation copy
After all these years of assuming that they were a mostly-techno band, I honestly believe that Devo is, first and foremost, one of the best punk bands ever to come straight outta Akron, OH. RIP Bob Casale. #Devo
Sorry but if you've ever thought of DEVO as a techno outfit shows you're lack of understanding of what techno is? They were always more in line with the punk and new wave movements.
Without a doubt. The way they rebelled agains, it at least pointed out, the shallowness of much of the values for the baby boomer/flower power generation is very much in the punk, post-punk or hardcore ethos
I seriously get shivers every time I watch this. Probably my all-time favorite Devo song, with an extra long intro, and such emotion in the performance. For people who really GET how awesome Devo was/is, this was a pivotal moment.
Im only 18 but this is easily one of my favorite songs ever. The personality in the singing, the catchy guitar, their whole aesthetic, they’re incomparable.
@@rickprice893I'm 17 and have been a fan since I was 12/13. been really happy to see that Devo has influenced newer bands I love like The Coneheads and Uranium Club.
Incomparable is the perfect word to describe Devo. When I was 20 I interned on a show called “The Cutting Edge” which was an alternative music showcase that ran monthly on MTV. Devo was on the show and I was able to meet them. Polite and friendly. I’m nearly 62 now and in the nearly 50 years since the above video was shot, nothing’s been lost. Play Devo for your kids some day! My 21-year-old loves them.
One of the raddest early U.S. punk artifacts. This version gets so wild and intense it almost makes the Dead Boys sound tame....DEVO during this period were so off the hook, so badass, it's absurd...
Kudos to the guys who filmed this. Cameras in 1977 were large and heavy, and needed a separate recorder for on-location shooting; a two-person job. Camcorders weren't invented until 1983.
This looks like Super 8, which was a bit more compact, though expensive to develop in color. Thus black and white here. Black and white could be developed in a home lab rather than requiring expensive commercial processing.
@@TheEricleegreen No, this isn't Super 8; that is not a film image. It almost certainly was recorded using a Sony Portapak, - an open reel videotape machine, one version of which came with a battery pack. Lots of artists (including Nam June Paik and Max's regular Andy Warhol) and public access stations used Portapak machines. There's a surprisingly amount of footage from them on RUclips, including much of a show by Bette Midler at the Continental Baths. I hope this footage has been preserved and cleaned up as much as possible.
The Sheeple think Devo is Whip It. they'll never know. Mr Kamikaze Me Dna , Blockhead. she's just a girl Beautiful World etc etc. And I ask as they askex Are we not men?
@@OnlyEdandTheAlmost hey I mean, not all hip hop is like that, the stuff from up to the early 90's sure as hell wasn't dreary, most modern rap "music" is godawful though.
It was an incredible time, I cherish the late 70s early 80s punk. Fortunately I went to a few very early Devo shows. Iconic! I worked on the Dean Stockwell movie Human Highway in 1982. Devo with Neil Young, some videos are on RUclips. I got to spend hours with Devo for over a month during that time. They got to know my friend Bruce Conner who made his own video for the song Mongoloid also on RUclips. Bruce made movies with scrap 35mm movie film. Devo loved Bruce. I was from San Francisco, my good friends were the Avengers, Mutants and I knew the DKs too.. Three of the best bands from SF. So many more . Those years at the Mabuhay Gardens and after hours at TargetVideo in the Mission district were some of the best years of my life. RIP Dirk Dirkson.!! Target Video, Joe Rees....,Iconic stuff! Many of his videos are on RUclips.
I saw them in early 1979, and the level of anticipation in the audience before they came out was amazing; everyone knew that Devo was something unique and special. The concert was electrifying.
This wasn’t shot on VHS - it wasn’t invented yet. Most likely a Sony portable open tape system with separate camera and recorder. A friend’s Father had one.
@@johnspooner1403 In the description it says "bad quality video from old VHS cassette... but rare" Sounds like the original was transferred to VHS at some point.
Saw them live in 1979. Speaking as a drummer, I don't think I have ever seen a tighter band. Man, they were playing some really hard stuff...and they nailed it like it was nothing. And jumped around with funny hats on too...
melodiantime Am I the only one who hums...duh duh duh dum at the end? Every time I see this it makes me think Devo were the best US 'punk' band ever. Ah come back Jonee.
@@Tinyhall1 really? They were at uni during the kent state massacre. Which I just checked was in 1970. So MM was 20. Which makes sense. Wrote this comment when I was 19. Think I needed to see myself in them then. Barrelling into my mid 20s now, your reply is actually quite heartening. Thanks for responding
This is my favorite Devo song. Imagine tripping and speeding in Radio City Music Hall in the 80s losing your mind dancing and jumping and singing through this song. That was me
+flyingmerkel6 DEVO did indeed invent time travel...Pretty sure potatoes are at least 40% of the equation. I was only two earth years of age at the time of this recording...yet...here I am...in the future.
Not "Perhaps" The most under-rated and misunderstood band in history but that actually worked well for them. There is no way to account for the influence they had on everything that followed them. The fusion of electronics and punk ... ah, words fail.
Wow... what a difference a year makes..... I saw them in 78 at Sheffield Civic Hall UK and they played their album perfectly...and with the yellow boiler suits... And made a major impact on my life eversince.......
It was fun when all this stuff surfaced, looking like nothing that had come before. I remember seeing Devo on SNL and everyone talking about it the next Monday at school. It was a great time.
Very true. DEVO were truly doing something *COMPLETELY* new. Even most of the other (then) new punk bands weren’t exactly breaking all ties with the past. Most of them were just doing an angrier, louder version of the garage bands from the 60’s. DEVO and a select few others, like Wire in England and the Screamers in L.A. were basically throwing away everything that had come before and doing something totally new and original. I remember how blown away I was back then with their whole thing - their look, their sound, and the whole de-evolution concept. They managed to keep it pretty fresh and challenging all the way up until roughly 1981.
@@Brewzerr Not exactly 'throwing away everything' . But definitely reworked some things. e.g. 'Uncontrollable Urge' is Led Zeppelin 'Misty Mountain Hop' riff . But , yes , they were making a statement by de-volving it .
Back in the 70's Playboy magazine had an article about interesting gifts you could buy. One of them was you could hire a Devo to play at your birthday party, just 25,000 plus transportation. What a bargain!!!
Saw them in 78. One of the most memorable gigs I ever attended. Bunch of hippies started throwing suff at them on the stage so others in the crowd started throwing stuff at the hippies. Happy days.
Let me sneak this one in. A re-post from a year ago. Please watch this whole 6 1/2 minute song. It;s truly SUPERB. . Man, this is one hell-of-a performance. If I remember correctly, at the outset of their career, many felt Devo was sort of novelty/joke band. Time has certainly corrected this impression and Devo now stands as a highly skilled, unique sounding group. How can you not love their new wave/punk sound? It's certainly appealing on many levels. Devo's first single Mongoloid/Jocko Homo had been out only four months before this Max's show. From what I've heard David Bowie and other musicians were in the audience at this show and Bowie was so impressed he introduced Devo when they played again at Max's later that year. So if their first official recorded effort had been out so recently how could Devo be so polished and professional? Answer: Devo had been playing as a six piece unit as far back as 1973 at Kent State Creative Arts Festival where two of them were enrolled. The day Mongoloid/Jocko Homo was released Devo played a free concert at Akron Arts Institute basement and offended many in the audience by playing Mongoloid when, in fact, there was a badly retarded child in the audience. (For a real eye opener pick up Hardcore Devo vol 1 and 2. These are home recordings from 1974-77 and show what a fully developed band Devo was many years before their official debut.) As I write this on record store day 2014 the concert with Bowie announcing the group is just released. But its run of 2000 is gone in a flash and in true entrepreneurial spirit copies are now up for bid/sale on ebay for large amounts of greenbacks.
I had no idea how tight the rhythm section and really how tight the whole band was. This video is great evidence of that. Just like the Beatles honed their craft in Hamburg over a long time, Devo was very polished when they hit the scene with the Are We Not Men album. This may be my favorite version of Gut Feeling.
willieluncheonette I would add, and perhaps this was just dumb luck, that Mark had the perfect singing voice and affect for what Devo was about...you know...like it just wouldn’t have worked with Marvin Gaye !
I keep coming to that, I try to make a post and realize I can't say enough. I could write a book and it wouldn't come close to expressing how completely awesome this crappy black and white ate up video is. I think your statement is as close to perfect as possible.
Between the 1:04 step up on the crescendo , or the 1:30 grip switch on the drum sticks, or the way Alan Meyer's has the cymbals swaying @ 2:18 this is the greatest build up I have see lol
This is the PERFECT version of this song!! Alan Meyers is the most amazing drummer ever. Just watching him in this video is not fit for words. I just keep watching it over and over he is about to tear that kit to shreds!!! I LOVE IT!!!
I was TEN when this was recorded. thankfuly I had two sisters who made sure I was well versed in some of the greatest music erer, they were children of the sixtys. my sister linda gave me my first real LP David bowie. Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from mars. I would stand in front of the mirror screeching out 'Aww wham bam thank you mam' but, mysteriously wouldn't say what it ment.... thank god for my sisters. yhey put me on the road to devo, and black flag, talking heads. shit.. I lived through some of the greatest tunes and shows ever.
william breen - I’m the same age as you, and have a very similar story. Only for me it was my aunt. She got me into all the Glam/Glitter stuff early on, when I was still just a little kid and that stuff was still relatively new and fresh. She’s only 7 years older than me, and has always been more like a big sister than an aunt. I remember hanging out in her room as a kid listening to ‘Diamond Dogs’ by Bowie, and staring at her 6-foot life-sized poster of Bowie with the dog on the chain. I thought Bowie was like some superhero from another planet back then. My aunt really helped lay the foundations for all the stuff I’d get into later on as a pre-teen and a teenager, including DEVO. They were my third-ever concert (1979). I was 11 years old, and I really can’t overstate just how much of an impact that show made on me. Things were never quite the same for me after that night. A couple of years later, and I was neck-deep into punk and other underground music. I still thank my aunt every time we talk for helping shape me into who I am, even though I’m now in my 50’s and she’s almost 60.
Saw them live in the summer of '80 on the Freedom of Choice tour. Great, tight band and a terrifically inventive presentation. Still a fan after all these years.
just great ! thanx alan, thanx devo. Band members may pass on but their music will never die, Devo is such a great source of inspiration! I discovered them in 2005 at the age of 15 and i never stopped listening to them. Devo just like Talking Heads, Silver Apples or the Residents (and many others) have the power to never get old and affect deeply any generation of monkeys. RIP
You note this is bad quality VHS, granted. It is also a reminder to younger people just how far A/V technology has come in 45 years! and this was really the longest intro of any iteration of this song. I started typing way into it and just now it wrapped......
Watched this video over 100 times and still i get Goosebumps everytime I see it. I see a woman in the crowd putting her hands on her ears! 🤣🤣 This gig must have created a lot of grunge musicians im sure.
can't believe the drummer played without hihats. devo! of all people, no hihats. i hope the world one day realizes that they were the best band ever to band.
I remember an interview with I believe Mark. He was asked if the lack of cymbals on the original Linn Drum machine bothered him, and he replied that he did not like cymbals.
I was 14 and immortal, and look now - I'm still alive.
bravo. you must be like a century old!😂
I was 15, and amazingly enough...I'm still breathin 😎
@@drcobra-dc6uy I was 22 and I still race bicycles!🤣
This is why RUclips exists. Where else would you be able to see this?
In your head after eating 'shrooms in the forest?
Originally yes. Then it was bought out...
on a vhs tape. Which is where I saw it almost two decades before youtube existed. my copy was even worse quality than this fourth or fifth generation copy
I had the first record on 8 track
After all these years of assuming that they were a mostly-techno band, I honestly believe that Devo is, first and foremost, one of the best punk bands ever to come straight outta Akron, OH. RIP Bob Casale. #Devo
I suspect you've hit the nail on the head. Remember they started as through making a film about a band at art school rather than being musicians.
Damn ass straight
Sorry but if you've ever thought of DEVO as a techno outfit shows you're lack of understanding of what techno is? They were always more in line with the punk and new wave movements.
Jacques Dray oh no bro. bob done kicked the bucket? - That's the most tragical news in modern history!
Without a doubt. The way they rebelled agains, it at least pointed out, the shallowness of much of the values for the baby boomer/flower power generation is very much in the punk, post-punk or hardcore ethos
The intro to this song can NEVER be too long!
💯
The future still hasn't caught up with Devo.
It won't, because the future is devolving
💯
Of course. Just look at their shirts that say EV.
The man speaks truth.
This song is one of the best build ups ever.
The absolute best! Second place...Free Bird.
Agreed
Truth
I agree, but I feel compelled to mention WHITE RABBIT, and Cinderella’s big score(sonic youth)
It's diametrically perfect. The vocals come in at exactly the mid point of the song.
A little piece of music history.
It's Punk, it's Surf, it's geek... Fantastic.
It's PuRFeek
@@repairdepartment5918one word poem. Nice
There definitely is a surf element to some of their songs!
It's art.
Sk8
When I liked this video I said "better late than never"...
I seriously get shivers every time I watch this. Probably my all-time favorite Devo song, with an extra long intro, and such emotion in the performance. For people who really GET how awesome Devo was/is, this was a pivotal moment.
💜☠️💜😎
Seen them live their 1st show in southern ca
And a few more after to
sooooo good ❤
Yup. Still play this at least once a month. Love it.
Gold
Im only 18 but this is easily one of my favorite songs ever. The personality in the singing, the catchy guitar, their whole aesthetic, they’re incomparable.
@@rickprice893I'm 17 and have been a fan since I was 12/13. been really happy to see that Devo has influenced newer bands I love like The Coneheads and Uranium Club.
You got great taste, Kid!!
At 23 I hope you still got it on your hit list the album one
Incomparable is the perfect word to describe Devo. When I was 20 I interned on a show called “The Cutting Edge” which was an alternative music showcase that ran monthly on MTV. Devo was on the show and I was able to meet them. Polite and friendly. I’m nearly 62 now and in the nearly 50 years since the above video was shot, nothing’s been lost. Play Devo for your kids some day! My 21-year-old loves them.
Cool. Keep listening
Devo is criminally underrated.
Awww, DAD. We're ALL DEVO!
Not any more!!!! Obsessed with this band r n
53 likes no dislikes.
Not by me, Frankie Moz. I still love this.
Devo real good. U feel better?
The world needed Devo.
The world still needs Devo!
Thousands of great drummers but only one Alan Myers. RIP Alan and Bob. Devo was truly meant to be.
He was the spiraling tension of every arrangement. Insane build up and crescendos. A master.
One of the raddest early U.S. punk artifacts. This version gets so wild and intense it almost makes the Dead Boys sound tame....DEVO during this period were so off the hook, so badass, it's absurd...
Kudos to the guys who filmed this. Cameras in 1977 were large and heavy, and needed a separate recorder for on-location shooting; a two-person job. Camcorders weren't invented until 1983.
This looks like Super 8, which was a bit more compact, though expensive to develop in color. Thus black and white here. Black and white could be developed in a home lab rather than requiring expensive commercial processing.
@@TheEricleegreen No, this isn't Super 8; that is not a film image. It almost certainly was recorded using a Sony Portapak, - an open reel videotape machine, one version of which came with a battery pack. Lots of artists (including Nam June Paik and Max's regular Andy Warhol) and public access stations used Portapak machines. There's a surprisingly amount of footage from them on RUclips, including much of a show by Bette Midler at the Continental Baths. I hope this footage has been preserved and cleaned up as much as possible.
My guess is this was shot on a 1/2” VHS Panasonic Camcorder. The audio sounds pretty good. Thanks for sharing this rare footage.
@@brainworthy the first camcorders were available in 83 ish? This is 77?
The Sheeple think Devo is Whip It. they'll never know. Mr Kamikaze Me Dna , Blockhead. she's just a girl Beautiful World etc etc. And I ask as they askex Are we not men?
I was in San Diego in 2010 and saw DEVO. I was sad when they didn't play this.
What a time to be living when punk music was around and bands like this existed. It made you feel alive.
Now we have hip-hop. Dreary, dreary hip-hop.
@@OnlyEdandTheAlmost hey I mean, not all hip hop is like that, the stuff from up to the early 90's sure as hell wasn't dreary, most modern rap "music" is godawful though.
It was an incredible time, I cherish the late 70s early 80s punk. Fortunately I went to a few very early Devo shows. Iconic!
I worked on the Dean Stockwell movie Human Highway in 1982. Devo with Neil Young, some videos are on RUclips. I got to spend hours with Devo for over a month during that time. They got to know my friend Bruce Conner who made his own video for the song Mongoloid also on RUclips. Bruce made movies with scrap 35mm movie film. Devo loved Bruce.
I was from San Francisco, my good friends were the Avengers, Mutants and I knew the DKs too.. Three of the best bands from SF. So many more
. Those years at the Mabuhay Gardens and after hours at TargetVideo in the Mission district were some of the best years of my life.
RIP Dirk Dirkson.!!
Target Video, Joe Rees....,Iconic stuff!
Many of his videos are on RUclips.
And there was always somebody rolling thru town, and you could see 'em in a dirty, sweaty, smoke filled bar for a 3 dollar cover!
@@TheRoafer Target video was such a delight!
Maybe the best rock and roll song of all time.
God I hope this stuff is still around a thousand years from now so people will know what mankind is capable of.
it is then they will surely understand what human DEVO really means
I had the privilege of seeing these bad boys in Sheffield England 1978 ~ I still havn't recovered!!!!
My mum wouldn't let me go to that gig (Was 14 at the time), at the City hall if I remember correctly.
josie parkin I was lucky enough to see them at the rainbow theatre in finsbury pk London 1980.
josie parkin 1980 for me
Paramount Theatre, Portland Or 1982
I saw them in early 1979, and the level of anticipation in the audience before they came out was amazing; everyone knew that Devo was something unique and special. The concert was electrifying.
Watching this on a crappy VHS tape is absolutely perfect. Raw gold.
Now it's a digital filter.
This wasn’t shot on VHS - it wasn’t invented yet. Most likely a Sony portable open tape system with separate camera and recorder. A friend’s Father had one.
@@johnspooner1403 In the description it says "bad quality video from old VHS cassette... but rare" Sounds like the original was transferred to VHS at some point.
Analog reel to reel video.
Nothing crappy about VHS, I was there, even had Betamax. Analogue is real. Digital is subjective to 'correction'.
Saw them live in 1979. Speaking as a drummer, I don't think I have ever seen a tighter band. Man, they were playing some really hard stuff...and they nailed it like it was nothing. And jumped around with funny hats on too...
This is a piece of history. The scratchy black and white film just adds to to the feeling. Slap your baby down again.
GREAT, BLACK AND WHITE, GREAT SOUNDS FROM DEVO, SAW THEM LIVE IN 1979 IN GLASGOW.
AWESOME!
melodiantime
Am I the only one who hums...duh duh duh dum at the end?
Every time I see this it makes me think Devo were the best US 'punk' band ever.
Ah come back Jonee.
melodiantime Where? The Apollo was probably too big. Got a gut feeling that it was a Sauchiehall Street venue.
All the same it would be great if they had a multitrack setup to capture the audio
This genuinely awe inspiring. A bunch of teenage art students unleashing their raw fucking talent
MMothersbaugh- 27 yrs old in '77, check the rest of the ages. Sorry it took me 4 years to comment.
@@Tinyhall1 really? They were at uni during the kent state massacre. Which I just checked was in 1970. So MM was 20. Which makes sense. Wrote this comment when I was 19. Think I needed to see myself in them then. Barrelling into my mid 20s now, your reply is actually quite heartening. Thanks for responding
@@Neuroticmancer there is still time for your Max's debut my brother hope it is going well
@@Neuroticmancer Grad school.
by the time Whip It came out in 1980, the band was well into their 30s.
This is my favorite Devo song. Imagine tripping and speeding in Radio City Music Hall in the 80s losing your mind dancing and jumping and singing through this song. That was me
You must be a prize today after destroying so many brain cells on stupid drugs as a child. You ARE devo.
Devo is way under estimated. The musicality is amazing. One of the all time best bands on the planet.
This is chaos made into order and art. Nothing done today can match it.
That Gut Feeling intro is pure bliss.
PURE AGRREMENT WITH YOU, THE BEST.
Gets me everytime. It's weird it's like it gives me a feeling of nostalgia for a time in which I didn't even exist
It just goes on, and on, and on, and makes me wonder "Why couldn't it have been part of the official version??" So perfect.
Intro Has Rush Over Tones.
Greg X But it is part of the official version
Priceless!
If they ever invent time travel. I know where I'm going.
+flyingmerkel6 DEVO did indeed invent time travel...Pretty sure potatoes are at least 40% of the equation. I was only two earth years of age at the time of this recording...yet...here I am...in the future.
+flyingmerkel6, me too, me too!! :)
flyingmerkel6 devo is from the future bro... duh
You got me. However, we're now living in the future- and it sucketh greatly.
Devo was fucking right.
Perhaps one of the most under-rated bands?
Three under-rated bands: Devo, Renaissance, and October Project.
Not "Perhaps" The most under-rated and misunderstood band in history but that actually worked well for them. There is no way to account for the influence they had on everything that followed them. The fusion of electronics and punk ...
ah, words fail.
Certainly one of the best and rightfully inluential bands of all times, bit underrated? How?
@@qpouvtmvoelxjtu458 They should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
@@haybill3000 Very true!
Wow... what a difference a year makes..... I saw them in 78 at Sheffield Civic Hall UK and they played their album perfectly...and with the yellow boiler suits... And made a major impact on my life eversince.......
That intro totally influenced the 90s.
When he sang, "hhhbllreladdaaa beelaamaagg soallaakpp" It really got me. Truer words were never spoken. A poet for the ages.
Needs to be about 3 hours longer.
Missed em where I live. In present, I'd remember 😉! + heard they rocked it still!! Song holds up 2
Devo were so tight, even way back near the beginning, incredible.
This thing is nuts! I agree! Blam
It was fun when all this stuff surfaced, looking like nothing that had come before. I remember seeing Devo on SNL and everyone talking about it the next Monday at school. It was a great time.
Very true. DEVO were truly doing something *COMPLETELY* new. Even most of the other (then) new punk bands weren’t exactly breaking all ties with the past. Most of them were just doing an angrier, louder version of the garage bands from the 60’s. DEVO and a select few others, like Wire in England and the Screamers in L.A. were basically throwing away everything that had come before and doing something totally new and original. I remember how blown away I was back then with their whole thing - their look, their sound, and the whole de-evolution concept. They managed to keep it pretty fresh and challenging all the way up until roughly 1981.
@@Brewzerr Not exactly 'throwing away everything' . But definitely reworked some things.
e.g. 'Uncontrollable Urge' is Led Zeppelin 'Misty Mountain Hop' riff . But , yes , they were making a statement by de-volving it .
They were on Fridays in 1979. What year were they on SNL? I'll have to look it up.
I saw them Sheffield UK 1978. Still recovering. Mind Blown!!! FOREVER!!!!
Amazing video.... Amazing band.. Greetings from Chile 2021
their drummer is fantastic. rock solid.
Amazing from day one
Yes it was
Day one was way before the 80s & MTV, and they are not a onehit wonder....
@@doctorinsomnia5410You're really mining the hidden truths there
Same with you
The tension keeps building, finally culminating in the best song transition ever.
Mothersbaugh. What a great front man, what a great live band. By the time I saw them live (1980) their live act was truly performance art.
Fucking incredible. The most underrated American rock band ever!
Alan Myers is the best drummer to emerge from the punk era.
LaBaye 2x4 guitar!! Awesome vintage axe!!!
I do not care how much my kids laugh at me, DEVO will always be cool and I will always play it loud ! Spud forever.
Still the best !
Back in the 70's Playboy magazine had an article about interesting gifts you could buy. One of them was you could hire a Devo to play at your birthday party, just 25,000 plus transportation. What a bargain!!!
This is FABULOUS!! Makes me feel 14yrs old again!!
Born in 1962 and got to live through all of it growing up in SoCal.
Ahhh 70’s fun my brain and ears rerun . Devo thanks for bringing it .
Saw them in 78. One of the most memorable gigs I ever attended. Bunch of hippies started throwing suff at them on the stage so others in the crowd started throwing stuff at the hippies. Happy days.
The mark of a great band is their music still rocks your soul 44 years later.
They were off the charts weird for 1977. They deserved a better audience that night.
my 5 year old son loves DEVO! It's one of the only bands he knows the name of.
This kind of stuff is why I love RUclips.
Let me sneak this one in. A re-post from a year ago. Please watch this whole 6 1/2 minute song. It;s truly SUPERB. . Man, this is one hell-of-a performance. If I remember correctly, at the outset of their career, many felt Devo was sort of novelty/joke band. Time has certainly corrected this impression and Devo now stands as a highly skilled, unique sounding group. How can you not love their new wave/punk sound? It's certainly appealing on many levels. Devo's first single Mongoloid/Jocko Homo had been out only four months before this Max's show. From what I've heard David Bowie and other musicians were in the audience at this show and Bowie was so impressed he introduced Devo when they played again at Max's later that year. So if their first official recorded effort had been out so recently how could Devo be so polished and professional? Answer: Devo had been playing as a six piece unit as far back as 1973 at Kent State Creative Arts Festival where two of them were enrolled. The day Mongoloid/Jocko Homo was released Devo played a free concert at Akron Arts Institute basement and offended many in the audience by playing Mongoloid when, in fact, there was a badly retarded child in the audience. (For a real eye opener pick up Hardcore Devo vol 1 and 2. These are home recordings from 1974-77 and show what a fully developed band Devo was many years before their official debut.) As I write this on record store day 2014 the concert with Bowie announcing the group is just released. But its run of 2000 is gone in a flash and in true entrepreneurial spirit copies are now up for bid/sale on ebay for large amounts of greenbacks.
***** excellent comment. thanks
I did all of watch it and it was amazing!
Absolutely. No shutting this off just because Gut Feeling was over.
I had no idea how tight the rhythm section and really how tight the whole band was. This video is great evidence of that. Just like the Beatles honed their craft in Hamburg over a long time, Devo was very polished when they hit the scene with the Are We Not Men album. This may be my favorite version of Gut Feeling.
willieluncheonette
I would add, and perhaps this was just dumb luck, that Mark had the perfect singing voice and affect for what Devo was about...you know...like it just wouldn’t have worked with Marvin Gaye !
I can’t even put in to words how good this is.
I keep coming to that, I try to make a post and realize I can't say enough. I could write a book and it wouldn't come close to expressing how completely awesome this crappy black and white ate up video is. I think your statement is as close to perfect as possible.
Yes, agreed to my extent of existence
Absolutely fucking bitchen!!!
Do the words get stuck in your throat?
possibly greatest band ever. no-one like them at all. punk rock at its finest.
Think of the era this was...we may never see this kind of unfiltered originality again
Found this 5 years ago. Coming back nearly every day. Devo at its best.
I saw them au Palace in Paris, France.... It changed my life. 1978 I think.
SO original, so punk, so nerdy, so cool so DEVO.
the drums at the beginning of Slap Your Mammy are so raw! excellent!
Between the 1:04 step up on the crescendo , or the 1:30 grip switch on the drum sticks, or the way Alan Meyer's has the cymbals swaying @ 2:18 this is the greatest build up I have see lol
I can only imagine being at one of the first shows and getting my mind blown to hell.
DEVO WAS RIGHT
This is the PERFECT version of this song!! Alan Meyers is the most amazing drummer ever. Just watching him in this video is not fit for words. I just keep watching it over and over he is about to tear that kit to shreds!!! I LOVE IT!!!
The most original band I have heard in the early 80’s. Amazing music
Best version of this song..
Balls to the wall rock n roll right there!!!!
Oh for a time machine. That's where I'''d go. To that show!
Best song ever.
"Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)" is one of the best punk songs of all time.
I was TEN when this was recorded. thankfuly I had two sisters who made sure I was well versed in some of the greatest music erer, they were children of the sixtys. my sister linda gave me my first real LP David bowie. Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from mars. I would stand in front of the mirror screeching out 'Aww wham bam thank you mam' but, mysteriously wouldn't say what it ment.... thank god for my sisters. yhey put me on the road to devo, and black flag, talking heads. shit.. I lived through some of the greatest tunes and shows ever.
love it! like ripples in a pond, one comment leads me to a lead to who knows where and to who knows who. thanx!
william breen I got most of the musical exposure from my older brother and sister.COOL.
william breen - I’m the same age as you, and have a very similar story. Only for me it was my aunt. She got me into all the Glam/Glitter stuff early on, when I was still just a little kid and that stuff was still relatively new and fresh. She’s only 7 years older than me, and has always been more like a big sister than an aunt. I remember hanging out in her room as a kid listening to ‘Diamond Dogs’ by Bowie, and staring at her 6-foot life-sized poster of Bowie with the dog on the chain. I thought Bowie was like some superhero from another planet back then. My aunt really helped lay the foundations for all the stuff I’d get into later on as a pre-teen and a teenager, including DEVO. They were my third-ever concert (1979). I was 11 years old, and I really can’t overstate just how much of an impact that show made on me. Things were never quite the same for me after that night. A couple of years later, and I was neck-deep into punk and other underground music. I still thank my aunt every time we talk for helping shape me into who I am, even though I’m now in my 50’s and she’s almost 60.
Your sisters are heroes
Saw them live in the summer of '80 on the Freedom of Choice tour. Great, tight band and a terrifically inventive presentation. Still a fan after all these years.
One of the greatest intros in rock n roll. Bob Mothersbaugh a highly underrated guitarist.
It was actually Bob Casale who took Mark Mothersbaugh's chord progression and turned it into this surf-rock inspired intro.
Amen to that,you chose wisely,for their was a time in the seventies and early eighties when andwhere time stood still pure magical
Punk and rock and new wave. Hard to wrap my head around. Love them.
Alain From France,
Thank You.
Happy Birthday, Mark Mothersbaugh! This is my favorite Devo song!!! 🤘🤘🎼🎶💙
Fully thought out arrangement. Just a furious buildup as the intro reaches maximum intensity
just great ! thanx alan, thanx devo.
Band members may pass on but their music will never die, Devo is such a great source of inspiration! I discovered them in 2005 at the age of 15 and i never stopped listening to them. Devo just like Talking Heads, Silver Apples or the Residents (and many others) have the power to never get old and affect deeply any generation of monkeys.
RIP
_residents commercial album_
One of the best songs ever
How could anyone give a thumbs down to this!!!?
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, even if they're a-holes & it's stupid and wrong.
I've seen videos of puppies cuddling kittens that had thumbs down. Goofballs abound.
best clip ever of an amzing band
This is priceless!!! DEVO was the greatest punk band ever!
Needs to he about 2 hours longer. Now that's M U S I C.
Classic footage 😀😀
Wow. Just look how young they are.
And people say Devo couldn't rock.
+Curt Ghislin D E V O is the SHIT. Soooo tight. Sooo good.
Which silly bastard said it?! Where are they? Knuckle sandwiches for everyone of them, right here.
Come on now...no one actually says that.
Yea no one says that besides you
Only people who never evolved.
You note this is bad quality VHS, granted. It is also a reminder to younger people just how far A/V technology has come in 45 years!
and this was really the longest intro of any iteration of this song. I started typing way into it and just now it wrapped......
Best live version of this tune I've ever heard! 🎸⚡ 🔺
Holy crap! That was the best Devo video I ever saw!!
I'm only 16, but I love this stuff
I was twelve years old and listening to disco, of all things.
It was only two years later that I discovered Devo,... and everything changed.
Watched this video over 100 times and still i get Goosebumps everytime I see it.
I see a woman in the crowd putting her hands on her ears! 🤣🤣
This gig must have created a lot of grunge musicians im sure.
The girl that screamed new this song ..love it
can't believe the drummer played without hihats. devo! of all people, no hihats. i hope the world one day realizes that they were the best band ever to band.
Still a band, still making great music (their one misstep was Smooth Noodle Maps, that album sucks).
they took away all his symbols at one point
at around 5:32 it sounds like hats to me...
The guy is definitely playing hats. MY hat is off to him
I remember an interview with I believe Mark. He was asked if the lack of cymbals on the original Linn Drum machine bothered him, and he replied that he did not like cymbals.