Spring Break
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
By: Aaron Sakulich
Issue date: 8/6/04 Section: Entertainment
Originally published: 8/5/04 at 6:28 PM EST
Last update: 8/5/04 at 6:29 PM EST
Originally published: 8/5/04 at 6:28 PM EST
Last update: 8/5/04 at 6:29 PM EST
So imagine that you've been standing in this putrid, filthy rain of death for about an hour. Soaked to the bone with this veritable sewage, the lead singer of the YaYaYas comes on stage. In a voice reminiscent of the Vodyanoi, terrible water spirits from Russian folklore that are animated by the souls of the damned, she shouts out "hey, where'd the rain go? Come back, rain! We want rain!"
With this, every single person in the crowd felt about her the way Vietnam veterans feel about Jane Fonda. Had we been able to drag her from the stage, we would have done things to her so terrible that I shudder at the mere recollection. I'm not one to judge a band solely on their lead singer, so for good measure let me mention that I cannot begin to describe the execrable wailings that they tried to pass off as music. It sounded as if someone had filled an automatic dryer with cats, snakes, pots, and pans. Screeching, clanking, hissing, screaming garbage that surely provides the soundtrack to the most painful tortures of hell. Nay: surely it IS the most painful torture of hell. If I had to choose between sitting through a YaYaYas concert or reporting to Marine Corps Boot Camp and telling the Drill Instructor that my name is 'Mr. I Love-hot-sex-with-men,' I'd take the 13 weeks of blanket parties over the concert without a shade of regret.
After a short delay during which the roadies must have sanitized the stage after such crap had been on it for nearly an hour, the true concert was set to begin. The lights dimmed and a screen was lowered from the ceiling. On that screen was played a short movie about Devo which served as the starting pistol for the best concert that I have ever seen in my entire life. Devo's most popular song, Whip It, was the third in their set. I was actually relieved: the first two songs had been much better than Whip It, and I was afraid that they would save the most popular song for last the way most bands do, thus ending what was promising to be a great concert with a mediocre tune. The thing that I hadn't previously realized about Devo's music is how much fun it is. That 80s synth-pop sound that they pioneered is like some sort of musical morphine: hearing it makes the listener, no matter how unfamiliar they are with Devo, relax, sing along, and forget all their troubles.
With this, every single person in the crowd felt about her the way Vietnam veterans feel about Jane Fonda. Had we been able to drag her from the stage, we would have done things to her so terrible that I shudder at the mere recollection. I'm not one to judge a band solely on their lead singer, so for good measure let me mention that I cannot begin to describe the execrable wailings that they tried to pass off as music. It sounded as if someone had filled an automatic dryer with cats, snakes, pots, and pans. Screeching, clanking, hissing, screaming garbage that surely provides the soundtrack to the most painful tortures of hell. Nay: surely it IS the most painful torture of hell. If I had to choose between sitting through a YaYaYas concert or reporting to Marine Corps Boot Camp and telling the Drill Instructor that my name is 'Mr. I Love-hot-sex-with-men,' I'd take the 13 weeks of blanket parties over the concert without a shade of regret.
After a short delay during which the roadies must have sanitized the stage after such crap had been on it for nearly an hour, the true concert was set to begin. The lights dimmed and a screen was lowered from the ceiling. On that screen was played a short movie about Devo which served as the starting pistol for the best concert that I have ever seen in my entire life. Devo's most popular song, Whip It, was the third in their set. I was actually relieved: the first two songs had been much better than Whip It, and I was afraid that they would save the most popular song for last the way most bands do, thus ending what was promising to be a great concert with a mediocre tune. The thing that I hadn't previously realized about Devo's music is how much fun it is. That 80s synth-pop sound that they pioneered is like some sort of musical morphine: hearing it makes the listener, no matter how unfamiliar they are with Devo, relax, sing along, and forget all their troubles.
xCatWomaNx
xCatWomaNx
posted 8/10/04 @ 1:52 PM EST
My God.
What I would have given to be there.
This is probably the single most appealing description of a concert that I have ever read. Thank you. (Continued…)