Added: 5 years ago
From: jabberwalky
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  • certainly not new wave nor protopunk ,not garage or pub rock, not pop, not progressive either. they had an artsy edge of course, but the music is too primitive to be labeled as 'art rock'

    what the fuck you could call this in 1973???

  • @blefusku

    It was called, "Like wow, man". That's what we called it when they first appeared on Dr. Demento

  • @haitipi and when was that??, 1978??

  • awesome

  • devo and kraftwerk were so cutting edge during this time these people don't even know they were looking at what would become the next big thing 10 years later thanks for posting this interesting video

  • devo are not hippies noob...

  • @Pimmelpirat69 It's obviously a joke.

  • This is on the Devo video collection DVD. It's not on an album, no - this is WAY early. In fact, they weren't even CALLED Devo at this point (though I forget the name).

  • @Timmybear no, they were devo from the beggining.

  • @FuyuAkiWorld - I distinctly remember reading that they had a different name very early, but can I find it now? No. Well, it was a different lineup, anyway. :)

  • @Timmybear They called themselves "Sextet Devo" for this performance.

  • Is this from a movie ? can't you find this song on album ?

  • 73! fuckn a

  • Serious Balls.

  • chimp in the band proves DEVO does not discriminate.

    duty now.

  • I love those bored looking girls in the audience: "What are we doing here watching these friggin' dorks in monkey masks? We could have SO been at the Dan Fogelberg concert tonight!"

  • @funkmike HAHA!!!!

  • They seem like nice young men.

  • They seem like nice young men.

  • The world needed Devo. The world needs the next Devo.

  • The Akron/Kent music scene in the 70s and early 80s was a hotbed of groundbreaking stuff that many, many "successful" acts have ripped off. Devo, Pere Ubu, The Waitresses, Chrissie Hynde, Numbers Band... I could go on-- all came out of that area. IMO proper respect is not paid to the role those artists played in influencing the prog/punk/alt movement.

  • @APTKSU don't forget tin huey!!

  • This reminds me of the first time I say Laurie Anderson, in a lecture hall at North Texas State Univeristy... strange setting for great performance art... Great Post!

  • Still crazy after all these years.

  • Mr. Jingaling intro!

  • Pop in America is so SAD! Made for SHEEP! "Let's all rock out to EDDIE VEDDER! He just LOVES The Ramones! He is AUTHENTIC!!" Very sad. The spud boys, on the other hand, have a handle on what makes sense: POTATOES! "Ray!

  • Go DEVO.

  • Either you were there or not

    Ahead of the time then, and now

    Dig or don't

    DEVO certainly made their point, huh

  • love early Devo

  • A Moog on top of a mellotron? I never knew Devo used to be a prog rock band! :-)

    But based on this it's clear someone had been listening to Krautrock and Captain Beefheart.

  • they loved the captain

  • Love the Minimoog solo at the end!

  • It would be cool for them to redo this song. I think this video's the only way to see/hear it.

  • devo was so unpopular at this time.

  • Damn hippies.

  • @Gerkinstock

    Yeah, they're all full of that peace and love crap(thumbs up if you know the reference). Aside from that, I'm not so sure they realized that this was going to be one of the great bands of the next decade.

    I still find black and white footage from the 1970's unbelievable.

  • @godwhyisthistaken They were WAY ahead of their time and so intelligent!

  • look at how youmg they were!

  • No idea Devo was formed this the early in the 70's. That's cool.

  • these people probably didn't know what to make of the synth sounds in 1973

  • Is this the same "Devo," pre-homo-mutantus, post homo-hippyanious?

    The same Devo that would be the only bright (brite?) spot in the decade know as "nine-teen-eightious-suckus-ha­rdious?"

    The same Kent State where a mere three (3) years prior to this performance four students were shot-and-killed by The LongarmusofBigDickNixonational­guard?

    And if th' anser 2 thees cweschuns b 'yes'

    id wud ecspaan wy i be de evolven nw hgfjgkjgfkj;kldiort ,kjnghoueygh jlfghho;89uevnlkf jfgiuaargkll.l987r8942y

  • have you not got anything better to do .......

  • wow, that was insane

  • A band like this wouldn't exist nowadays.

  • kickfostermac: yes, b/c everyone tries to be so cool and gangster. It's killing the American spirit and our culture in general.

  • Not much originality these days is there hmmm?

  • Your right now let's do something about, make good music and give it away, or find good innovative talent and support it promote it sponsor it......And get the really young kids teaching them what real music is.We can change this DEVOLUTION.

  • Comment removed

  • not completely true. Look at Rage Against the Machine in the 90s. There's other politically envolved bands

  • A band like this wouldn't exist nowadays in because we are all devolving into gregorian/byzantine chanters (a cappella). I would add that guitars are an overused cliche by now, far removed from their iberian/mediterranean traditions.

  • This group are unbeleivable. This must of been crazy for the time. Love it.

  • Who's who in this video? Who's the monkey!

  • Mark. He had really long hair back then- there's a picture of him with the easter bunny, and he looks like a hippie.

  • This thing has 78 thousand views. There's apparently more footage from this gig in existence. I want that! And this clip has been voted pretty cool and a half, so I'm not the only one.

  • And people think new wave was an '80s thing? Wrong.

  • well i think a lot of people already know that new wave existed before 1980, and anyway how is this new wave? this is more an art project with weird synth sounds, and a conventional guitarist, drummer and singer playing a bluesy song

  • there was no such thing as no wave, it was just an idiotic tag. People say The Knack were New Wave and Eurythmics were New Wave, both bands have nothing to do with eachother. The Knack was a power pop band, eurythmics, a synthpop band

  • Rod Reisman is still around as well! He is the drummer in this video! Stop out to Stebal Drums in Willowick Ohio to give him a hard time!

  • Thank you for sharing this.

  • this would be the shit.

    mark showed me this.

  • hey, that's the auditorium on front campus. as of about 1992 Devo's autographs along with a lot of other bands were graffitied all over the back stage. We used to sneak in there at night and trip balls and get laid :)~

  • hail satan

  • HUH?

  • Indeed.

  • Hail Satan Brother!!!

    shamhemforash!!!

  • Is that Bob Lewis on guitar? That bastard made more money by suing Devo (for the "theft of intellectual property") than Devo ever did working, recording and performing.

  • Bob Lewis is still around Kent. You can call him on his "advice line" at WNIR radio on Sunday afternoons. 330 673-1234. you can listen while on hold. confront the bas-tard!

  • what are we confronting him on, exactly?

  • Uh . . . not the same Bob Lewis.

  • And you base this ridiculous post on information from???????

  • 73?

  • Yes, and no, this is not a Banana Splits episode. Do a bit of digging on the net. There is plenty of info about this period of their development.

  • This is their pre flowerpotmen era.

  • does anyone have a clip of devo playing with neil young from "human highway"? i would really like to see that but i can't find a clip.

    also, i just read the devo book, and according to that anyway it is indeed "here comes peter cottontail".

  • I own it. But not computer savvy enough to put it on youtube.

  • Let me say, though, because I forgot to... I love Devo and all their work. They were one of the most creative and humorous bands ever. I really wish there was a copy of them doing Jocko Homo on Saturday Night Live. Anyone on here see that? It was hilarious.

  • I've been looking for that SNL clip for years. I was about 15 when it aired, and really, it changed my life. I was so blown away....

  • Yep, this is highly influenced by the Captain. And yo, when did people start calling him "beef," for crying out loud? What's more, if you think the Captain never took acid, YOU must be on drugs! Sure he talked negatively about drugs, sillies. He didn't want to get busted!!!

  • People in 1973 were not ready for this. How cool to be exposed to the future and not know it. Shit like this does not happen anymore.

  • sure it does. you just don't know it when you get exposed to the future.

  • WOW. vintage stuff. i didn't know they had been together that early. thanks for sharing. :)

  • my second favorite US band is the Doors, but first has to be DEVO. What's round at the ends, and hi in the middle?? OHIO

  • judging from what I've read, the song mark is playing on the Hammond is the first song in the concert. i cant remember what it is, but i think it is here comes peter cottontail.

  • People in the audience no idea what they are seeing...but I bet now a day's, everybody who was at Kent State that year...is saying I was there...only a lucky few can say it...

  • mothersbaugh is from the akron area.

  • my favourite band of all time.

  • Don't forget about THE RESIDENTS!

  • Is this Sextet Devo?

  • I disagree that there is "a lot of Beefheart" here. This music is more melodic showing that they knew more about what would fly in the main-stream. I mean, listen and you can hear a riff of "cat's squirrel" by Jethro Tull!

  • thers alot of beef on here

  • Oh yeah? With lyrics thought up while in session on LSD?! "a stick flotin' in the gutterrrrr, A witch went underrrr, my softshoe butterrrrrr. Mark wouldn't make a recording of ad-libbing like Zappa. Now's there's your similarity, Zappa and trout mask! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

  • beefheart and lsd. apperntly you never really looked up any thing at all.

    please before you talk about don note he talked down on drug use

  • I am not speaking about Don's personnal proclivities. The topic is: does Jerry and Mark's music sound like it was influenced by Don's Beef music (which *sounds* like he's on acid) I simply disagreed that Devo's sound has enough similarities to equate it to a particular band sound/influence-such as Beef's, rather than It's just a general avant-garde way of music making. There have been many avant-garde bands/music makers and beef's "spontaneous" style is far from the syncopation style of Devo.

  • you still have no clue of what you speak

  • I usually run away from anything labeled avant gaurde but this is history in the making

  • sort of psychedelic sounding, but then again if it is 1971. it's only a few years away from the sound

  • Wikipedia says this happened in '73. Someone needs to fix that.

  • Does anybody else find it really interesting that this came out a full year before "Autobahn" came out and electropop was born?

  • Not so weird, since it came out a year or two after "Trout Mask Replica" and there's a LOT of Beefheart going on here.

  • @dave12d3 But Autobahn was Kraftwerk's fourth album, and there were plenty of synthesizer things going on before then.

  • how old are these fucking guys?  them geezers are great.

  • this is crazy!

  • now it an be told the truth (?) about de-evolution God made man even if he used a monkey to do it shows how a band can evolve expermate and have fun

  • I love devo for the way they use synthesizers. Mark knew how to circut bend real well. This is the first video that I have seen a Minimoog used for monkey sounds. I am big into synthesizers. I have a moog little phatty stage, a Roland SH-201, and a Korg i4S. I was in a band called Break The Silenc Teaser (on youtube.) The band did not like keyboards, so I am moving on to better bands. Thanks for posting this video!

  • that Mike Stivick singing?

  • No, some guy named Frank Weber.

  • Fred weber

  • he was a wimp..he quit the band and had no issues until they became popular then all of a sudden...oh I cretaed the whole devolution thing.....what a skank

  • A group of the "original members" of devo sued for copyright, and dogged the group until well after "freedom of choice". Pretty much all of the profits from their first albums were cut into by this long and expensive lawsuit.

  • "original members" being Bob Lewis...who wrote many of the devolution articles published in the campus newspaper....

  • the first song played on the keyboard is "Mr. Jingaling"...a popilar Cleveland Christmas Character, he held the keys to Christmas.

  • this is DEVO ?

  • this is from the complete truth about de evoulution

  • The date for this performance is not 1973. Its actually 1971 - not many videos like this out there. Such a cool historical artifact in music! Especially since the group was formed as a response to the Kent State shootings in 1970.  So I guess you had to be there to really understand the impact of both.

  • Hello Missrasp! What's the mater with the electronic machine at the end. A problem or just a new style of Techno Daft Punk? Is there some more video available of that period of Devo?

  • That machine is the Minimoog? Thanks to take care of the dates and everything else, it is very important for me, as i'm trying to write about the genesis of Techno (I also do about Rock, Bo Diddley and all that jazz, you know...). For me, Devo has something to do with Techno, something very important but not really evident at first time. Devo is genial and very Punk. Lil' kiss from France!

  • Not quite a sellout show, was it?

  • Who was the guy singing?

  • that's my dad, fred weber. no joke.

  • I think they were really into the Residents sound of the time. You have to remember, the 70's was a peak time in avant-garde.

  • the residents were virtually unknown at this time

  • Yeah, I looked that up and you're right. In 1971, they were. Still, avant-gardism was starting to sparkle though. I think they started listening to them not long from this point though. I mean, the Residents certainly got their crowd before 1975 when Third Reich and Roll came out.

  • third reich n roll came out in 76 actually when the pressings were still limited to 1000 copies which was changed the next year. still you are right about most and devo could've had one of those 1000 copies.

  • Very early Devo. They kinda sound like The Lovin Spoonfuls.

  • this sounds more like 60's garage rock if anything.

  • 13th Floor Elevators for sure.

  • Awesome.

    JW

  • ha! at 2:33 where Mark gives Jerry the burd

  • This was at the time when Devo was still kind of a joke band in Gerald Casale's eyes.

  • Hah I just realized Mark had his really long hair then...jeez he looked pretty silly with that hairstyle lol

    But this is really great! I love Devo, thanks for uploading this =)

  • this is rich shit !

    Where did you get this footage?

  • Deadhead Devo

  • this is superb

  • That's insane! That's Mothersbaugh under the mask? Really? Thanks for posting this!

  • You can definitely see some pre-Devo influence here. The gorilla mask was used by them later. The funky beats and turntable mixing/scratching was REALLY early - very cool Mothersbaugh brothers stuff - Mark was born in 1950 unbelievably..........

  • Fantastical. I grew up a few miles from Kent state, and my high school geometry teacher was friends with these guys.

    Kent actually had a music scene that was the probably the best in the midwest in the late 70's early 80's. By the time I went to Kent State in 83, it was still going pretty strong.

  • I remember going to JB's and (argh! forgetting name) in Kent in the mid-late 80s. Not a huge scene, but a fun one.

    And this clip starts with MR. JING-A-LING'S THEME! (Old Cleveland tv reference)

  • You are so right! I was just gonna post and say, hey, the opening bits are from a local theme for Halle's Department Store in Cleveland, who had a character on TV named Mr. Jingaling, and the shop was on the 7th floor!

  • People in the crowd would of had, no idea they were seeing one of the greatest bands in their early stage's..but I bet 30 plus yrs later...everybody who went to Kent State at the time, are saying now....Hey I was there...But Only a lucky few, really can say that.

  • stop talking in "white" language please...mr

    AlanMyersvrsdevo...i have no idea what your talking about. so STFU NOOB.

  • Holy crap I had no idea Devo was around so early!

  • I'm sure it's been asked b4 but, HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET THIS INCREDIBLE FOOTAGE???

    Thanks!

  • I dunno if anybody has told you but it is included as a bonus feature on one of the DVDs released in the past few years.

  • The Maker Fair hasn't even caught up with this yet (2007).

  • moog syn

  • I LOVE DEVO! But...Where in the name of God would poor little boys get THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of Dollars for a MINIMOOG!!!??? AND a

    MELLOTRON!!??? Come on..! Way back in 1973?!? Did they have RICH parents or what?!

  • Mark had lots of equipment courtesy of Marty Reymann and Ed Barger - two local guys who had backed his previous bands. He also had a Hammond B-3 organ with VoT cabinets + Leslie speakers, and a PA system. Ed also ran sound.

  • don't know the song, but the opening jingle is from Captain Penny's show, went something like this: "Mr Jing-a-ling, how you ring-a-ling, keeper of the keys, on Halle's 7th floor, we'll be waiting for you to turn the key, keeping track of Santa's pack and treasure house of toys, wind up things that Santa brings to all the little girls and boys"

  • I was at Kent State then but I don't remember this at all.

    Could have been what I was smoking a lot of then.

    Most of the concerts were at the gym with some at the new student center I believe it was called the Rathskellar.

    I saw Cheech and Chong there.

    In the Gym I saw Yes, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa at the same bill with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, James Taylor and a bunch of others. Great times back then.

  • were you there when the schoo got shot up?

  • I wasn't there in 1970 but my sister was and saw it all including a friend of hers shot to death. So I decided to transfer there for my junior year.

  • I was 5 years old in 73', but i was there in spirit

  • that sounds pretty mind-blowing.

  • One of best bands ever, No doubt

  • Yes, this certainly is from 1973. If any members of Devo are viewing this video and would like to let me know what the song title is, I will fix it right away!

  • The song was Private Secretary . . . followed by Mark doing the "Headache Solo". The performance was in the Recital Hall at the Music & Speech Bldg at KSU

  • wow you know how to copy..pretty cool man...can you drink without dribbling?

  • 1973??? Were they together back then?

  • Man, this is so old it's sick! =P I thought -I- was a Devotee until I read some of these posts. Especially the ones picking out which keyboards are up there and the fine details of the song. Yikes!

  • Was this shot in the old university auditorium?

  • Big thanx for this, Jabberwalky!

  • I sent this to my brother as he was going to Kent State at this time frame. He took me to my first concert ever(Devo) in 1980 in Cleveland, OH at The Agora. Had the time of my life....

  • Reminds me of the 13th Floor Elevators

  • same here

  • BEAUTIFUL mutant

  • Wow,that was a rare gem to find,I find it hard to believe they hail as far back as the 70's.

  • Thanks Dunes, you just made me feel really, really old.

  • Devo's first 3 albums on Warner Bros were from the '70s.

  • sounds like a song from spinal tap

  • awesome.Listen to the tune - proof positive that DEVO was rock n roll - and looking for a NEW way to turn Rock inside out.

    Thanks for the post.

    FREEDOM FROM CHOICE IS WHAT WE NEED

  • I just seen DEVO in the Carling Academy Glasgow,

    They were awsome just like they were the last time they played Glasgow.

    Please come back again to Scotland we love you guys

  • Some think the Kent State shootings were the defining event of this place. After viewing the above, I beg to differ.

    There is a photo in the archives of the Alligator (University of Florida, Gainesville) showing a person with a Devo shirt from 1974. I thought that was rather remarkable.

  • a little to ahead of time ;*-D

  • great tunes , they always make me smile

  • little did those kids know that Devo would be such an incredible influence on music as we know it. I bet my mom was there in the audience...

  • Recital Hall in Music and Speech Bldg.. Song is "Private Secretary".

    She was a Private Secretary/but her boss gave her the boot/SO we were married in Las Vegas/and I wore my sharksin suit/She keeps it real wet and dirty/and she's always home at night/yeah, she's my private secretary/and she keeps my bizness tight

  • You guys were brilliant and so ahead of your time! Obviously, with the YouTube crowd it's wasy to see. According to Wikipedia, you sued in 1978. Did you ever get back in touch with Mark and the group? Thanks much for the input on the location of the video!

  • Whats round on the ends and hi in the middle? O-hi-O!

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