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NEW TRADITIONALISTS GATHER EN MASSE IN OHIO

This year's DEVOtional was the encore to a 3-day binge on DEVO events:

Aug. 18th: DEVO performs live in Cleveland, OH at The Scene Pavilion
Aug. 19th: Mark Mothersbaugh's Beautiful Mutants Art show in Kent, OH
Aug. 20th: DEVOtional 2005 - Time Out For Fun! in Akron, OH

Q: Is it possible to live & breathe nothing but DEVO for weeks?
Hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing that isn't DEVO related for weeks?

A: Yes, it's possible.

The DEVOtional was the climax of my 2005 DEVO experience. I was able to regurgitate all the geeky DEVO stories I'd saved up from the tour, and spread them amongst spuds who gave a damn. I'm sure the same goes for the other spuds who attended both the DEVOtional and other 2005 DEVO events. A place to waive the Devo-Obsesso flag proudly.

SHOW PRESS:
The Plain Dealer
SCENE Magazine
Cleveland Free Times

Some very special folks showed up this year: Bob & Alison Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh Sr. (aka General Boy), Jungle Jim Mothersbaugh, David Kendrick, Chuck Statler, Bobbie & Susan, Rev. Ivan Stang & Princess Wei, and the kids from Paul Green School of Rock.

Many of my favorite spud buddies made it to at least one of the Ohio DEVO events. It was wonderful to see Andie Hammett, Vince Osborn, Robin Renee, Jane Stucky, Jennifer & Mark Schirmer, Rev. AbNorm, James A., Malcolm Tent, Fred & Lisa Hollins, Samantha, Zig, Bruce, and the regular DEVOtional crew (Ohio posse, The Spudboys, etc).

There was so much to see & do, and so many spuds to talk to. It really made the day go by far too fast. Not only did we get to see Chuck Statler's unearthed DEVO/DOVE footage, we also were privy to Bobbie & Susan's fantastic collection of their vintage photos, flyers, records, etc. David Kendrick took the stage for a Q&A earlier in the day, then performed Happy Guy later that night with some of the Spudboys, featuring Tom Chiki on vocals. But wait...it get's better! David was kind enough to bring his original Total Devo outfit for Tom to wear during the performance, and it just happen to fit Tom perfectly.

There were all kinds of great DEVO items that spuds from all over the country made to trade, sell, and give away. Samantha made sets of DEVO-related phrase fridge magnets, James A.'s daughter made Energy Dome keychains, Malcolm Tent had his usual selection of DVDs & CDs, but also created some new DEVO T-shirts and pinback buttons. Devodude.com brought packets of pinpacks, and there were also DEVOtional backstage passes and DEVO paper hats that Zig Olds made to give away at the front door. Rev. Toth Wilder and Gary Blaine put together the newest "Not Necessarily Beautiful, but Mutated" CD tribute compilation, and Zig Olds made a great 2 CD compilation of DEVO covers called "Can We Be Devo, too?". Fantastic graphics on the cover!

The Paul Green School of Rock teens opened for The Spudboys as Team DEVO, doing their renditions of DEVO tunes. Each member of Team DEVO had their own style and persona, and it was fun to watch how it all worked together. Explosions was one of my favorites, with the synths recreated via heavy metal guitar wizardry, and Uncontrollable Urge was over-the-top with rock n' roll energy.

This was the most successful DEVOtional event since it's beginning in 2000. Three cheers for Tom, Alex, Scott, Toth and everyone else who made it all happen.

It's not too early to start planning for DEVOtional 2006!
Hope to see you there.


Duty now,

Michael Pilmer
Devo-Obsesso.com



Thanks to everyone who supplied photos & info for this report.