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I wasn't able to attend the either of these shows myself, but I've put together these show reports using photos and commentary from devoted fans who were there.
Thanks to Jay Spencer, Geoff Watson, Wayne Weedon, and Ed Marshall for the photos. Special thanks to Nicola Tricker for submitting her report from Paris.
Duty Now,
-Michael Pilmer / for Devo, Inc.
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DEVO Live in Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound
May 31st, 2008
By Ignacio:
"I went to Barcelona to see the boys again! This time, I had a really great time at the first line close to the stage. I took the trousers of Bob1 and some balls of Booji Boy too! The Drummer was Josh Freese again.
The exact setlist was:
01 - THAT'S GOOD
02 - GOING UNDER
03 - PEEK-A-BOO!
04 - GIRL U WANT
05 - WHIP IT!
06 - SECRET AGENT MAN
07 - SATISFACTION
08 - UNCONTROLLABLE URGE
09 - MONGOLOID
10 - JOCKO HOMO
11 - SMART PATROL/MR. DNA
12 - GATES OF STEEL
13 - FREEDOM OF CHOICE
14 - BEAUTIFUL WORLD
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By Buabua:
"WOW! The DEVO concert at Primavera Sound was great! Even better that the SONAR one. But the organization stopped "Beautifull world" because of time. And all spuds there, went on singing with Boogie Boy. We all were really angry, shouting D. E. V. O. Finally amplification was back and B.B. could end the song.
"It's A Beautiful World"."
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SPAIN SHOW LINKS:
• See Video clip of Whip It
• See Video clip of Jocko-Homo
• See Photos by Alterna2
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DEVO Live in Paris, France - Villette Sonique
June 3rd, 2008 ------ By Nicola Tricker
June 3rd , and European spuds converge on Paris for the Devo gig.
Some of us were lucky enough to have seen them last year in the UK, so we knew we were in for a treat. Several spuds (me and Paul, Alain from France and his wife Veronique, and of course Wayne “dome creator” Weedon, plus his wife Sharon and little daughter Elouise) were staying at the same hotel just opposite the venue, so it was a very sociable occasion. We also caught up with Gadgetman (Jeff) and his wife who were staying in the same hotel as Devo!
The venue itself was in a relatively quiet area of Paris outside the centre in the Parc de la Villette where the Science Museum was situated. The Science Museum had a giant geode outside that at certain times played strangely Mark Mothersbaugh-esque music! Very appropriate. The venue, the Grande Halle de la Villette, was a newly-restored building that apparently used to be an abattoir! Great lighting and sound in there; the only complaint being that the stage was very high, so if you were at the front and of a shorter persuasion, you could only just peer over the top and had to stand on tiptoe for the entire show!
A word has to be said in praise of the support band, Marvin – a French three-piece who had an incredible sound. Then excitement began to mount prior to Devo. Wayne joined us at that point having been hanging out backstage with the band all day. I think some people possibly thought that Devo would have a bit of a hard time following Marvin, but of course when they came on they were as amazing and energetic as ever, and the audience were blown away. Lots of enthusiasm from the audience with plenty of people singing along and a fantastic atmosphere. The band seemed to be having fun too. During Bob1's Mr DNA solo, he skidded on his knees towards the front of the stage as usual, but just stopped short of flying off the edge – still not sure if this was very skilful timing on his part or if he was just very lucky to stop in time, but whatever, it gave those of us in his direct path a startled moment – not sure whether to jump out of the way or get ready to catch him! Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.
The encore consisted of “Freedom of Choice”, “Gut Feeling”, and, of course, Booji Boy doing “Beautiful World” and distributing bouncy balls to the audience.
Post-gig, Wayne, Alain and Veronique, and Paul and myself strolled around to the artists' entry side of the building expecting quite a crowd (having seen their reception last year in the UK), and were surprised to find we were almost the only ones there. It was good for us though – it meant when the band came out one by one we had them pretty much to ourselves and it felt quite relaxed. They were all great, and friendly, and signed whatever anyone shoved at them with patience and good humour.
Wayne's daughter Elouise was there for the show and afterwards, having become somewhat of a minor celebrity during that day, and attracting a lot of attention in her unique lilac dome both from the band and fans – and rightly so! She ended up with it fully signed by all band members, complete with a drawing from Mark.
So that was it – a day spent in Paris the next day with Alain and Veronique, and a good time was had by all. Hopefully Devo may play Europe again next year – this could become an annual gathering! Here's hoping….
