Devo: Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun

Reviewed by: Erik Swift April 2005

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“From a stage super-heated by over-the-top, rock ‘n roll cliché lighting, DEVO faced a sea of Asian Gen X’ers in a 100 degree plus Fahrenheit venue in the bowels of Tokyo, Japan. The crowd was swathed in bootlegged energy domes and DEVO T’s, mouthing the lyrics to songs we wrote when most of them were loading their diapers with Uni-colored poo. Maybe it was a “Beautiful World” after all!” - Gerry Casale.

Recording or filming concerts in Japan is often a wise move. Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Guns ‘N Roses and especially Cheap Trick have reaped benefits by chronicling trips to the Far East. By 2003, Devo hadn’t visited the country in two decades, and filming a Tokyo gig was a natural idea. That Japan is still nuts about this group isn’t surprising. Our current wireless world was foreshadowed in Devo’s mechanical rumblings years ago; a pioneering worldview set them apart from their peers yet isolated Devo from an audience and business that had no idea what to make of them. Still huge in the land where everyone is big, a new DVD from Music Video Distributors provides a flawed but decent look at the band.

Recent years have seen Devo becoming more and more like a cash-strapped version of The Who – past their prime with no product to offer, and touring intermittently. I can’t believe I just wrote that, but it’s true. Another Who comparison: their fans don’t care…especially the Japanese contingent, which proves Japan is ahead of the US in musical appreciation. “Devo: Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun” dashes thoughts that Devo haven’t been influential. Look at the Polysics, a Japanese band that lives for the Ohio quintet. From similar logos and cool shades to dome-like headgear, their overall aesthetic is rooted squarely in Devolution. Even a typically admiring crowd is complete with energy domes.

Dusting off the yellow suits, Devo deliver a set heavy on older cuts that is fully embraced by the rabid masses. Interviews with Gerald V. Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh are unfortunately interspersed between songs, slowing any momentum the concert material manages to build. Several crank, too. “Uncontrollable Urge” becomes a swirling rave-up, and Casale’s bass fastens onto David Kendrick’s bashing drumbeats for a towering “Mongoloid.” Skip the interviews unless you’re a card-carrying Devolutionist. From over 20 minutes of bonus footage, the knockout is a 1980 Target Video clip of the bouncy “Gut Feeling/Slap Yer Mammy.” Wonder what vault that came from. It’s a total tease, as the band is firing on all cylinders. Not that they don’t on “Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun,” but Devo just seemed to rage against the machine a little harder in 1980.

Reviewer’s Opinion: BORROW IT!!