Cosmic Devolution Tour Minnesota

[Ollie Stench]

Well it only took 10+ years for me to re-register here and it's great to be back.
I just had the pleasure of seeing The Cosmic Devolution Tour here in Minnesota.
The B-52's and DEVO were EXTREMELY important to me in my formative years, both bands making me realize there were other weirdos and non-conformists out there. Believe me, at 11 years old in 1979 discovering Rock Lobster was an eye opener to say the least. So when I realized at the last minute that I had won a ticket to see both bands at a suburban casino amphitheater I was quite happily surprised. Far too short notice to find a date, I at least car pooled with some friends.
The opening act was a mash-up artist called DJ Cummerbund who, I must admit, left me high and dry. Then again I don't really appreciate DJ culture. It seemed to me he just had a 45 minute video file he played while dancing around and pretending to cue up files on his laptop.
Soon enough he was done and the intro video for The B-52's started playing on the multiple screens. Nice, cute intro highlighting the peaks of their near-50 year career. When the band took the stage there seemed to be a lot of technical problems, especially with Kate Pierson's in-ear monitors. The 3 remaining original members seemed happy enough but all 3 seemed to be suffering from weakened vocal cords as is the case with people in their 70's, although they still brought a huge party atmosphere to the show. Surprise was a rendition of the song Mesopotamia. Well, surprise until a friend told me Warner Bros had just rereleased it. The set was heavy with their early catalog, with only Love Shack and Roam representing the post-Ricky Wilson era. Closing with a 6 minute Rock Lobster the stage was soon set for DEVO.
Now, DEVO is probably the most important band in my life. I was the exact right age to be amenable to their message of de-evolution. As stated earlier, they reinforced the idea to me that, in 1980, I didn't have to be into Journey, Foreigner, or Fleetwood Mac. This was my 4th time seeing them, having witnessed them on the Oh No It's DEVO tour in 1982, the Total DEVO tour in 1988, and then last year when a friend's wife bought me a ticket so he didn't have to go alone.
DEVO's set was similar to the show last year but truncated. Mark Mothersbaugh seemed to not really be feeling it while the rest of the band were giving it their best. I know Mark's been having health problems with his eyesight and it seemed that he wasn't able to give it 100%. But still, it was DEVO (and The B-52's), and I feel both bands are in the waning years of their touring lives so the sconcert was well worth attending.