A wonderful concert

One of the Oracle trade show's sponsors threw a big party at the Cow Palace, which is a big rodeo complex.



There were 5 stages set up - one in the big arena, and four others scattered around the grounds. They had several tribute bands (imitators) representing The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, David Bowie, and so on. They also had "real" bands, like Berlin (from the 1980s, they did "Take My Breath Away" from the movie "Top Gun"), Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Elton John, and the most important band on Earth (Devo).


The inside of the Cow Palace. I got in just as Berlin was ending their set. Teri Nunn, the lead singer, is in her mid-40s now, but she looks just as hot as ever. And they put on a good show, the two minutes I saw of it.


There was "Space Oddity," which is a David Bowie tribute band. They did a VERY good job of covering Bowie's tunes. This is "Under Pressure," which he did with the band Queen. Each of them had their own version of the song, much like "Excellent Birds," which Peter Gabriel and Laurie Anderson shared, and each did their own version of the song. I like Laurie's version better.


Elton John. Or, Sir Elton John, to you. Personally, I've heard "Benny and the Jets" enough on classic rock radio to make me wanna barf. But he is a virtuoso pianist, and really gives the performance his all. I could really appreciate his artistry, even though I don't particularly care for his music. He's a piece of rock history, and as vibrant as ever. My wife ordered me to see him. I could appreciate him, but I left after 20 minutes to go next door where Devo was playing. I had to see Devo. It's been 18 years since I've seen them. Last time, in 1988, they were tired, pissed off at their record company, and lackluster on their Total Devo tour. This time, though - wow. They're all in their 50s now, but they're using steroid-laced Ben-Gay or something, because they were insane. They never stopped bouncing around the stage.


Mark Mothersbaugh (the leader) and Bob Mothersbaugh (aka "Bob 1"). Look at the stomp boxes (guitar pedals) that Mark has bolted to his guitar. What a goof. You're supposed to have those on the floor, and you step on them to activate them. Not Mark, though.


Bob Casale (aka "Bob 2").


Bob/Mark/Bob, and the Bobs together. Their yellow nuclear radiation suits looked good at the beginning of the show, then they started to get rips at the seams. I thought this was unplanned, but no, it WAS planned. They shucked their suits later, down to black t-shirts, shorts, and knee pads.


Since about 1999, they have a new drummer, Josh Freese, who used to drum for The Vandals and is a professional studio drummer. He's appeared on over 2500 different albums by artists like Suicidal Tendencies, The Offspring, Guns & Roses, etc. (His little brother Jason has played keyboard for artists like Green Day, Jewel, the Goo Goo Dolls, Liz Phair, and Dr. Dre.) He is VERY good. But somehow it's still never been the same since the late '80s when longtime drummer Alan Myers left the band to become an electrician. Most of the rest of them have day jobs at Mark's company, Mutato Muzika. They do music for television shows, like The Rugrats, South Park, The Power Puff Girls. Jerry Casale (the other leader besides Mark) directs music videos and movies nowadays.


Jerry Casale on the left, brother Bob on the right.


Bob Mothersbaugh sings quite well. He's a very energetic guitarist. He leaped and cavorted around the stage. Mark even jumped off the stage and ran around in front of the crowd, singing.

When the show started, there were something like 200 spuds in the crowd. Spuds are DEVO fans - Devo's shtick is that we're all devolving backwards from humans into potatoes . When I left, as the first encore started (had to go catch the bus back to the hotel), there were at least 2,000 people there. It was fantastic. A good time was had by all.