Devo - Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA - Live '77

[@tuberpics7]

I was there. My roommate was booker at Max's and told me that Bowie was coming in that night to check out (and possibly produce) a new band from Ohio. DEVO was booked on the recommendation of their friend from Ohio, Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders). Bowie came with Brian ENO, who ended up producing DEVO's record. The open movie played, and DEVO ran through the crowd to stage in raincoats. Bowie/ENO drank least a dozen Heinekens and laughed in amazement through the show. DEVO blew everyone away.

[@BirdTalk13]

FANTASTIC! What an amazing evening!

[@SaxonRanger94]

Damn. What an awesome thing to experience! 👍🏼✌🏼

[@davidgilmour802]

I'm 51 and wish to fk I had been there well done spud boy

[@joelashadali]

What a night that must have been. I've read that they didn't enjoy working with Eno at all.

[@Miaheleneart]

Bob 1 must be the worlds most underrated guitarist of all time

[@BirdTalk13]

I concur!

[@davidgilmour802]

At last a real spud boy who agrees

[@SaxonRanger94]

This is absolutely amazing. The best version of this song I’ve found. I swear they were/sounded better live, Just based on watching videos.

[@BMedina_Guitar]

There's like 3 people in the audience and Devo still gave 110% to their performance. That's showmanship!

[@Buttermilkjug]

One of the people in the audience that night was David Bowie~ Bowie introduced the band the next time they played at this venue~

[@InfiniteRhombus]

there was way more people in the audience

[@pressureworks]

A bit more than that, true Devoteees.

[@anaccountthatexsists2768]

i'm pretty sure this was actually a pretty big show. david bowie was there

[@vicaldama9314]

And most of them are in this comment section and reviewing their life 40 years later awesome

[@gregghorner9107]

Devo was ray of sunshine in an era of Disco and Arena rock.

[@BirdTalk13]

Precisely! Well said.

[@austin1fiddler]

What I find fascinating is that by 1977 the whole long hair, hippie rebel aesthetic was starting to get old and here these guys come and romanticize the industrial conformity that the long hairs rebelled against.

[@excelisfun]

Devo was so ahead of their time and so prophetic!

[@BirdTalk13]

This is a Masterpiece! I saw Devo in 1978, 1979 and New Year’s Eve 1980. Thank you so very much for sharing this gem. ❤

[@Tigowner]

I just came here to say that Bob1 is a vastly underrated shredder.

[@therawson]

Saw them do smart patrol at summer fest in Milwaukee coupletwotree years ago. Best hour of my life. This song got me through so many shitty situations/years of my life. Would give my right ball to have my 8-year-old self been there.

[@Mucving]

Once there's a time machine I know where I'm going.

[@BirdTalk13]

I’ll meet you there!

[@Mucving]

@@BirdTalk13 deal, brother 🤜🤛

[@hartgreen]

I love the crowd! They're like WTF! 1977 didnt see this coming... 4 years later they would be moshing to that...

[@sosickhcdrums]

The absolute greatest. So ahead of their time.

[@troywilson4694]

To the point that time still hasn't caught up.

[@sosickhcdrums]

@@troywilson4694 -exactly. Even why I try to explain it, they are still incomprehensible. :/

[@1StinkyFinger]

Forgot to mention, Bob 1 KICKS ASS!

[@MegaJetJaguar]

I never tire of watching Bob 1 assault the audience with his awesome guitar riffs!

[@bizbabo2982]

Still listening to this since 77. I was ten years old riding my skateboard!

[@Clovissimus2008]

+Bizbabo Seventh grade for me. My dad took me to see them at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco in the fall of 1977. I'm still getting over the excitement.

[@Jason.Loewenstein]

This is one of the most important songs in music history. Who knew that the late 70's would be SUCH an important time? Thank god.

[@jeffrejackson1988]

DEVO. Now More Than Ever.

[@waynebrown2546]

It is really cool how they have been their own back up singers, instrument techs and soundmen all at same time there was a concentrated stage performance

[@vikingson9000]

crappy video tape crappy audio I love it still to this day!

[@stapler942]

Pretty f'ing amazing for not having recorded their first album yet.

[@badmonkey2222]

I listen to them starting in 79 when I was first turned on to them by my next door neighbor I was 10 years old and I was just getting into playing drums also I'm a professional musician now these guys were so far ahead of their time they still are they've been paralyzing audiences on Earth for 40 years can you imagine being that guy on the front row right there in 1977 not realizing how big they were going to be and what they were witnessing, amazing man....

[@curbstompoioioi]

Easily one of the best DEVO videos out there.

[@TheChristafershawn]

So much better live.

[@motodork]

True artists

[@danzarek]

The world needed Devo. The world needs the next Devo.

[@fucktardly]

always turning this up as loud as it will go over here

[@josephmythen3844]

Caught DEVO in 1978 / Boston Massachusetts at one of the oldest theatre's ...perfect acoustics ...was made before amps were used...They were fantastic. Ah I remeber the name now...The Orpheum...very very nice place to see anything...

[@tonystofer3650]

I saw devo at the Aragon ballroom chicago 1980. Great band. They had just changed from there yellow suits I'd missed to there bell hats and freedom of choice uniforms. It was still a good show. This live version of smart patrol is the best I heard.

[@tessierashpoolmg7776]

Awesome to watch them 3 yrs before I even heard of them! Incredible energy and passion.

[@random_musings9240]

hardest working band in rock n' roll!

[@partyovone9588]

This needs 100x times more views than this world would be a better place

[@malicious1969]

Had I been in the audience, I'd have at least tried a stage dive! And where's the pogo?? Mr. DNA calls for delirious floor rioting. ha!

[@zhiracs]

Man, the performances of "Smart Patrol" from their Max's Kansas City dates are undoubtedly the best versions of the song

[@rickghaly]

You are a God for recording this for prosperity. Whoever you are! Thanks for posting! Can't imagine this would be available, at all, ever! Etch it in a gold disc!

[@Ishanaroya]

One of the most awesome video clips I've ever seen on the Tube!

[@fishead1967]

Lot of my happiness was in the 70# and 80$.Devo gave me permission to be weird as that was my true nature as I am Devo.....This was my confidence and I turned out to be a Well rounded intelligent Human being...Roll models are very important as inspiration and explorations of choices and finding your true path in happiness

[@danzarek]

The world needed Devo.

[@ulfnorberg6563]

Fantastic

[@michaelharris4651]

Take me back to the days of DEVO those guys we're so good !

[@badmonkey2222]

They still are. 2019

[@malicious1969]

Masterpiece. too bad the audience - except perhaps for one dude to the right - don't seem to get it. Pioneering music is often not understood at the beginning. Thankfully we have KZbin and other digital media that can tell us the story again, 40 years later. LONG LIVE DEVO!

[@mslewin]

this is so beautifully raw

[@petercrowley41]

Greatest club ever, too!

[@jeng3000]

it's interesting to hear this live stuff because you can compare to the studio versions and realize that sometimes songs go through a phase of trial and error… DEVO clearly decided at some point during this tour or just after that the tune should be faster, and that's the version that got on the album two years later.

[@calaverasgrande]

I'm sure the prevalence of coke in LA studios of the late 70's had an effect.

[@weaseldragon]

The emergence of punk rock and Eno in the studio for the first album....

[@jobney]

Setting the speed to 1.25 is just about right. Makes a huge difference.

[@akibubba1]

revolutionary stuff back then - very cool group to see live

[@AIKevorkian]

I had NO IDEA this song was that ANCIENT; I thought this came out in about 1983. That's when I first heard it! July 1977, I was climbing a tree overlooking my friends right where E. Wellesley Ave. met the Idaho border. (East Spokane near Post Falls, Idaho). I barely remember that tree, but I told everyone what to do to make a great "fort" where no one could find us.

[@jeffbrett7849]

It doesn't get any better than this kids

[@lachompon]

come to mexico pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@gdguth1]

Saw them do this a week ago...they can STILL nail it on the head 34 years later!

[@kurt771965]

This history , in the making...DEVVVVVVVVO!!!!!

[@Cecopoiea]

This is eight stools and a promise. it's goddamn fantastic.

[@johnfletcher7648]

the greatest devo live video ever...ever..the guitar work just at 2:58 ...

[@ACMEpowersports]

1977! I was still immersed in Foghat and Foreigner..

[@adityajoshi8065]

Ground breaking! These type of videos make me feel that i have a week vocab.

[@HashimotoTheBand]

wow. so cool the tape was rolling for this. I saw DEVO in Nov 2009, and they played this with the same urgency, soul and fun as in this performance. Really rocked for the crowd. Great to see Bob 1 sing and play that great solo and hold up his muscles after breaking the string to end the 2nd solo.

[@deedee5110341]

Greatest band ever!

[@MrLangDog]

I would trade a few years off my life to have been there that night.

[@beachkidboy]

There is nothing better!

[@creageous]

Listening to their records as a kid I had no idea what I was in for when I finally saw them live in '78. They really rock the jams turning 3 minutes songs from a record into an 8 minute rock and roll fantasy.

[@MrJpm1989]

DEVO, the band from the future ......

[@trailkeeper]

Their falsetto is unique, since it goes into a deeper tone instead of higher octaves.

[@rojkar1300]

Damn, Devo was just so much ahead of their time and we are talking the 70 were anything could happen and mostly did, by the way is it because im 50 that all "modern" music sounds like it was made by the not so creative advertising men VERY BOORING

[@benwhackley]

Frans .Røjkjær Christensen no. That's just how modern music is. I'm a 4th of your age and feel the same way

[@tomrochester7381]

Frans .Røjkjær Christensen I don't agree. Perhaps you're just not getting access to any good modern music because yes, as it always has, all radio and pop music sounds the same. Maybe it's time you started a new musical journey and rediscovered the joy of music. It's out there, exactly what you're looking for, you just have to dig for it.

[@165Dash]

I’ve been hunting through KZbin forever for one of those hilarious Devo live shows or videos where they perform while walking on treadmills. Does anyone out there remember?

[@madmaniac2552]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnfZcqCPaNCehZI

[@evanwolf6618]

New Traditionalist

[@davidkiddoo2005]

I love the guy in the second row who isn’t sure what he’s watching but is absolutely certain that it’s changing his life

[@jackal59]

I still like the version with the malfunctioning keyboard :) but this is sure great (and proof that they were better live).

[@J7storm]

my GOD was that AWSOME!!! Thank you endlessly for posting. The video quality may be horrid and the sound quality so so, but the DeVo of it just powers right through all of that. Brilliant! I would love to know where this came from!

[@skybluetrades]

Masterpiece!!!!

[@blinggnilb2]

I was 6 days old when this was recorded WOW

[@jcabonjr]

RIP Allen! Never was the same without you!

[@13zontar]

Amazing footage ‼️😃

[@planetfall]

Alan Meyers is da man!

[@hoglerj]

Can't wait for the Hardcore tour this summer. Last time I saw them was in 1979 in Akron.

[@calaverasgrande]

saw them in 1980 in New Orleans. Akron, thats home turf advantage!

[@DuaneHanlon]

THE DISSONANCE IS CLEANSING /// I ENVY THE LUCKY FEW WHO GOT TO BE AT THIS CONCERT // THEIR SUPERB PLAYING SEEMS SO EFFORTLESS

[@1StinkyFinger]

thank you, thank you, thank you for uploading this fantastic video! the sound on this early live version is Devo at their best. My all time favorite song!

[@daveriggins6921]

these guys made a lasting impression on me as a teenager in the 80s, and I am blown away (as others have said) by how prescient they were and are. Incredible.

[@CuteCatFaith]

I saw them at the Akron Art Museum the day their first 45 came out and Mark Mothersbaugh signed it with, "Lisa, want to make it?" then apologized profusely! They were already too famous to see besides at JB's Down in Kent, Ohio by the time I got to NYC in late '77 -- absolutely brilliant group. I am a spud from NE Ohio, then a NYer, now am French. I am devo.

[@gregoirealexandroff4589]

suepr songs , and one of the most eloquent RnR rock chorus guiratarist ever !

[@goedit]

Amazing! Please! Post more from this performance!

[@iZ-the-Egoni]

One of 'em, ∂₫. The Blockheads are my favourite.

[@timhouston4470]

What a great show. And from 1977! Sounds friggin awesome.

[@frizzlefrap]

one of my favorite ..... look how young .... amazing ..... like tears for fears said .... "funny how time fliesssssss"!

[@Peachbum85]

Top band very well followed from the punks of sutton , st.helens ....boiler suits on and flower pots on heads, smart patrol was a st.nicks disco favourite🤠🤠

[@klausien]

THANK YOU. BEAUTIFUL.

[@eisenkreuzmusik]

on this tour, at least in the US, they did meets and greets, which I attended one in LA. Maybe they'll do that when they go to your side of th pond.

[@no-eb1yc]

friggin awesome....!

[@garbledtransmission]

I want two of everything from their merch booth!

[@sleeve51]

"It's got a beat, you can dance to it"! - Melvin Grossman 1981

[@AngryGreen]

mr. dna sounds reeeeally good in this version!

[@MisterLettuce]

@Grandpaconway I've seen lots of fan taped vids of bands from the 70's that were taped in black and white. I am guessing that these were people with old Sony reel-to-reel video recorder setups who lugged their setups into the clubs and taped. Other examples of video like this are vids like Target's Cramps at Napa Asylum, Talking Heads at My Fathers Place, and B-52s in Atlanta 1978, most you can see here on youtube. I am so thankful that there were people to document these shows back then.

[@StephenJones-c2x]

imagine if so many people didn't shoot any analogue video in the 1970s - 2000s but only used film? we'd have an amazing archive of so many amazing events. analog video is great for effects, but "shimmering dogs vomit" (Bill Gosper) is all we have a clouded memories. I suppose that is a testament to de-evolution though.

[@number7gracestreet]

this stuff is so good. bands today, you are good too! play like this!!!!

[@GeekLikeYou]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing :)

[@carcillian]

They are geniuses.

[@165Dash]

Great upload. I must say, considering how many art school porta-pack humping video fetishists there were roaming the various “downtown” 70’s urban art scenes of America (especially New York) it’s amazing how little record there is of early CBGB Class of 77 type bands. This Devo series from Max's is a gem.

[@TheFuzzieWuzzie]

Merci beaucoup, Alain

[@davejones5745]

This was when Devo was real good and fried out. Iconoclastic.

[@PnxNdd420]

and devo is STILL together

[@tessierashpoolmg7776]

PnxNdd420 Still together 2017!

[@steven1822]

thanks for the memory, i was a max's lover.

[@Duamuteffe]

Very, very awesome. Nice to see you back, Dr. B!

[@seanie002]

i'll be there too!!! cant wait!!!

[@thecosmicsnail]

This is the garden of my potato.

[@TheFuzzieWuzzie]

YOU ARE A GOD FOR POSTING THIS