DEVO at Pier 17/Dry Cleaning at Webster Hall
May 18, 2022
So, this was supposed to be one of those toss-up nights: Do I go for WAY Old School DEVO, who first played New York in 1977, or up-and-coming Dry Cleaning, a catchy new band from UK?
Well, maybe both. Christine and the girls were in Midtown at the Tina Turner show on Broadway, which runs about three hours with an intermission. Turns out, DEVO’s show was outside at Pier 17 and due to end by 10pm, and a quick Uber ride up to Webster Hall would let me catch most of Dry Cleaning’s act. And I could still make it to post-show drinks with the girls, and even snag a limo ride home with them. Genius!
DEVO’s show at Pier 17 was amazing. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor concert, and his was my first trip to Pier 17’s rooftop venue, which sports beautiful views of Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines. The crowd was loaded with geezers like me, and a bunch of em brought their kids. Lots of folks dressed up in the DEVO hazmat suits, or sported those dopey red plastic flower pot hats.
The whole experience was like being in a 45 year long MTV video, spliced into a 90-minute show. The DEVO boys had a whole collection of kitschy, wacky, and corny videos in their background while they belted out a terrific set of DEVO hits from over the (many!) years they’ve been together. The set had something for every DEVO fan: the Jocko Homo chant. Going Under. Gates of Steel. Freedom of Choice. Whip It. Even some of the non-PC stuff like Mongoloid and Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy. They also covered Secret Agent Man and thenRolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. And they wrapped it up with Beautiful World.
They sounded amazing, after all this time. They look a bit older, but don’t we all? Nobody seemed to care, and everybody loved the show. I have no voice left after screaming out all their dopey lyrics. And, DEVO promised to come back in 2077 for their 100 year anniversary show in New York. We’ll all be there.
In an alternate universe fifteen minutes away, Dry Cleaning was playing to a much younger crowd, completely unencumbered by little plastic hats or hazmat suits. The London-based four-piece is led by vocalist Florence Shaw, who speaks more than sings her lyrics. Her band mates play a tight, fuzzy/mellow style of post-punk rock that to me sounds like Sonic Youth back in the day. Their recent hit “Scratchcard Lanyard” gets a lot of air play. I hadn’t heard much else, and was wondering if they were strong enough to keep the energy going for an entire set. They could and they did. Good show, if not as raucous or wacky as the DEVO boys.
And drinks with Christine and the ladies is always a great way to end an evening at the show.