Devo

The hazards of rockumentaries are that you can’t really cover all the things about a band in a two-hour show. There was plenty more I wanted to learn about Devo, although I was still happy to see/hear the broad strokes. I’m more inclined to want a straight telling of the history instead of a post-impressionistic, avant-garde essay that tries to invoke the style of the art the band is known for. So I’m grateful to the director (Chris Smith, the American Movie guy) for keeping it moving and pulling the thread. Devo had so many ideas about violence, America, consumerism, and pop-art, it’s a wonder they were able to focus at all. It’s a satisfying aperitif of an extremely influential band.