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'Live 1980' DVD Review by Alex Brunelle
Here we have my review for the brand-spanking-new DEVO DVD, ‘Live 1980.’ I’ve gotta say, it’s completely awesome in almost every way. It’s not without its drawbacks, but this is one you’re probably going to want to buy two copies of. The second one is in case you wear out the first one.

In the interest of ending this review with praise, I’ll start out with the negatives. I would say that my main complaint doesn’t have so much to do with this release as it does with whoever shot this twenty-five years ago. Apparently, these cameramen were not too familiar with the focus dial on their cameras. As a result, we see blurred shots more often than we might be used to seeing on other concert DVDs. The editing is my other main gripe, though this is more of a style preference. I prefer straight shots that last a little while as opposed to lots of quick cuts. This disc has a fair amount of both, I guess I would have just liked less quick cutting. There’s also two minor typos on the back of the packaging, but that’s not really of any concern.

Now, onto the praise, and there is a lot of it. First and foremost, the band is at the top of their game. Everything is tight, calculated and well executed. If any of you have seen DEVO live in recent years, you’ll know that they’re still pretty tight, but seeing this will remind you of how much tighter they would be if they were still a full-time band. On the positive side of the camerawork, the vast majority of the shots we get in this feature are really really excellent. Lots of great close-ups and even a few close shots of Alan! Seeing DEVO’s synth bay from this era as close up as we get is fascinating. It’s mind-boggling that Mark and Bob2 knew how to manipulate every one of those keyboards to do something a bit different from all of the others. Not to be discounted is the fact that this is a COMPLETE performance. (Note that while there is no video for the “FOC Theme,” we do hear it and are treated to an amusing Star Wars-esque scroll that was likely written by Jerry.) Yes, this does mean that we finally get to see the complete Booji Boy “Tunnel of Life” tour film! That segment of the show is beautiful, sad and moving. It’s strange how much one’s heart actually goes out to Booji Boy after we see what happens to him and his performance.

Also important to notice is the fact that we have DOVE footage as bonus video on this DVD. Shot at the M80 Festival on black and white video, this is not the same film footage that Chuck Statler shot that you may be familiar with from the “Complete Truth” DVD or at the recent DEVOtional (where he showed “Worried Man” and “Praying Hands” in their entirety, footage the band hadn’t ever even seen). However, the video we have here was shot with multiple cameras and is very nicely edited, which is something I was pleasantly surprised by. These snippets are on this DVD in promotion for Music Video Distributors’ upcoming M80 Festival DVD release. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of DOVE there.

Another very pleasantly surprising aspect of the DVD is the four different audio tracks for the show. Two are Bob Casale’s mix of the show, in both Dolby 2.0 and Dolby Surround 5.1. The other two are Chris Seyler/Big Round Sound’s mix of the show, also in both Dolby 2.0 and Dolby Surround 5.1. The latter mix is most likely the original audio mix that was carried with the original video tapes. As you may assume, Bob2’s mix is far superior (and is the default sound mix), but it’s very nice that MVD gave us the option of what we would like to hear.

Last, but not least, this isn’t just a DVD, it’s also a CD of the show. Just flip the disc over and pop it in your CD player. It sounds to me like the CD is also the Bob2 mix of the show. However, many aspects of this disc strike me as strange. On the DVD, some of the longer pauses in between songs have been edited to speed up the pace of your TV viewing, which is understandable. Based on this, I would have expected for the complete show, with long pauses and all, to be featured on the CD. This is not the case. The CD, in fact, is more heavily edited than the DVD. The “FOC Theme” is completely missing, and the CD kicks off with “Whip It.” Also missing from the CD are “Jocko ****” and “Tunnel of Life.” Now, I can kind of understand leaving off “Tunnel” because Booji Boy songs don’t have a long history of actually making it to albums, but the omission of “Jocko” is just strange. Also, the ending drums of “Freedom of Choice” and everything preceding the first vocals in “Smart Patrol” are cut. This makes for a VERY abrupt transition between the tracks. I’m not too concerned with this because, really, I didn’t want this disc for the CD portion (as you probably know, I have more than enough DEVO live CDs to keep me happy for several lifetimes), but it’s still something that sticks out.

All in all, though, this is an extremely excellent DVD, and definitely the best live DEVO DVD to date. List price for this baby is a mere $15 and you can get it for about $10 with free shipping if you look around. If you’re a DEVO fan, you need this DVD. If you’re a DEVO fan and don’t have $10, beg friends, parents and business associates until you have $10. Then buy this DVD. You will not regret it.

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