Creative Arts Festival, 1974

DEVO's poster for the event

The 1974 Kent State Universirty Arts Festival was an arts festival notable as the first concert of DEVO proper.

## Background

In the year between performances, the lineup of DEVO had changed significantly. Fred Webber's role as vocalist had been taken up by Gerald Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh was brought on as a third guitarist, and Jim Mothersbaugh replaced Rod Reisman on drums.

On April 13th, 2021, fouding member of DEVO Bob Lewis uploaded concert audio from the first 39 minutes of the show. A newspaper advert from the time details the same setlist plus two songs not incldued in the tape 'Ono' and 'All of Us'. In the comments Lewis recalls that these tracks were performed, increasing the runtime of the show to 44 minutes. It's possible that the concert overan and was stopped after Ono, because without technical issues between tracks, the show should have lasted only 41.

## Setlist

* Private Secretary (G.Casale) (5:25)
* I Been Refused (G.Casale) (4:38)
* Subhuman Woman (G.Casale) (7:03)
* The Rope Song (G.Casale/Lewis) (4:46)
* Pigs Waddle (5:13)
* Be Stiff (G.Casale/Lewis) (3:28)
* Androgyny (2:37)
* Ono (G.Casale/M.Mothersbaugh) (3 Minutes)
* All Of Us (G.Casale) (5 Minutes)

## Line-Up

* Gerald Casale: Songwriter, Vocals, Bass Guitar
* Bob Lewis: Co-Songwriter, Rythmn Guitar
* Mark Mothersbaugh: Co-Songwriter, Synths, Backing Vocals
* Bob Casale: Rythmn Guitar
* Bob Mothersbaugh: Lead Guitar
* Jim Mothersbaugh: Drums

## Quotes on the Subject

> *Devo makes a triumphant return to the site of last year's spectacle... This is your chance. This year's performance will degenerate in the Governance Chambers (as is altogether fitting). Seats will be at a premium, so get there early... Don't miss 'Private Secretary,' 'I Been Refused,' 'Sub-human Woman,' 'The Rope Song,' 'Pigs Waddle,' 'Be Stiff,' 'Androgyny,' 'O No' and 'All of Us' as performed by Gerald and Robert Casale, Robert Lewis and James and Mark Mothersbaugh... the incredible Devo...*
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- Press Ad, 1974

> *By the following year the music had devolved significantly, and at the KSU Festival of 1974 the band had added Jim Mothersbaugh and his self-developed electronic drums. That Fall, a tape was recorded at Krieger-Field Studio in Akron. Personnel at this time consisted of Jerry & Bob Casale, Bob Lewis, Bob Mothersbaugh, Jim Mothersbaugh, and Mark Mothersbaugh.*
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- The Devo Rap Sheet, 1977

> *During the second Creative Arts Festival, we played the Student Governance Chamber - the same place that the 'Jocko Homo' segment of our movie was shot. It was brand new and looked like a mini United Nations... A real good venue... [The poet] Ed Dorn was around for Creative Arts I -- and then he returned as a featured poet at Creative Arts II, along with Holbrook Teeter, Joanne Kyger, and Robert Creeley.*
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- Bob Lewis, 1995

> *We played probably a half a dozen times with Jim Mothersbaugh as our drummer... [Jim's first DEVO performance was the 1974 Creative Arts Festival.] The second one. In the Governance Chambers, where we actually had like a forty-minute set.*
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- Gerald Casale, 2001

> *DEVO played two other songs at this performance, but, regrettably, they were not on the recording I received. One was "O NO', the last song was "All of Us"*
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- Bob Lewis, 2021

## Reference

1. ↑ http://huboon.com/1973\_76.html
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDNPe8u\_3eM&t=9s
3. ↑ http://huboon.com/images/1974-04-23\_02.jpg
4. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/OgcsK