08.15.2026: Billy Idol w/ DEVO at Empower FCU Amphitheater

It was a perfect night for a nostalgic concert. The fans were out in force. This wasn't to a show for artists on the rise, these were pop culture legends, and it showed. There were throngs of fans in Billy Idol shirts old and new, and cherry red DEVO energy domes floated here and there atop the crowd like salt on a pretzel. In keeping with the food vibes: the night was a delicious cotton candy sweet blob of 1980's excess and escapism.

DEVO opened the night, as part of their Mutate, Don't Stagnate tour. The sun was still up when they began their set, but they performed as if they were headlining. It was a perfect kick off a night of nostalgia. There were the yellow jumpsuits, the robotic choreography, and energy dome hats tossed into the crowd (and at the merch tent for $60). When asked "ARE WE NOT MEN?!" the crowd bellowed in return "WE ARE DEVO!" They could easily have gone through the motions and cashed their check, but instead they jumped, crawled, cheered and rent their clothes.

They left it all on the stage, except the jumpsuits that is... those were torn to shreds and tossed to the crowd, much to the delight of their fans. As you'd expect, their set hit all the songs you'd want to hear at a DEVO show: of course there was Whip It, there was Irresistible Urge, Girl U Want. Friends have asked me about the show, and how the performances/voices were, and I must admit: if anything, DEVO has improved with age.

There is no way anyone at The Amp could not have known who was the headliner of the show. His face (from 30+ years ago) was everywhere: Tron influenced and 3 stories high on the LED screen, on the kick drum, on TVs with clips from his music videos, his shirt, and of course, atop his neck. Everyone has asked me: "How was his voice?" And here's the truth: it's still good. Yes, you could tell he's lost some range. His mellow ranges have a bit more rasp than it did in the 80's and he's lost some of his power when he pushes it, but there's no denying he's remains an impressive showman. I don't have a body anyone would want to see shirtless on stage, and even at 70 and having survived a motorcycle accident, he STILL has women screaming for him when he changes his shirt on stage. It should be noted, you could buy tee shirts with the x-rays from his accident

I heard some people say they thought DEVO was more true to their recording, which while it may be true, I'm not sure it's fair. DEVO was never going to be held to the same standard vocally as Billy. It's just easier to notice a slight dulling of a razor than the dulling of a butter knife. The production values of the show were high. Whoever designed the video backgrounds made really effective use of the screen. It wasn't just video clips, it was whole new settings, with setpeices that looked like they were really there, be it a steel lightning bolt, or the aforementioned 3 story tall Tron Billy, and complete with dynamic lighting making the stage seem even larger, or providing mountains of TVs displaying clips from his music videos. It was truly impressive.

The only really notable quirk to the night was the "lack" of an encore. I overheard multiple people remarking they felt the show ended abruptly. I think it's because there was no real break followed by an encore. Maybe there was some legal requirement to end the show by 10:30, but there wasn't a traditional "thank you, goodnight!" followed by a black out and chants for more songs. The lights did go out ever so briefly after Rebel Yell, but it was blink and you missed it fast. On the plus side, it was a 3 song "encore" and of course the show had to wrap with White Wedding, complete with an animated motorcycle bursting through a stained glass window.

All in all it was a great night. It was truly nice to escape however briefly back into "precedented times," when problems came along, all you had to do was whip it, you and your alien friend could escape the FBI on a bicycle, and people cheered when archeologists punched Nazis.

More of what you missed!

Click for full size (and to avoid any awkward automated cropping).