Summerfest 2010 Milwaukee Tickets | A Reason To Fight The Crowds at Marcus Amphitheater

Summerfest 2010 Milwaukee tickets are in hand because they booked a band that I must see. Yes, it has been 32 years since I first saw them. Yes, I am that old, but in my defense, I first saw DEVO when I was 12 years old. Do the math. They played the Uptown Theater on North Avenue in Milwaukee, and the venue was about 3/4 full. What do I remember about that show? Pink Pussycat, and Swelling Itching Brain. I also remember the videos that opened the show.

Three years later Devo was on tour supporting their Freedom Of Choice album. They were about to "jump the shark" with their next album, but on the Freedom Of Choice tour, they reached the apex of their street cred. PM Magazine came to film the crowd lined up outside the Oriental Theater. They approached me and asked an inane question. Just as I was to answer, someone spit on me. Punks were demanding that PM Magazine leave us alone. I guess I was a traitor for talking to the press.

That night the DEVO show was a disaster in the making. Their video projector broke down after the first minute. There was a small electrical fire on stage, and half the p.a. system never powered up. Boogie Boy came out and apologized to Milwaukee. This was their first tour date in America, after travelling all across Europe. Bumps in the road were expected. Too bad for us. They played at the Aragon Ballroom two nights later, and I'm sure it was all good.

Devo would release New traditionalists in 1981, and with that, they jumped the shark. Sure, the songs Working In A Coal Mine, and Beautiful World were on that album, but the pop loving, late-to-the-party audience totally missed the point that they were being called out for not understanding the message that Devo was bringing to the masses. That tour was a bulky, keyboard laden mess. True fans walked away in droves.

Still, Are We Not Men, and Freedom Of Choice are two of the best albums ever. Devo is tops in my book for those albums, and I give them three stars for Freedom of Choice. They will draw a huge crowd at the Miller Light Oasis on July 4th. I'll be there.