Even Devo isn't immune to football mania.

The band members knew the score that mattered most to locals -- the one that read 36-32, San Francisco over New Orleans -- and they weren't shy about using that bit of information to their advantage at the Fillmore.

"Greetings, people of the Bay," said bassist-keyboardist-vocalist Jerry Casale. "Just as the 49ers whipped the holy Saints today, are you ready to 'Whip It' with us?"

It was appropriate that the group referenced San Francisco's gridiron heroes. For just like the 49ers, Devo is continually underrated -- yet it just keeps winning.

That trend definitely continued on Saturday night, as Devo delivered a thoroughly enthralling set that left one wondering why the band's legacy hasn't weathered the years as soundly as its music has. The group's post-punk mix, which blends bits of synth-pop, art-rock and New Wave, sounds vastly more vital today than what most of Devo's contemporaries from the late-'70s and '80s can offer up.

One answer to that quandary, no doubt, is that the band is so closely associated with gimmickry. Think of Devo and you also must think of those bright yellow "radiation" jumpsuits, those terraced "Energy Dome" hats (which resemble flower pots worn upside down) and all the pseudo sci-fi imagery that percolated through its famous music videos. All of that leads some to think of Devo as post-punk's answer to KISS.


Not helping matters is the group's love of all things ironic. Devo's best songs are all soaked in irony, which means a listener has to have no small degree of patience in order to unwrap the intended message. Irony, however, is pretty much dead in 2012, replaced to a large extent by unmistakable cruelty and over-the-top "reality."

Yet, Devo still has so much to offer for those with open ears.

The Ohio group sounded amazingly strong as it used the set list at the Fillmore to provide an overview of its 40-year career. Not surprisingly, the selections from its two best albums -- 1978's "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo?" and 1980's "Freedom of Choice" -- were all highlights of the show.

The evening was about celebrating the old hits -- as well as the ones that really should've been hits. Of course, the crowd showed much enthusiasm for "Whip It," the 1980 single that introduced millions to the band, and will likely be singing that catchy chorus for days to come.

Yet, fans seemed just as delighted to hear a jittery New Wave double shot of "That's Good" and "Girl U Want," then dance through powerful versions of "Uncontrollable Urge" and "Gates of Steel."

The group also included a healthy share of newer songs -- hailing from the band's most recent album, 2010's "Something for Everybody" -- and it was impressive to hear how seamlessly they fit into the set list. (Download "Fresh" and "What We Do" in order to better understand why Devo is still worth your time in 2012).

The band closed the show with the anthemic "Beautiful World," a fitting exit theme to what had been an amazing night of music.
