Words by Adriana Mundy

Devo? At the fair? That was my first reaction a few months back when I first got the news. Second reaction: Definitely going. (No. Matter. What!) The Ohio State Fair is always quite a spectacle between the people watching, fried everything and of course the butter cow, but last Wednesday it was definitely the unofficial Columbus rockers night at the fair. I can’t recall who I didn’t see at some point in the evening googly-eyed with anticipation to see the first idols of Akron.

Devo blew my mind for an entire hour and a half last week and I’ve since set my show standards higher. They’re a perfectly organized and ridiculously kinetic, unmistakable force. They penetrate right through your psyche to rip out any reservations you might have about how to go wild at a rock show. I, for one, don’t know that I’ve ever danced at a concert so much.

The bottom line is, seeing Devo was like seeing history. Sure it would’ve been great to have seen them in the ’70s, but I wasn’t alive then. They’re still having fun, still rocking out, still being weird and still delivering in 2010. (New tunes and all!) We’re all proud of our music culture in Ohio and seeing a band like that still going strong epitomizes that point perfectly. Thanks Devo.

Full Devo set

Ra Ra Riot

Syracuse natives Ra Ra Riot were the lucky openers, kicking off the evening energetically. Their sound has matured quite a bit since they hit the scene with a bang in 2007. (They’ve since headlined in the UK and US twice.) With as hard as these kids seem to work, it’s no wonder they were on this bill.

Full Ra Ra Riot set

Ra Ra Riot (Syracuse, NY)
Gabriella Cilmi (AUSTRALIA)
Ximena Sariñara (Mexico City, MEXICO)
Primal Scream (Glasgow SCOTLAND/UK)
Friendly Fires (St Albans, ENGLAND/UK)
B.o.B (Atlanta, GA)
Sage Francis (Providence, RI)
Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, PORTUGAL)
Arc Angels (Austin, TX)
Courteeners (Manchester, England/UK)
Raul Malo (Nashville, TN)
8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN)
Reflection Eternal (New York, NY/Cincinnati, OH)
Wale (Washington, DC)
Pete & the Pirates (Reading, ENGLAND/UK)
Ben Harper and Relentless7 (Los Angeles, CA)

It’s only a matter of time before we start hearing about day parties. And, be on the lookout during the second half of January for Donewaiting’s pre-coverage of SXSW 2009 to kick into full steam. Without giving too much away, we’ll be taking things to a new level in ’09 and beyond.

Related: the first wave of Australian bands heading to Texas in March have been announced.

On Tuesday, April 29, Ra Ra Riot and The Little Ones are coming to Columbus to perform at The Basement. Click here for tickets.

We’ve got two pairs of tix to give out to the handsome and beautiful readers of donewaiting.com. To enter, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject “RA RA RIOT THE LITTLE ONES”. Winners will randomly be chosen on April 28.

Get to know the bands:

MP3: St Peter’s Day Festival by Ra Ra Riot
MP3: Ra Ra Riot @ WOXY
MP3: The Little Ones @ Hype Machine