Shiny, red energy domes; the return of the cheerful but creepy Booji Boy; and hundreds of superballs, plucked from singer-keyboard player Mark Mothersbaugh's pants and bounced into the audience. It was just another night at the office for pioneering new wave band Devo, Friday night’s headliner at the Puyallup Fair grandstand.

Devo – clad typically in plastic, red bio domes and yellow chemical protection suits - got its sole MTV smash, “Whip It,” out of the way during the early portion of the their set, which also included fan favorites “Peek-A-Boo,” “Secret Agent Man” and their robotic reinvention of the Stones’ “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”

The group’s name is, of course, a shortened version of the term “de-evolution,” a concept that drives the Devo aesthetic. And midway through the set, bassist and keyboard player Gerald Casale asked the crowd, “How many people tonight think that de-evolution is real? You don’t have to look far for the evidence.” (The Puyallup Fair being a prime showcase for the sorts of "devolved" consumerism and herd mentality the band tends to parody.)

Casale's query was the lead in to off-kilter set staple, “Jocko Homo,” which was surprisingly anthemic (given its jarringly jerky rhythms) in the live setting. Mothersbaugh turned the song’s Q & A refrain (also the title of the 1978 album that the song comes from) into a rousing call and response exercise.

Q: “Are we not men?” A: “We are Devo!”

And as the song built up steam, the band ripped off the rest of its already torn suits and threw them into the crowd, revealing even nerdier ensembles-- black t-shirts, running shorts and the type of black sock, loafer combo favored by your grandpa. Ad one point, Mothersbaugh jumped into the crowd, working it into a frenzied state as he yelped the song’s comically insightful last verse:

“God made man/ But he used the monkey to do it/ Apes in the plan/ We’re all here to prove it/ I can walk like an ape/ Talk like an ape/ I can do what a monkey can do/ God made man/ But a monkey supplied the glue" We must repeat
O.k. lets go!

This was, of course, followed by a lot of more repetitive but fun call and response.

The unusually melodic (for Devo) “Gut Feeling” provided a rush a little later. And Mothersbaugh exited the stage soon after while Casale announced a “surprise” guest. It was Booji Boy (pronounced “boogie boy”), actually Mothersbaugh wearing a creepy, rubber baby mask (of the variety that horror movie slashers favor) and cherubic robes. The character, which has been with the band since the mid-‘70s, sang “Beautiful World” in a cheesy, choir boy falsetto.

“You know, I just love the smell of a krusty pup,” Booji Boy announced, mid-song. “That’s good, American cooking.”

The show peaked with Booji Boy/Mothersbaugh reaching into his robes and hurling a seemingly endless supply of superballs into the crowd, which fans clamored to grab as they flew their way. And, for the record, a speeding superball is a lot harder to snag than a flying drumstick.