Local group grants man his final wish to play rock concert
Tony Devodier plays a gig at SLO Brew with his doctor’s rock band
–Tony Devodier, a local homeless man with terminal cancer had a dream come true Monday, performing on stage at SLO Brew in San Luis Obispo.
A limousine picked up Tony Devodier at the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter and delivered him to the venue. There he performed as a guest guitarist with the band Where’s Sweeny?
Devodier’s oncologist, Dr. Thomas Spillane, is a member of the band.
The band performed covers of classic rock songs by artists such as Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd, said Devodier, 62. “I want to do good,” Devodier said. “I want to give people something they like.”
The show was made possible by Dream Makers, a group of volunteers formed to help make wishes come true for terminally ill adults in San Luis Obispo County. Dream Makers, which hopes to fulfill one dream a month, has previously sponsored a fishing trip to Alaska, along with trips to Disneyland and Hawaii.
Devodier was first diagnosed with lung and kidney cancer in 2015. The cancer later metastasized to his brain. As he battled health issues, Devodier also lost his job, leading him to the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter, which has a special 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-per-week Recuperative Care Program for clients who have been hospitalized and need a safe place to convalesce.
Devodier became a client of the program in November, after a stay at a local hospital. Since then, he has continued to outlive his own expectations. “In October, I was a guy sitting on a bed, thinking I wouldn’t make it to Halloween,” he said. “I should have been gone a long time ago.”
As Devodier continued to battle the cancer, Spillane nominated him to Dream Makers. Once plans were set, Devodier began rehearsing with Spillane’s band and practicing at the shelter.
He said he was excited to take the stage on Monday. “It’s the climax of a long, long journey – a truly unexpected one, at that,” he said.
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