Once Upon a Time at Paper Tiger… Amigo the Devil plays San Antonio

On an unsuspecting Thursday night in the fading light of San Antonio’s scorching sun, I had the privilege to join an elite group of indie rockers, metalheads, goths, and stylish country fans in watching Amigo the Devil perform a solo set of twisted bluesy melodies for all to bask in. Usually backed by a full touring band, the “Dahmer Does Hollywood” singer went on tour completely by himself, equipped only with a small selection of acoustic instruments, a quick-witted sense of dark humor, and a few cans of Monster Energy drinks. Let’s recap the show:

For the very first time ever, David Talley, one of the touring members of Amigo’s full backing band – and dear friend of Amigo – is touring his solo music as an opening act; It was an excellent move. Talley started the set with a song called “Raccoon” and it tore my heart from my rib cage. A song dedicated to exposing the trash panda within us all, “Raccoon” set an expectation for the kind of mellow, thought provoking tunes Talley would be playing for us. If you see David Talley’s name appear on a bill near you, get tickets immediately.

A Kenneth Anger short film began to play on the projector screen on stage. Flickering images of blue dresses and green perfume bottles began to dance in uncanny ways in the movements of a strange and afflicted woman, and then Texas darlings, Tele Novella took the stage as the bizarre film played behind them. Tele Novella are self-described as coin-operated medieval country songs played through a 1950s Western lens. Whatever that means to you, that’s exactly what it is. You could even call it indie psych-pop recorded on an 8-track, it doesn’t matter, guitarist and vocalist Natalie Ribbons has a voice that is so unique and charismatic. Tele Novella is the best outcome of airy, sincere vocals over an stripped down, acid soaked, Ennio Morricone score and paired with awkward, repetitive movements. It’s trippy and fun and I’d see them again tonight if I could.

And then the big man of the hour appeared, and Mr. “the Devil” himself walked out to Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” with his tatted legs and big grin shining for all to see. Amigo the Devil is the only performer with such strong, beautiful charisma that he can open his set with a 9/22 joke, sing endless songs about addiction, murder, and depression, invite his mom on stage and proceed to sing a song about going down on a woman in front of her, get two fighting audience members to shake hands and make up, and then crawl into the audience and finish his set in the middle of the crowd. It was an outstanding performance. Songs like “Cocaine and Abel” had the audience in tears, while songs like “Murder in the Bingo Hall” had the crowd screaming twangy lyrics about violence with glee. Amigo the Devil’s songs, simply put, are so genuinely sardonic. Twisted lyrics wrapped in a prophetic aura spilled from his bearded lips. The stories he told were those of Tarantino films, tales of violence told through sarcastic voice and strung along to the tune of the folk tradition, informed by the ethos of Americana and old school Western tales, and loaded up with punk rock spirit. I’ve never seen a musical act – outside of the usual death metal I usually cover – that can get a crowd to cheerily chant about tearing out a woman’s eyes like Amigo the Devil did.

If bluegrass and blood sounds like your jam, get your tickets now. Amigo will be all over the country the next few weeks, so check him out! For the Vegas fans, he’ll be at Punk Rock Bowling this upcoming weekend. Do not miss your shot at watching greatness.