It’d be fair to describe an Amigo The Devil live set as ‘a little unorthodox’.
In any room, the sight of a ramshackle band of rock ‘n’ rollers being led through a song about its narrator crawling into bed with his lover while lying in a pool of someone else’s blood by a man whose general vibe lands somewhere between a Hell’s Angel and a semi-cuddly Viking warrior would prove to be a little jarring.
Tonight, within the confines of Bristol’s O2 Academy – a venue that’s more used to hosting up-and-coming indie bands, pop club nights, and the occasional rock ‘n’ roll legend who’s looking for a handily-located venue for a Glastonbury warm-up set – it seems positively bizarre.
But that, dear reader, is central to the appeal of an Amigo The Devil show.
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You see, while some might take the word ‘bizarre’ to be little more than shorthand for ‘unenjoyable’, ‘odd’, or ‘weird, but not in a good way’, we at One on One HQ take it to mean something else entirely: ridiculously, undeniably, and limitlessly entertaining.Â
In our eyes, it’d be impossible for anyone not to enjoy an Amigo The Devil gig.
For one, you’ve got the songs. They’re gloriously crafted slices of morbid folk-pop, armed with lyrics that you’ll struggle to shake from your mind’s eye and melodies that you’ll find yourself singing to nobody in particular for days on end after a mere handful of listens.
Then, you’ve got the performance. If there’s one thing that Amigo The Devil – or Danny Kiranos, as he’s otherwise known – can do, it’s entertain a crowd. There were laughs, there were jokes, and there were killer vocals, and all arrived handily wrapped up in a perfect package of some of the most memorable folk-rock music you’re likely to hear for a long, long time.
And, by the sounds of the stories that tonight’s headliner, Frank Turner, told about Danny and the band’s post-gig drinking antics – specifically, an ominous tale of why a British singer/songwriter may, theoretically, not fare well if he were forced to go drink-for-drink with a gaggle of morbid folk-rockers – we’d be willing to bet that these guys are as much fun off-stage as they are on-.
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So, the next time Amigo The Devil rolls through your town, make sure you head down to a show.
The subject matter might be morbid, the musical palette might not be native to your homeland, and it may well lead to a late night – but we’ll be damned if you’re not entertained.
