NORTH AMERICA 2025

Given the extreme circumstances involving the personal life of Danny Kiranos, the mastermind behind Amigo The Devil, we, the collective concertgoers, should feel really fortunate that this show and, larger than that, this tour happened, period. The Opera House was the choice venue for this Toronto stop on this tour named Worst Vacation Ever that proved to be equal parts full of emotion and euphoric as well.

DAVID TALLEY

Coming to this show, little was known about the opener. Before the first note, the introduction was made: David Talley is one of the artists who plays alongside Amigo The Devil. It makes sense. In the same breath, it was explained that David was just getting his solo music career off the ground, with songs available on music platforms and a future album planned. David was an experience, as by himself he was singing and playing guitar, maximizing every note that both separated him from the main event and also paid homage to what brought them on tour. It took a couple of people to point out that a Limp Bizkit cover was being played. I couldn’t tell you the name of the song, as details involving the setlist are sparse, but this song got everyone warmed up for the night to come. Despite only having singles out, a stand-up job was done playing music. The banter in between was excellent as well, with back-and-forth with the crowd. I just wish the crowd was more respectful by not having conversations while the artist was playing/volume issues.

Setlist
‘Raccoon’, ‘My Lover, My Loneliness’, ‘Older Orphans’, ‘Cemetery Skyline’, ‘Dressing Up A Hard Time’

AMIGO THE DEVIL

There is a certain depth of morbidness that comes with the neofolk genre stylings of what Danny brings to the stage. A lyrical assassin that provokes you to hang onto every word and every sentence of literally every song to utter perfection. In person, the music is ten times more potent than any recording, thanks to a full-fledged backing band that adds to the performance. A ninety-minute performance evoked every single emotion possible, ranging from happiness to sadness. Danny, 2.5 weeks ago at the time of writing, lost his home to a fire that completely consumed the house and contents, and it’s something that came up throughout this night’s performance, to the point where Danny’s expressions were giving permission for the audience to let it all out. Unironically, as best as possible, Danny tried to make light of the house fire by saying, “90% of my songs involve burning stuff.” Amigo The Devil is something everyone should make an effort to see, as there’s something for everyone, and it’s an unforgettable experience.

Looking at the setlist data from this tour, every single date has featured a different set of songs, and not in the same rotation either. I’ve never seen this done before, and even the setlist on stage was not how it was played out in person. A couple of songs were done as a medley, and the last song was an audience request, some of which nearly broke Danny down entirely due to the incident with the house. The new songs play great live as well, as we have not had a visit with the new album, Yours Until The War Is Over, which was released in February 2024. Danny also brought out his partner to do a cover of a song called ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’ by John Prine, which apparently all of the couples knew. Excellent choice for a duet.

Throughout the performance, Danny was openly vocal about his love for Toronto and how it’s a world-class city. If we live here, perhaps we’ve become jaded to its magic—some food for thought for anyone. That message was not lost or to be outdone either; there were a significant number of “I love you” from Danny to us in the audience, which leads me to believe this show might have been more of a therapy session for Danny than for any one of us. Some of the best crowd interaction in recent memory came from a dramatic pause by the band during the song ‘Murder At The Bingo Hall’. The whole Opera House yelled in unison, “SOMEONE SHOULD CALL THE COPS!! I’m killing it!” which prompted another “I love you” from Danny, and he asked for it one more time, which got even louder. The performance was full of this from start to finish, and although rare, Toronto understood the assignment, and everyone was on the same page.

Lastly, there were five band members on stage, but it sounded like a dozen during certain moments of the performance, bringing back the comment about the depth of the music. Some band members were pulling double and triple duty with multiple instruments; it was an absolutely majestic experience live, in comparison to on tape or media.


Setlist
‘Small Stone’, ‘My Body Is A Dive Bar’, ‘Dhamer Goes To Hollywood’, ‘Cannibal Within’, ‘It’s All Gone’, ‘Zamboni Song’, ‘Another Man’s Grave’, ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’, ‘Virtue And Vitriol’, ‘Murder At The Bingo Hall’, ‘Hungover In Jonestown’, ‘Cocaine And Abel’, ‘Once Upon A Time At Texaco Pt. 1’, ‘Hell And You’, ‘Stray Dog’