It is safe to assume that Cape Coral has never seen anyone or anything like The Enigma, a sideshow performer, actor and musician who has undergone extensive body modifications.
He sports horn implants, multiple body piercings, a full-body jigsaw puzzle tattoo and ear reshaping.
His appearance is a throwback of sorts to the days when sideshows and carnivals were America’s favorite pastime.
And it is that sentiment The Enigma hoped to bring to his show Monday night at Eddie Fishbowl’s, especially in a place like the Cape, where the majority of the citizenry is a little more reserved than full-body tattoos would allow.
“That’s OK because it’s something they knew as kids, that their parents knew as kids,” he said of his show. “It’s something their mothers would’ve watched as little girls with their hands over their eyes.”
He was busy tattooing at Tattoo Artistry in downtown Cape Coral on Monday, prior to his performance at Eddie Fishbowl’s.
Tattoo Artistry invited The Enigma to the Cape to perform, along with the bands Confused Little Girl from Orlando and Something Complex
The Enigma said his stage show is equal parts social commentary, artistic rants and sideshow performance.
Along with Serana Rose, he plays instruments, sings songs, eats fire, plays with chain saws, chews on light bulbs, drives spikes into his skull and, of course, bathes under a shower of metal sparks, to name a few.
Born Paul Lawrence, The Enigma is something of a celebrity, though his easygoing and affable demeanor might suggest otherwise.
The Enigma has been on TV, in films and the subject of documentaries. He even has even his own action figure from a character he played on the “X-Files.”
At the heart of his work, though, is the stage show, which takes him and Serana Rose from one end of the country to the other.
The stop in Cape Coral is a short one as Tuesday they hit the road for Cocoa Beach, then north to Philadelphia, before heading west to San Diego, Calif.
“My car has over 300,000 miles on it,” he said. “I’m very much in tune with America.”
The Enigma said he wants people walking away from his show wanting more, but he also wants them to appreciate the creative process and the artistry as their own moral code is reflected back at them from the stage.
As the show is constantly evolving, The Enigma added that his approach to home improvement stores are a bit different from your average shopper.
“When I go into Home Depot, I’m looking around thinking, ‘How can I hurt myself with that?'” he asked.