An Evening with the 2 Johnnies

When I walked into the Hackney Empire on the night before St Patrick’s Day, I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for what I was going to see. I was never fully able to get into the 2 Johnnies. Their sense of humour and mine just did not mesh, despite their massive popularity when I was in my final years of school and continued success today in their podcast and 2fm drivetime show.

Crossing into the venue was like being transported home as I was immediately surrounded by GAA jerseys, Irish accents and cured of any homesickness I felt on the lead up to another Paddy’s weekend in London. Though there was no surprise the only accent missing came from Dublin. The 2 Johnnies are very much catering to the young people of rural Ireland.

After some excellent use of clips projected onto the stage backdrop and a cameo from Tommy Tiernan, Johnny’s B and Smacks opened their set with 10 minutes of dated and lazy stand-up about not having children and the death of Johnny Smack’s sex life after marriage.

However, the pair came into their own during podcast style section of the show as they bantered off one another and their producer Maura, who I learned from listening to some podcasts in preparation for the night, is hilarious in her own right and criminally underused on the night.

The weakest element of the live show was the special guest segment. As great as it was to see Bewitched and hear them sing C’est La Vie, their interview with the 2 Johnnies was unengaging, with tired, worn-out questions and struggled to keep the audience’s attention as they headed en masse to the bar which soon sold out of almost all spirits.

The highlight of the show was Johnny B performing his Noel Furlong character and taking the lead in their GAA inspired repertoire of hits. While they fell flat for me, they were a hit with the rest of the audience. Couples jived the night away in the aisles, much to the bemusement of the theatre’s security.

The set list featured covers of Micky Joe Hart and the Saw Doctor’s but it was their own ‘The Streets of Francisco’ that got the biggest reaction of the night. As everyone around me sang their hearts out about the streets that still don’t feel like home, it was hard not to feel a pang for what I was missing across the Irish sea.

The 2 Johnnie’s pander to a very broad audience and in many ways, are easy to write off as twee. But in the moment, it’s hard not to get swept into their schtick and the enthusiasm of their fans. You can say what you want about them, but they know how to show you a good time