Jonny & The Baptists

In the sweltering heat of the airless room, many acts would have flagged, or at least delivered a more muted set. Not so Jonny & the Baptists. Fronted by the rambunctiously buoyant Jonny Donahoe, they storm the stage to serve up an hour of barn-stompingly good music mixed with some good ol’ social satire. Styling themselves as the world’s first comedy blues band, they actually dabble a bit more widely than that  – but everything they do, they do with skill and aplomb. As a trio they complement each other very well – and it’s a delight to see them so clearly enjoying what they do.

Their songs are funny, fun, and performed with hearty panache. As musicians they are very talented, as satirists, sharp – a good mix of cutting and curmudgeonly (as evidenced by the masterful ‘Not A Pub’). Their subject matter is admittedly still a bit of a hotchpotch and may not be to everyone’s tastes, especially when we enter into the gloriously surreal non sequitur territory of ‘Quentin Blake’ (is coming up my garden…). But overall, this is a splendidly good hour of musical mirth and something apart from most of the other comedy + assorted instrument offerings you can find on the circuit at the moment.