B.A. Johnston brings laughs and new songs on a Tuesday night

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There is something familiar and comforting about the unabashed weirdness that is Hamilton funnyman B.A. Johnston, who made his semi-annual return to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Tuesday, April 23.

B.A. Johnston ending his show in the bathroom, April 23. Photo by Richard Amery
 He was, as he usually is, consistently entertaining. He cracked jokes about Medicine Hat , jumping off chairs, wandering into the audience and feeding them their own drinks, wandering behind the bar as laughing fans leaped over his microphone cord to feed bartender Brae a bottle of something pink, rolled around the floor like a deranged leprechaun, and, as usual, stripped off layers of identical “What Are you looking At Dickhead?” shirts. He joked you can buy them in bulk back home in Hamilton.


He scampered around the stage, poking at a Discman,  two  keyboards and a  trashed acoustic guitar to play the usual array of crowd favourites and sing alongs like “ Deep Fryer in My Bedroom,” “ How Many T Bone Steaks Can I Fit in my Pants: Can’t Stop Stealing From Work,” “Jesus Lives In Hamilton,”  and GST Cheques,” for which he had the crowd shouting along “Gimmie Some Treats.” He also played a song about a bad cat sitter and the always popular “Drive Through Beef,” about getting unwanted mayo on his fast food.

B.A. Johnston gets ready to leap off a chair, April 23. Photo by Richard Amery
 He played  several songs from his last CD “Gremlins 3,” including IKEA and “Too Messed up To be  in This Canoe,” but didn’t play my new favourite “A Day Off is a Day off.” He did wander outside the side door though.


 But he played a couple from his brand new CD “ The Skid is Hot Tonight including  instant crowd favourite “ We’re All Going to jail (Except For Pete, he’s Gonna Die), and “Jesus take tttthe Wheel.”, about driving to Medicine Hat on black ice.

BA Johnston oin the floor of the Owl, April 23. Photo by Richard Amery
But he quickly returned to classics like “ My Roommate is a Couche Tard” and plugged his new BELL Vibe TV show about Hamilton called Ham Jam.


 He even played a birthday request  of “The Squirrel Song,” and followed up with “The Best Day Ever : McDonalds Coupon Day.”
As usual, he ended up playing his last, last encore in the bathroom “I Want to Drink in a bar surrounded by Aliens.”


A two piece J Blissette featuring Jackson Tiefenbach wielding a Gibson Flying V and drummer Matthew Rederberg opened the show with a solid set of punk related music.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 May 2019 09:17 )