{"id":31605,"date":"2025-07-16T19:47:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T23:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=31605"},"modified":"2025-07-16T21:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:38:47","slug":"theres-nothing-funny-about-two-johnnies-enthusiastically-rocking-out-in-irving-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=31605","title":{"rendered":"There’s Nothing Funny about The 2 Johnnies Enthusiastically Rocking Out in Irving Plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo: Brad Balfour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Review by Brad Balfour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What: 2 Johnnies
Who: John O’Brien, John McMahon
Band: Patrick Lucy (guitars), Brian Dunlea (bass), Rory McCarthy (keys), Barry Wilson(drums), Tara Howley(fiddle, banjo, tin whistle)
When: Saturday,  July 12th, 2025
Where: Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though their Wikipedia entry leads one to think that the 2 Johnnies are simply a comedy duo, there was nothing laughable in their performance held on Saturday,\u00a0July 12th, in Irving Plaza. What I witnessed that night was a pure rock and roll show. From the power quartet (and occasional quintet when the violinist joined them on a few songs) backing them to their energetic fist pumping and proto pogo-ing on stage, the 2 Johnnies \u2014 John O’Brien on vocals, guitars and vocalist John McMahon \u2013- were all about rock n roll. There was little chatter, not comic bits per se. What humor was in the lyrics was buried in the pure sonics presented on stage that evening.
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Not being familiar with their comic arc or their podcast \u2014 except for a glance of them online \u2014 I went to the show as a bare-ass newbie witnessing whatever came about. And what came was rock. Yes Irish tinged rock, but rock nonetheless. Most of their songs were punky power pop dosed with a few thrash, metal and hardcore stylizations thrown in. In some of the tunes,\u00a0you could clearly hear the influence of their garage and punk predecessors such as Thin Lizzy and The Undertones. There was even a touch of a contemporary crew such as the DropKick Murphys thrown in. But with the live mix and the audience\u2019s thorough engagement, the sound that came through was as their own.\u00a0
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With influences from their comedy and their Tipperary background, the 2 Johnnies created song stories with their own personalized flavor. In other words, they were definitely writing with comic scenarios in mind, but the stories weren\u2019t just there for humor\u2019s sake alone. The duo had messages to tell about love, sports and Ireland \u2013\u2013 things that made the 2 Johnnies\u2019s performance both authentic and rollicking.\u00a0
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The music may have overwhelmed the tale but the message received was delivered with a solid punch. Had I not read about their comical vision of the world, it might have been nothing more than a sidebar to their music. Though some songs clearly told a funny story, their ultimate impact was through the music.
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The audience responded as any crowd would to such a pulsing rock band. They were fully committed to this act\u2019s backstory as well. And though the band was clearly subordinate to the 2 Johnnies who were front and center most of the time, the musicians supporting them had solid chops.
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From\u00a0County Tipperary — consisting of “Johnny Smacks” McMahon (originally from\u00a0Roscrea) and “Johnny B” O’Brien —\u00a0they’re known for their 2 Johnnies\u00a0podcast, YouTube channel, live shows and music. It all started when they were asked to MC a local\u00a0GAA\u00a0gala evening, and decided to perform together based on the reaction they received. They now live in\u00a0Cahir and their podcast tops the Irish charts with a listenership of over 500,000 listeners per week. They made appearances on\u00a0\u201cUp for the Match,\u201d\u00a0\u201cRT\u00c9 Does Comic Relief,\u201d and\u00a0\u201cThe Late Late Show.\u201d They have performed live shows in the\u00a03 Arena, the UK, USA and Australia.
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In some tunes, the discernible stories seem to come from their debut studio album, “Small Town Heroes.” Released on May 31, 2024, it debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart. Maybe once the Irish duo got such great feedback to the long player\u2019s release, they made live music their number one priority. Over the last few years, they’ve racked up no less than nine No.1 Irish iTunes singles.
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Backed by a stellar band \u2014 Patrick Lucy (guitars), Brian Dunlea (bass), Rory McCarthy (keys), Barry Wilson (drums), Tara Howley (fiddle, banjo, tin whistle) \u2014 the job of being a live ensemble became easier. As their promo materials noted: \u201cThe 2 Johnnies often talked about, long promised and much sweated-over debut album \u201cSmall Town Heroes\u201d is Out Now! It’s packed like a junior B gear bag full of songs of love, lust, good times and bad times, They\u2019re the kind of people you and your neighbors are.\u201d
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And I would have to say, experiencing them live, they fit into a grand tradition of Irish rockers \u2014 employing both roots and thrash. Such roots made the\u00a02 Johnnies and band worth listening to and viewing live. No matter how much I got the stories or not, I came away seeing a show worth experiencing and was glad to be introduced\u00a0to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more, go to: https: https:\/\/www.the2johnnies.ie\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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