The Johnnys, Auckland NZ, 2018

The Johnnys

29th September 2018
Galatos, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.

It was an evening of old friends uniting over a few cold ones as The Johnnys rolled into town as part of their five date New Zealand tour – their very first in almost three decades. To be fair Auckland had a little unfair advantage over the rest of the country; The Johnnys performing in early February as part of Punk It Up, the last ever to be held at the formidable Kings Arms, a small headline ‘pop-up’ show held the very next night at The Thirsty Dog. But it was a Saturday night, the perfect night for a headline show with both a bigger venue and set list enticing punters in from near and far.

Performing a completely acoustic set The Bads were first to grace the stage; comprising of Dianne Swann and Brett Adams the duo is accompanied by the rather dashing Dave Khan who most would recognise from the Yarra Benders, the supremely talented band of the one and only Marlon Williams. Soft lighting illuminated the trio, both their presence and sound so well suited to a venue such as Galatos which is steeped in rich history, originally beginning its life last century as the lodge of the United Ancient Order of Druids, its gorgeous parquet floor adding a warmth to the black curtained room. Stripped back Adams and Swann were like a cool breeze on a summer’s day, their voices and guitars blending seamlessly with Khan’s violin as they took the audience back to their 2013 album Travel Light with opening track ‘Fly Together’.

Like an ember, their set grew in intensity, fanned by songs that quite obviously held deep personal meaning for the duo; ‘Losing Heroes’ dedicated to Graeme Brazier and Dave McCartney while Swann dedicated the stunning ‘Him & Her’ (making it’s debut as an acoustic version) to her mother. While the duo seemed a little anxious to not be behind their usual electric guitars – or maybe they were just distracted by a large contingency of the crowd whose concert etiquette had been left at home for the evening, their consistent and at times loud chattering distracting to say the least – the presence of Dave Khan held everything together. Moving between violin and mandolin he both supported The Bads while showcasing his own multi-instrumentalist skills. Finishing their set on ‘Helensville’ and the crowd got a taste of what was to come as the trio let fly on their strings, the rolling notes bringing up the tempo and drawing whoops from the punters.

By the time The Johnnys arrived, the trio donning their cowboy hats with pride, the audience were more than ready for them, some older fans already having a playful jostle for better position down front. Formed in the 80’s the original cow punks were the ultimate pub rock band, infamous in their hometown of Sydney and with a dedicated following across Australasia; however, after the release of two albums they disbanded in 1989. Reforming in 2004 The Johnny’s revived their fan base and have continued to gather new ones along the way, evidenced by some of the younger members in the audience. The trio of drummer Billy Pommer Jr, Paul ‘Slim’ Doherty on guitar and the amiable Graham ‘Hoodie’ Hood on bass and vocals wasted no time in getting the party started, ‘Way of The West’ and ‘No Excusn’ filling the room with punk paced country music that only The Johnnys could ever pull off.

Continuously amping the crowd with jokes about needing medical staff down front ‘just in case’ and the fact that the singles were just going to keep on coming, Hood makes for a larger than life front man as he plays the bass like a man possessed. Crowd favourite ‘Showdown’ saw a chorus of voices rise into the air, the sound of bottles clinking ushering in the end of the song before Pommer Jr took over on vocals to perform ‘Elvisly Yours’ while never missing a beat and throwing in some cow bell for good measure. Not to be left out Doherty had his moment to shine on the microphone as well, performing ‘Anything Could Happen’. Roaring through their set the party never stopped for a second, a The Johnnys shows always a place of camaraderie.

The playing was bristly round the edges just as good cow punk should be, the tongue in cheek humour of ‘Slip Slap’ seeing feet stomp the floor and more than a few knees being slapped. The fans determined to squeeze a little more out the evening demanded an encore, The Johnny’s delivering ‘Mountain Man’ and a boisterous version of ’10 Outlaws’ to see the night out in style.

Make no mistake it was a performance that not only left the audience grinning but no doubt Jones himself.

Were you there at Galatos for this brilliant Country-Punk gig? Or have you seen The Johnnys perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

The Johnnys Setlist:

1. Way Of The West
2. No Excusn
3. Marty Robbins
4. Deadman
5. Injun Joe
6. Move It
7. I Think Your Cute
8. Showdown
9. Elvisly Yours
10. Anything Could Happen
11. Motorbik’n
12. Buzzsaw
13. Slip Slap
14. Green Back Dollar
15. Bleeding Heart
16. Mountain Man [encore]
17. 10 Outlaws [encore]

The Bads Setlist:

1. Fly Together
2. Gracious
3. Good Lies
4. Losing Heroes
5. Him & Her
6. West
7. Helensville

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