Fans of Hamilton-born folk-comedy artist B.A. Johnston packed House of Targ to watch his performance on Nov. 27.
After strong sets by Lonely Parade and Terrible Liars, Johnston started with a bang, walking through the crowd with sparklers while his lit-up “BA” sign illuminated the stage.
He then proceeded to make jokes at the expense of Cornwall (personally, I was impressed by the sheer quantity of jokes this man knew about Cornwall). The first song was a folk tune about The Price is Right.
The mix of folk and techno that strayed as far from convention as possible, but was wildly entertaining for the crowd. The night included songs about Hamilton, GST cheques, Trent University, McDonald’s, and others.
One highlight of the show was when Johnston proclaimed it was too hot on stage, and took off sweater, only to reveal that the same sweater was underneath.
Johnston then closed the set with “The Best Fucking Day Ever,” followed by a couple of short encores.
Before the show, The Charlatan sat down with Johnston to discuss his music, touring, and other topics.
The Charlatan (TC): I’ve noticed that most of your songs are shorter than a lot of songs traditionally are. Could you explain why you do this?
B.A. Johnston: Well, a lot of my songs probably get dull. You gotta go really quickly before the joke gets stale. So sometimes a minute is enough for some of the stuff that I write about. Sadly, for me I guess. And my audience.
TC: Many of your songs seem to have a light-hearted, but un-content tone to them. When you write your music do you have a certain mindset, or do just write whatever comes to mind?
Johnston: Well I mean, yeah, just pretty much whatever comes to mind. Usually it’s just crummy stuff from my existence and I just write about it. So there’s not usually too much of a mindset. It’s not that I have to force myself because I’ve been doing it for so long I have to think, ‘You’re gonna write a song about dishes’ and I’ll have to force myself because I’ve already written songs about everything at this point, it’s a lot harder now.
TC: Are you touring by yourself?
Johnston: Yeah, this tour it’s just me.
TC: So what’s it like to tour by yourself, and what’s its biggest challenge?
Johnston: You kind of go crazy, like if you go for a month and it’s just you in the car, eventually by the end of the month just from not sleeping, or talking to people, or eating well, your whole reality becomes kind of fragile. So that’s probably its biggest challenge, is trying not to lose your mind.
TC: So it’s kind of like being a student?
Johnston: Like being a student if you were trapped in your car forever . . . It’s a little isolating when you do it yourself.
TC: Have you been to Ottawa before, and how do you find it?
Johnston: I like Ottawa. I’ve been playing here for a million years, and it’s great. I find that Ottawa gets a bad rep for some reason in the music community. People will say that audiences here aren’t as good as Montreal, but I love Ottawa and it’s been great to me, for sure. Very clean.
TC: What was your best memory of this tour so far?
Johnston: Best memory of the tour, that’s a tough one. My best memory is counting my money every night. My favourite daily memory is getting paid. That’s where I’m at these days.
TC: If you were talking to someone that had never heard your music, how would you describe it in three words?
Johnston: Low-budget entertainment.
TC: Did you play pinball here?
Johnston: I haven’t yet, but I love pinball. So it’s kind of cool to have a bar here that has a million pinball machines.
