Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Jonathan Coll enjoys some witty and wry takes on nothing in particular while at the same time polished and very well received
As someone who now goes to a lot of live podcast recordings, and is painfully aware of how obviously in-my-30s that sounds, they can be something of a mixed bag. Elis James and John Robins first shared a studio at Radio X and latterly as part of 5 Live, before embarking on the podcast circuit at the end of 2023. Their weekly offerings have cultivated an enormous following across the UK offering witty and wry takes on, well, nothing in particular.
For the uninitiated, which included myself as I’d never heard a single episode of the podcast previously, it can all seem a bit bizarre. There was the occasional bit of stand up comedy, a riff Matrix, John legging it up four flights of stairs to interview Daves and made-up game blind top trumps. Fortunately, it’s a format which works incredibly well in a live setting. This was possibly the best live podcast recording I’ve seen, which is in large part due to the wonderful chemistry between the two beloved comics and their on-stage producer Dave. It straddles a line between a panel show and conventional comedy gig, which makes their emergence from the podcast booth an incredibly fun one. My own personal highlight was the Celtic Connection, in which Elis attempts to find a common acquaintance with a random Welshman situated in the crowd. The skits are all incredibly novel and unique, refined by 12 years of experience on the airways and in the recording studio. It’s chaotic while somehow being incredibly polished. An incredibly well received tour continues across the country, and their Newcastle show has earned them at least one brand new listener.
