Musical comedy act Jonny and the Baptists are going on a new tour, launched from their ‘spiritual home’, Oxford’s very own Arts at the Old Fire Station. They will be here for two more nights before continuing on to play at venues in other similarly ‘Remain’ parts of the country, to paraphrase Jonny himself.

The tour is actually of two shows in one night: the first half is a retrospective of the pair’s greatest hits so far, while the second is a brand new show, loosely shaped around the story (of both the band and the country at large) of David Cameron’s doomed attempts to measure the country’s happiness. I leapt at the opportunity to find out for myself whether Jonny (Donahoe) and the Baptists (Paddy Gervers) lived up to the hype that’s been building around them for the last decade.

As a reviewer, I had arranged to attend this show quite far in advance, and as often happens to socially anxious millennials, the gap between making the plans and attending the event had eroded my enthusiasm for going. So the format of two shows in one night created a tantalising option to leave in the middle. It is a testament to the raucous fun of the first half that I was buzzed by the interval, and could barely recognise the self that had wanted to escape early, after my first hour in the company of this irresistibly affable duo.

The ‘greatest hits’ format of the first half was a surefire winner. While there were evidently some long term fans in the audience, the showcase of certified bangers was an engaging way to win over newcomers. Jonny and the Baptists certainly know their audience, but this was never expressed in an exclusionary, in-jokey way. Rather we saw performers proving their mettle by celebrating their past successes - they clearly still enjoy what they’re doing, and their enthusiasm and joy are infectious. Particular instant faves for me were 'Cocaine Gran', 'Mad World', and the story of Abraham from the perspective of a traumatised Isaac.

There was a spanner thrown in the works by way of Paddy’s guitar breaking during the first song, but they dealt with this so masterfully that I hesitated to bring it up, and have only done so because it provided yet another reason to love them. The witty spontaneity with which they dealt with this apparent blip was so impressive that my partner genuinely queried whether the whole thing had actually been scripted. I would be intrigued to attend later in the tour to see how much was genuinely improvised, and anticipate being pleasantly surprised.

I’ve seen a lot of musical comedy where the success of the act is guaranteed by being passably good at jokes and passably good at music, but not that great at either. This is far from the case with Jonny and the Baptists: many of the songs were so euphonically anthemic that the audience felt like they were at a rock gig or festival. On the other hand, the great chemistry between Jonny and Paddy ensured their banter was consistently hilarious, enhanced by playful ideas and some magnificently camp interpretive dance.

The second half was a bit looser, as you’d expect with a brand new show, thought this of course means it will get better and better as the tour continues. Although the kinks are still being ironed out there were some truly delightful routines and surprises, including a wonderful James Acaster impression and the most highbrow smut I've had the pleasure (not in white paint form) of witnessing.

If you are earnestly hoping to find out the secret to being happy against the backdrop of a constant national downward spiral, you might leave disappointed. However if you completely ignore the promises made by the marketing and just let yourself enjoy the ride then you will probably leave with a smile on your face, and you’ll never sing the lyrics to 'Human' by The Killers in the same way again. Don’t sleep on the opportunity to see them before they get too famous!