From the sheer amount of sound reverberating inside Chelsea’s Café Thursday night, a passerby might not guess that the source of the high-energy music came from only two musicians.
Eric Owen and Kevin McKeown of Black Pistol Fire played to an intimate crowd for their first Baton Rouge show, but that didn’t stop Owen from drumming beats so hard he broke pieces of the set, while McKeown also had to quickly replace a popped guitar string.
“I think it was really good. When we have a small show like this, we like to try new stuff,” McKeown said. “It’s been a while since we’ve played, but we love trying to find the right plan.”
The duo played a set of songs from their self-titled album like “Silent Blue,” well-known classics like “I Shot the Sheriff,” wheeling rounds of improvisation and a new song they had written the day before called “Slow here.”
After the performance, Owen and McKeown chatted with friends and fans in the audience.
One such friend, Rob Wiltse, a University graduate, said he thought the night’s show went very well.
“Kevin was all over the Epiphone, and Eric sweated even more than usual,” Wiltse said.
Weston McGowan, booking agent and tour manager for Black Pistol Fire, oversaw the night’s progression. McGowan found the band while producing the Pecan Street Festival in Austin, and loved the two-piece set up.
He said part of the band’s popularity comes from the high-energy sound they
produce.
“There’s a sense of disbelief when you hear them and find out its only two people,” McGowan said. “I discovered them, took heat of what they were doing and started booking shows. Since then, everything is going astoundingly