Black Pistol Fire

One Liner: 

Wikipedia Genre: Rock and Roll, Garage Punk, Southern Rock, punk blues
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 13

Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  Love that these guys are from Austin, still making raw blasts of real deal rock and roll happen from here.  Sometimes I hear King of Leon (who even had a song "Pistol of Fire").  Sometimes I hear Jack White.  And a little bit of classic rock stuff sometimes too - not sure what, like maybe The Cars?  Bad Company?  Some of the old stuff has a Tom Petty feel - "Black Eyed Susan" for sure.  I also get a little bit of the funky feel of The Revivalists sometimes.  Their new single, "Temper Temper" has that kind of a swamp funk feel.

Four albums.  Going to look at each one because I like these guys enough to care.  Of note, this is just two dudes - Kevin McKeown on guitar/lead vocals and Eric Owen on drums.  You're not getting a stage full of dudes and multi-instrumentalists.  They are actually from Canada, but are based here in Austin now.

First was Big Beat '59, from 2012.  This one is significantly more raw than their later stuff - lots of fuzz in the guitar, with loose playing and a garage blues rock sound - bashing drums, hollering vocals, DIY production.  Here is "Crow's Feet," a live version.  This is their second most streamed off of this album.

As of right now, the lead song on the album, called "Beelzebub," has 1.666 million streams.  ;)  But in something like "Stripes or Keys," when they break it down in the middle and jam, I feel it deeply in my bones that they are stepping on the stones laid down by Zeppelin, recently tread upon by revivalists like the Black Keys and White Stripes to bring that old school rock sound back to life.  Another one this brings to mind - the kick ass Reignwolf who was at ACL last year.

Second album was 2014's Hush or Howl.  The album opener definitely sounds like the White Stripes - down to the cadence of the vocals and the tambourine.  This one has one of their biggest streaming tracks - "Hipster Shakes" with 5.4 million streams.

The singer compared himself to a rooster in this song, saying that it starts off with "chicken scratching" and then just throwing his shoulders back to let loose.  Which is what I'm fuckin' talkin' about.  When this one kicks in after the chicken scratching, sign me up.  Most of these songs are short and sweet - they find a groove buried in a guitar lick, wallow around in there for a minute, and then bash their way out.  Other standouts on this album - "Show Pony" and "Blue Eyed Commotion."

Next is 2015's Black Pistol Fire (which is actually their 2011 debut album, but Spotify lists it in 2015 because math).  The unhinged freakout of "Where You Been Before" is good stuff.  "Bottle Rocket" is also great.  But the hit track is the second tune, "Suffocation Blues," with a whopping 16.2 million streams.

More straight White Stripes-esque bluesy garage brawling rock.  I swear the strummy verse backing comes straight from some WS track, and the full-throated shred of the chorus also sounds like Jack White signature riffage.

2016's Don't Wake the Riot actually sounds familiar because I own it.  Which is a funny thing - I had forgotten entirely that I have the CD, which I received for free as a sort of thanks for serving on an advisory board that is all about helping out local Austin music - but now that I hear it again I remember a drive up to Corsicana in the fall where I listened to this album over and over because it just gets better the more you jam it.  The hit from this one is "Fleet Foot," with 3.1 million streams.

Another one that starts out with some chicken scratchin' little guitar work, and then erupts into some riffage.  At times, it almost seems like the music gets away from the vocals - like he falls behind because its cranking so hard.  The psych freakout/guitar solo in the middle also jams.  I also dig "Cry Hell," Hard Luck," and "Storm Cussin'."  "Tombstone Taillight" makes me think of Billy Squier.

Finally, 2017's Deadbeat Graffiti.  Surprising that they don't have any newer albums than that - with an almost annual release schedule.  Maybe they have one on the way right now? With four recently released singles in 2019, that sure looks like the plan.  But this album is their best yet - dirty, bluesy, fuzzy sound, still raucous, with a little more psych, but with better production all around and no filler.  Interesting moments on here, from the harp opening of "Last Ride," to the Kings of Leon-esque acoustic longing of "Watch It Burn."  As with most of their albums, the opening track is the most streamed, which is a bad sign to me for their actual popularity - most people are just testing out the first track, wrinkling their nose, and moving on.  But those people are stupid and their nose is already wrinkly.  Here is that opener, filmed live here in Austin at KUTX, "Lost Cause," which has 3.2 million streams.

I have to respect the drummer for playing shirtless every time.  The guitar licks have a Black Keys "Lonely Boy" aspect to the riff.  How weird must it be to be those fans in the front row of that seated performance?  Just three feet away from a guy shredding his balls off, and you're sitting completely still and staring at him.

My only beef with the band would be that I love bass - I'd love to see them add a third band member to beef up the low end and add some rumble under the guitar.  But I still love the raw power of these tunes.  I'd definitely go see this show - hell I should go see them around Austin before this show happens.  They seem like a lot of fun and a lively show.