Barn Burner Would Rather Play a Keg Party Than a Club

There is no technical wizardry to behold at a Barn Burner show. The band is about the glory and fight of a good riff. Singer/guitarist Kevin Keegan described to Noisecreep what atmosphere the Canadian foursome wants the riffs to inspire, saying, "I want people to relax and have a good time." He says every night he looks out to the crowd, thinking not to "take it too seriously in a mean guy metal way" as so many bands do.

Montreal has been a rough place for the band to start out in terms of finding an audience (i.e. a new band equals not so many people at shows). A few times of that can get anyone frustrated in the early stages of a band, but not Keegan. During the period of these shows, he never focused on who or how many people were out there, he just wanted to make sure the band was having fun on stage. "I think if we can have fun," says Keegan, "as hippy as that sounds, that vibe will transfer to the audience." And it does, as over time Barn Burner have taken on a reputation as a stoner/party band.

And things have blown up for Barn Burner lately, having just signed to Metal Blade. But when the band plays at home, they find the good vibe to not be at the club; it's best at parties. "The shows we choose to play in town are always some dude's birthday," says Keegan. "The shows we like best are in some kind of loft space, or even a basement where it's guaranteed to be a party."

Lately though, the band has had to avoid these types of shows because of "too much chaos going on," but Keegan promises the band is going to "up the ante for them in the future."

Keegan grades the band's first kegger as his favorite that he's played. The show was held at a friend's DIY venue for his birthday. "He got a couple of kegs, and the place erupted," Keegan laughed. "There was a beer bong, and as we were playing the beer bong was passed around. It was the first really epic party show we played."