Man and machine

It's turning into a very metallic autumn for shows. First there Was the big Alcest gig, then San Diego's Author & Punisher comes to town. The one-man band is another act on the outskirts of metal. He's usually tagged as a doom and drone act, in part thanks to the heavy duty machinery he manufactures to make his industrial strength sounds. He's touring with Portland's Muscle and Marrow, a duo I can easily see on a bill with Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle. They were joined by local outfits Sombre and They Grieve. Here's Sombre bassist Nick Turenne.



Murderous mechanical action with Louis Cyr!



Gabe Grove hits!



 And Ian Bain does the guitar stuff.



Extra Louis!



Rhythm section action!



They Grieve features Gary from Alaskan and is as heavy as you'd expect. He's joined by Stay Here's Deniz on drums.



The shouty bit!



Dual action!



And so on!



Muscle and Marrow purvey some lovely, doomy and desolate sounds. Here's drummer Keith McGraw.



They had a projection machine throwing up abstract figures on the backdrop; here's a shadowy Kira Clark.



Extra Keith!



Gripping action!



Muscular action!



Extra Kira!



And here's a closeup as she soundchecks for Author & Punisher's set.



Here's the man himself, with his microphone and the handheld contraption that appears to do the duty of a bass drum.



Closeup action. He's a very intense performer.



Punishing action! The spinning cylinder in front of him is a drone-maker.



Everything's clamped on firmly.



Grimacing action!



He had Muscle and Marrow back on stage for a song.



Singalong action!



And so on!



A really fine evening.