I managed to catch a bit of the second night of the Fourth Annual Gathering of the Sick last Saturday night. I showed up fairly early, at a point in the evening where calling it Gathering of the Six would have been more appropriate. But things did pick up modestly as the evening progressed. Perhaps I wasn't really in the mood for death metal on that particular night, or maybe I just didn't stay long enough. But only one band I saw (and I only saw three, to be fair) that impressed the Hell out of me was Gored, a guitar-and-drums duo that was electrifying given the stripped-down nature of the group. Vocals were strong, guitar figures intricate and drums adequately thunderous. Nice job, guys! … Aspiring hermit and local punk rock legend (fuck you, Corky) Gordy Anderson reports that his band, Black Maria, had a successful gig and recording incident in Austin two weeks ago. The band laid down six songs at Republic Studio for an upcoming debut release that's slated to include a handful of live tracks recorded at a recent RockSquak.com benefit and a small festival in Window Rock, Ariz. … Need something calming and nurturing on Sunday, Aug. 29, the evening after Fall Crawl? Mustafa Stefan Dill (formerly Stefan Dill) will perform on guitar, sarod and oud with percussionist Shawn Woodyard at Maison & Thé (821 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, 505-992-0972) at 5 p.m. Donations accepted.
