PORT ANGELES –– With its collection of melted Victorian instruments powered by steam engines and Tesla oscillators, steampunk legends Abney Park promise to test the wiring of Studio Bob.
“We’re pretty sure it will be OK,” said Merryn Welch, whose Grindingears Productions organized this weekend’s Abney Park concert.
“DJ O.B. 1 is running our lights and sound, and he did a show a couple weeks ago where he tried to blow the system and couldn’t.
“So I think we’re going to be fine.”
The Seattle steampunk set plays the Alle Stage at Studio Bob, 1181/2 Front St., from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Doors to the all-ages event open at 7 p.m.
“They are absolutely phenomenal,” Welch said of Abney Park. “It’s an amazing show full of lights and sounds and wonderful costumes.
“I hope to see everybody out there dressed up and having a fantastic time.”
Abney Park has recorded 16 albums over the past 17 years, combining world music with pirate sea chanteys all warped through a post-industrial prism.
The aesthetic throws back to the days when steam-powered ships, railroads and logging equipment crossed the Olympic Peninsula but with a touch of punk philosophy that harkens to the rust that clings to those forgotten pieces of equipment.
The Abney Park stage show combines music with belly dancers, lights and goggles.
Welch’s local steampunk cabaret, Sideshow, opens for Abney Park.
A collaboration with the Twisted Family, the Sideshow combines belly dancing with live music in a primitive-futuristic cabaret.
Local theater bigwig Richard Stephens will emcee the evening.
Tickets to the performance are $25 and are available at Odyssey Books, 114 W. Front St., or online at www.brownpapertickets.com.
