Bob Log III at The EARL

From the venue:

Bob Log III

From the wings he came, picking and plucking in a glittery black velour onesie, trademark helmet completely covering his face with an old-school telephone receiver to sing through at the front, the fabulous performer that is the one and only Bob Log III emerges out on stage to rapturous applause from the packed to capacity crowd.

"This is alternative blues… surreal, utterly captivating and mind-bendingly brilliant"

Opening the show with “OMG Bob Log’s in London City!” he takes his seat and places his feet on his percussive accompaniments as he prepares to wow us all with his amazing one-man-band show. Yeah!

The songs roll past, fretboards whizzing, vocals distorted through the telephone receiver, effortless chords hammered on various guitars. This is alternative blues… surreal, utterly captivating and mind-bendingly brilliant. The feeling in the room is one of so much… fun! The audience know and love Bob Log and the atmosphere is one of easy congeniality- we all know why we’re here and everyone is friends. It’s just a lovely, happy, inclusive feeling.

Bob Log is surrounded by his ubiquitous props- his ‘band’ as he calls them – his dingy, toaster and of course, rubber ducky, which will be filled with liquor and passed around the audience for anyone to have a drink from. The blues chords are plucked, slammed and smashed out with virtuosic ease- and yes, there is toast because “everything is better with the smell of toast.”

The fans need no explanation or encouragement to feed the toaster- they are wearing Bob Log T- shirts and eagerly await the bag and a half of white sliced which when toasted, is flung around the room with joyous abandon and appreciation. Some of it is even eaten- Bob Log’s own version of the ‘bread of life’ this Eastertide.

The balloons come out- we blow them up, throw them back on stage for Bob to throw back to us and as each balloon is stamped upon, a mighty cheer goes up.

Glissando chromatics up and down the guitar frets and an ever-rubato tempo accompany this joyful madness. “Do you guys wanna get a little bit weirder?” Bob asks us and it’s a rhetorical question with an emphatic and unnecessary reply- of course we do! In this world where everyone is trying to be different and alternative, there is no one more so than Bob Log III- and he’s just so good at it- this Bob Log-style blues- a wholly original and ingeniously inventive interpretation.

Bob Log’s easy, funny, genial conversation with his adoring fans makes the evening happier and merrier than ever. He finishes each song with a self- congratulatory fist pump and cry of “Yeah!” He knows- we all know- how lucky we are to be here, in Islington tonight, at this weird and wonderful, unique and sparkly rock and roll party. Bob Log is the ultimate theatrical, guitar-wielding punk rocking bluesman. 1st3 Magazine, Apr 16, 2023