Bob Log III at Three Links

Show date October 4, 2017, Three Links, Dallas Tx

It's kind of ironic that I write this as I'm on my way to what is essentially another concert. But I promised myself that I would keep up with this blog thing and always complete my posts (written at least, not necessarily posted) before I see another show. And I have a flight long enough that gives me the time to do it. So here we are.

I first saw Bob Log III a little over a year ago. I discovered him on YouTube (thanks Rowdy) and I immediately fell in love with his style of music. The man is probably over 60, although I can't be sure because I've never seen his face. (EDIT: Wikipedia says he is exactly 4 years older than I am...only 47. Holy shit!) He wears a motorcycle helmet fitted with an old style telephone that he sings through, and usually wears a velour jumpsuit of some sort. The music is a dirty Mississippi Juke Joint Delta Blues, stomping, fast, heavy and crude, and very danceable. I love it. Wikipedia describes his shows as a blues punk guitar dance party! Perfect!! ANNNNND it also says he used to open for R.L. Burnside. One of my favorite blues artists. Well no wonder I love it.

Up until this point my favorite song was actually a cover called Riverside (same as YouTube linked above), which was the first song of his I discovered, but now that I'm familiar with more of his music, I may be changing that notion. I went live on Facebook for the first time ever during one song that just so happens to be amazing. I need to find out the name of this song. I'm so glad I managed to capture it, even though the sound is crappy. My phone is relatively new and I rarely record audio. I need to practice with this more.

He is now officially on my (very short) must-see list. And both times, I've gone by myself. This show is so much fun. Y'all are missing out. Seriously. This show is just so impossibly cool. Come with me next time. You won't be sorry, or out a lot of money. I only paid $10.

Bob Log III is a one-man band. He plays a guitar, a drum and a cymbal with his feet, and uses a looper similar to KT Tunstall that he also employs with his feet, plus there are some other electronic noise maker accouterments that he would fiddle with and adjust between each song (I'm not a musician so I have no idea what these are...I'm thinking some sort of electric drum triggers or some such). It is a marvel to watch him play. He has 2 guitars that look identical to me (again...hollow bodies!), both black and very very used. Or should I say loved? He did literally make kissy noises at his guitar during the show after replacing a string that broke lol.

Bob is hilarious during his shows, making jokes and just overall being funny. He passes out balloons for people to blow up so that he (and we) can pop them during a song. And during another I've learned it's his custom to ask for a lady volunteer to come bounce on his knee while he plays. How fun! I wanted to volunteer but sometimes I can be shy. Maybe next time.

I was really surprised at how small the crowd was. Lucky for me that meant I got to be up front, and which also means I got to hi-five him several times, once caught on my video above. Bob usually brings a blow up raft to his shows so that he can load up into it at some point and surf the crowd in it, but this show was so small, that I think there weren't enough people to do this! So instead, during his encore he plugged in a wireless thingamajigger into his guitar, hopped off the stage and went out into the street while playing! Everyone followed him like the pied piper of blues.

I've discovered that lately, the smaller shows like this have been some of my favorites. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my favorite bands no matter where they play (even the dreaded Southside), but these smaller shows that have only a few dozen or hundred in attendance have been some of the best shows I have ever attended. Plus I get to meet the artist if I want to and have plenty of room to see up close and dance.

Last time I saw him, I wanted to purchase a CD, but didn't know which one to get since I was relatively unfamiliar with his music. This time I was also unsure, but wanted to get one so I decided to just get the one that had Riverside on it, and just go from there. So glad I did. The CD is excellent. I'll be buying more. I also learned he's on Spotify (Thanks Jonathan). I'll be looking into that too.

I recorded a little of a couple of songs as well as that one whole song, but as usual I got a ton of photos.

I'm sorry these videos are so jumpy...I was trying really hard to not be dancing!

Riverside snippet

Unknown song snippet (maybe someone can help me identify?)

Here are my photos. As usual, click one to see a slide show.