Guitar Party Power, Confirmed!
Bob Log III is a musician I have somehow missed seeing. He comes from Tucson, so he is nearby and plays Phoenix often enough to catch. He was on a club show that I attended on the inside stage of the Bunkhouse, during Punk Rock Bowling. I somehow missed him then too. Not sure how I have avoided his performances, but tonight was the night to correct that wrong.
The night opened with only a single opener, but with the awesome named, Shit Show Duo. This pair of hilarious guys plays a bluegrass and country hybrid equipped with a standup bass and a guitar. The set itself contains a mix of their own, such as a song about a black pussy cat, and covers like “Baby Got Back.” They were fantastic at interacting with the crowd, and played an entertaining set.
That was followed by a near two hour set from Bob Log III. He plays a music sound that I can only describe as an excellent mix of rock ‘n roll with blues and funk. The trademark of this one man band seems to be the iconic flight helmet with an old school phone receiver hanging from the front of the visor glass. That serves as his microphone too. He starts out in a white suit, but then sheds it to this red, velvety looking outfit. Still, with the helmet. That helmet never leaves his head the entire set. For the dozen of drinks he was purchased, he turns away from the crowd to drink without exposing his true appearance.
Bob Log III is an entertaining person on that stage too. He is a great conversationalist on that stage with the audience. It is full of humor. Bob Log comes out with an inflatable raft. Only later in the set do you find out it is used to crowd surf him around, while he continues to play a full song on the guitar. His only request was that was no one gets him killed during it. Early in the set he asks the crowd if they would like him to make great music by squeezing out air from half of their lungs. Turned out the meaning of that was to hand out a bunch of balloons for the audience to fill up. The audience then tosses them up onto the stage where Bob pops them as he plays a song to integrate them into. He played a song with a person on each knee. Plus he always seemed to appreciate everyone there, with high fives between a couple songs.
Speaking of the crowd, they were some of the most passionate people I’ve seen for a musician. They come out early with balloons of their own and a beach ball to toss. As long as there was air in the beach ball or balloons to find, they would be bouncing off of heads and hands for the set. There was dancing and movement the entire time he played. The end included a bunch of fans doing that on stage with Bob Log. The energy this crowd puts into watching a Bob Log set was supurb. I end this by saying everyone should catch a Bob Log III show, because that is a one of a kind experience with a fantastic musician.
