Gig review: Bob Log III and The Gadgets at Billy Bootleggers

"I'm gonna make you pretty Notting-ham people party!" booms the powerful Southern-American voice of Bob Log III, kitted out in a space-riding biker helmet - and a velvet purple suit. He isn't wrong.
 

First up, before our Chicago-born headliner, a talented father-son duo called The Gadgets, who I had the pleasure of seeing at Firebug in Leicester recently on the same bill as Midlands bands Noisemakers' Guild and Not My Good Arm. They are equally fiery here, with a set built around rockabilly, blues and rock n' roll, and with a spikey stage presence to match. They blitz through thirty-plus minutes of killer sounds before sadly breaking a string before their last song. The Gadgets don't mess around, and there's more flab on a butchers pencil than there is their minimalist sound of bouncing drum and exciting, spiky rock n' roll. The duo have a smoother, retro blues-pop feel on the likes of recent singles Alexa's Song and Robinson Resigns, which sit nicely next to the groovy, spikey, high-tempo likes of No Need that fly by before the set concludes abruptly on an inventive rockabilly version of The La's indie song Failure.

Fun fact: The Gadgets didn't support Bob Log III in their hometown of Northampton the night before (instead it was a group from Las Vegas). But our excellent local promoter has brought them here to the packed confines of Billy Bootleggers, and we're not complaining at all. The Gadgets are a lively duo going places. 

With a perfect warmup, it is time for the main event. And Bob Log III is dressed for it. Suede purple jacket and trousers, aforementioned helmet, which helps him utilise those Jeff Beck style squiggly voice-altering things (let's just not mention Bon Jovi's guitarist and we can keep things cool...), and some celebratory rebel-rousing poses before each track: "This song was about a week long, and pretty hard to condense into three and a half minutes," he speaks, not exactly low on confidence, before cutting loose on some of the dirtiest country rock n' roll you will ever hear this side of the 21st century. 

"Send a picture of me to your mammas and channel their energy! I think this will make your mamma dance!" says Bob before getting the audience popping balloons as he takes us on a loose, improvisational musical fairground ride: "Popping one balloon will make your day, popping seven will make your year!" Log plays bottleneck guitar in such a fun, loose, exciting way. Not only that, but years of solid, lonesome touring has perfected Bob's stage patter as he points to the crowd: "We're getting to know each other now aren't we, John, Paul, Ringo... George?" 

Popping balloons is fun but it's the danceable rockin' sounds that are truly worth the price of admission. From the quiet / loud swampy stomp of Song To Make Chester Move to Log III's final track, I Want Your Sh*t On My Leg, the set showcases his expert use of fuzzbox and drum patterns. Ooo Ahh Ooh Uhhh mixes electronics and blues to perfection, and as the audience pops the rest, it truly pops off in Billy Bootleggers. What other gig could give you people drinking wine from a giant, inflatable duck at the show's conclusion? ...I'll wait.