Healey's Night Club--Friday March 28th: Bob Log III is just about the strangest performer I have ever been fortunate to witness. My first experience with Bob put me in the unenviable position of having to follow his manic, wholly entertaining act, with my own, more traditional band at the Horseshoe Tavern. Since that show, touring in support of his 1998 Fat Possum release, "School Bus", I haven't missed a Toronto date. So, when my fellow Log-heads informed me that he was playing at Healey's, I couldn't say no.

For the uninitiated, Bob Log III is a one-man tidal

wave of sound, mixing the loudest, brashest, southern-style slide guitar with electronic drum beats controlled by his feet as he perches on a drum stool. What really sets him apart from the crowd, though, is the vocals. Wearing a motorcycle helmet with a telephone receiver stuck in the visor as a microphone, his voice becomes so distorted that his lyrics are all but unintelligible. Bob Log III is not for everybody, for sure, but in terms of entertainment value, I certainly haven't seen anything in the clubs of Toronto that can hold my interest the way he does. Slurping bourbon through a straw poked through his helmet, and belting out songs with names like "Land of a Thousand Swirling Asses", he definitely commands your attention.

Wax Mannequin started the night off, a solo electric guitar/singer with programmed backing music. He reminded me of David Byrne a bit, particularly reminiscent of the "Psycho Killer" tune. He also did a very cool version of a Foreigner song (yes, it is possible).

Next up was The Tijuana Bibles, a mask and costume-wearing group playing old school surf punk. Their twist (besides the costumes) was a sax and trumpet, which definitely added a unique flavour to the sound.

The final opening act was Bebe and Serge, and I have no idea how to properly describe them. The closest that I can think of was crossing the Rocky Horror Picture Show with those psychedelic Five Alive ads. They had great stage presence, and the music, while completely weird, was very captivating.

Finally, it was time for the main event. They seemed to having trouble getting his guitar to stop feeding back, so the volume was considerably lower than usual, diminishing the effect slightly. However, he still rocked, playing tunes from his three albums, "School Bus", "Trike", and the new release, "Log Bomb". The highlight of the night was the tune "Boob Scotch", which is probably best left to your imagination. As usual, it was hard to figure out what he was saying most of the time, but the packed house didn't care a bit. He even convinced two girls to sit on his knees while he played one song, and despite the lateness of the evening (he finished at about 1:45) I didn't see anybody leaving early.

To find out more about Bob, check out his website, www.boblog111.com, or the Fat Possum website at www.fatpossum.com/boblog.html. I would recommend making every effort to check out one of his shows the next time he is in town.