Biltmore Cabaret - July 09 2013
In the Biltmore's dimly lit den of electronic playlist worship, Bob Log somehow plays four ipods at once. Instead of searching menus, pirating music, and spinning knobs, Log found himself stomping three foot pedals, asking us for drinks and furiously plucking his Silvertone “Growler” guitar.Tasked with opening for this spectacle were Vancouver's “the Beladeans,” a talented five piece with two outstanding records and a flair for classic bar blues anthems. They barreled through their set with bravado and charisma, ending on a high note with a rousing cover of "I ain't drunk, I'm just drinking" well before midnight. Immediately following this was the noisiest sound check imaginable, as Log sat testing his works with the sound techs testing for his newly expanded electronic performance.
The moment of quiet quickly shattered as the Biltmore's stage curtains came up to reveal... nothing. Log appears in the audience, sits down with his guitar, and asks for the first of many drinks “Wet, in a glass about this big, for me.” Log plays through a new song, “I dont want to (but I think I just did),” to reward three beverages on stage.
He follows this with a time honored Bob Log tradition, explaining “This is a love song about the back of two peoples heads,” before adding two girls to his one man show, serenading them in a southern drawl through the phone stuck in his motorcycle helmet.
The rest of the night is a frenzied blur as Log switches to the banjo and talks about old men in weird hats trapping people in rooms, instructs his fans to dance in a circle 22,000 times “to make the Biltmore the size of Vancouver,” and plays his final song in the smoke pit. Even for those that did not bother to stick around afterwards to hear the DJs exit set, it was the best club night ever.
- Mathieu Youdan
