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Volume CXXXII, Number 4 |
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Gettin' saucy with G Love
VINAY KASHYAP
CONTRIBUTOR
After a day of laborious classes five of us piled into my friends car to head down to Portland for the G Love and Special Sauce show. For all of you who have never heard of this Philadelphia bred trio, the names of the band members might give you an idea of what they are all about. 'G Love,' or to his friends, Garret Dutton, is the lead man on vocals, guitar and harmonica. Special Sauce consists of the Marshmallow Man 'Jimi Jazz' Prescott on the upright bass and the 'Houseman', Jeff Clemens on the drums.
Together they have been bringing a unique back porch- hip-hop sound fused with delta blues undertones to the music world since the early 90's. G Love's sloppy lyrics along with the bands laid back, kick drum feel have been creating a growing fan base from colleges and bars all across the nation. Even though I have been buying their albums since high school this was the first time I got a chance to see them in their true form, just rockin' it live.
When G Love took the stage at Portland's State Theater, we were front row and eagerly awaiting an amazing show. I can happily say that we got nothing less than we expected. The band started with a stimulating version of the song 'Garbage Man' from their first album, self-titled "G Love and Special Sauce"(1994).
From that moment, I knew these guys loved to play for their fans. G Love was bouncing up and down on his stool, which was set up in the center of the stage. He was playing his guitar and his harmonica at the same time, while 'Jimmy Jazz' and the 'Houseman' were absolutely killing with some bass and drum lines. They continued with the inspirational song 'Dreaming' from their 1999 album Philadelphonic, a song dedicated in loving memory of Bradley Nowell of Long Beach, California (Sublime's late front man).
Along with a few other fans in the front, I decided I wanted to hear the song "Blues Music," G's tribute to all the blues musicians who had inspired him and his band. After a few minutes of yelling he looked over and started to bust out the opening riffs to the song on his guitar. Everyone went nuts!
Afterwards, the band played a few more songs from Philadelphonic including "Numbers" and "Roaches" (a crowd favorite). "Stepping Stone" and "My Babies Got Sauce" followed, both songs about women taking advantage of their men. With that, the band had finished their regular set. The crowd was apprehensive for a few minutes but, not to our surprise, they were ready to do one of the best encore performances I have ever experienced.
G came back out on the stage by himself with an acoustic and his harmonica. I was hoping he would perform some of the love songs that he puts on the end of his albums. He started with "Gimme Some Love" a song he wrote for his wife while in a hotel room on tour. Next, the band came back out and was ready to give us more. They played "Shout out to the Rappers" a song that was enjoyed by both myself and my boys Will and Bill.
G then ended with two of my personal favorites. First a serious song about the homeless of America called "This Ain't Living" and finally "Cold Beverages." This is a song that describes G's unusual obsession with summertime drinks, for example a cold six pack or a glass of lemonade. He even has a tattooed on his shoulder that says 'the word Lemonade that is.'
All in all, G Love and Special sauce gave a soulful and energetic show. Three musicians, from the streets of Philly, showed us that all they ever want to do is kick it live for their fans and keep on making funky music. We even got to chill with G Love after the show by his bus while he and his crew took turns with their long boards ripping through the empty streets of Portland at 1:00 in the morning. It was a memorable night and when I mentioned Bowdoin to G Love he knew where it was and he said he'd definitely be up here soon to show us how to truly 'blow up the spot.'