MUSIC REVIEW : G. Love raps blues to end summer
Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235597/
FAYETTEVILLE — With the University of Arkansas back in session, just a sliver of summer remains. Three bands celebrated that carefree mindset Tuesday night as they took to the Arkansas Music Pavilion stage before a crowd of mostly 20- and 30-somethings.
The John Butler Trio, an Australian band, and G. Love and Special Sauce, based in Philadelphia, each played for a little more than an hour. Tristan Prettyman opened for them. The bands, touring together this month and next, stopped in between gigs in Florida and Arizona.
During its 70-minute set, the John Butler Trio played a great song with a great groove, “Used to Get High.” And Butler broke out a banjo for “Better Than,” a lively song with a fun, free sound — a perfect song for an end-ofsummer concert. The crowd agreed and sang along.
Butler laid his guitar flat on his lap and picked it using a slide for “Treat Yo Mama,” a song about taking care of the planet. “Good Excuse,” with a reggae groove that was easy to shake to, had strong solos from the rest of the trio, Shannon Birchall on upright bass and Michael Barker on drums.
The band eventually played “Zebra,” a fun song that explores options in life and has a catchy refrain, which he let the crowd sing.
But a highlight of their set was when the trio pared down to solo, just Butler and his 11-string guitar. With fast finger work, he played a captivating instrumental, “Ocean,” with a driving tune and beat. He got soft and slow, then loud and fast, playing for 10 minutes, mesmerizing the crowd.
This hard-working band ended with “Funky Tonight,” for which Butler was lightning fast with his guitar picking and inserted lyrics from Mary Poppins’ “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Many in the crowd still stood in line for autographs from the trio when G. Love and his band took the stage. G. Love, no stranger to Fayetteville, gave a nod to the state and Bill Clinton during the song “Booty Call.” He was very good on harmonica on this one.
This band had a more bluesy, hip-hop sound and was simply fun to watch. By the end of the first song, the crowd was already asking for “Cold Beverages,” one of their more popular tunes. The group got to it toward the end, and inserted the theme to the Sanford and Son television show.
G. Love played electric guitar and harmonica, and was backed by a fun band — keyboardist, upright bass player and drummer. He raps his lyrics, which were often hard to understand, but the music was consistently good.
They also covered the Beatles ’ very short song, “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road ?” The band’s own “She’s Got Sauce” had a very slow groove, and “This Ain’t Living” was particularly mellow. “City Livin ’” was a happy, fun song — one of their best.
The pace slowed dramatically with “Who’s Got the Weed,” as someone in the crowd was blowing soap bubbles.
G. Love sang — rather than rapped — “Gimme Some Lovin,” which had a very bluesy sound. He should really sing more often and give some attention to his nice vocals.
Just like a glass of sun-brewed sweet tea, this concert was a refreshing end to summer.