Indianapolis, IN. – It was Friday evening in the Cultural District of Fountain Square (a hip lil’ burb just south of downtown) and the popular music venue Hi-Fi Indy was hosting their first show of the 2022 season – Philly Blues/Funk/Hip-Hop artist Garrett Dutton, aka G. Love. There was no “Special Sauce” this evening accompanying G. Love, instead he brought along “The Juice” featuring musicians Jimi Jazz (upright bass), Chuck Treece (drummer, vocals) and Van Gordon Martin (lead guitar).
As the crowd was starting to fill the room, the night kicked off with opener Jontavious Willis, a bluesman out of Greenville, GA that plays all types of traditional blues including Delta, Piedmont, Texas, and Gospel. He was joined on stage by fellow player Jay Hopp and together they gave an amazing 40 minute set of foot stomping blues. Jontavious was very engaging between songs; telling stories to the crowd while admitting this was his first visit to the State of Indiana before breaking out into the beloved blues tune, “Kokomo Blues” by James “Kokomo” Arnold about a town just north of Indianapolis. By the time Jontavious had wrapped up his set, a quick glance around found the room to be full.
After a quick set change, it was time for G. Love & The Juice. The band wasted no time getting down to business hitting the stage full throttle and kicking the night off with a couple songs from the new album, The Juice (2020 – Philadelphonic Records). Treating the standing room only crowd to two full sets of fan favorites, G.Love made sure to include G. Love & Special Sauce tunes along with throwing in some beloved covers from The Grateful Dead and Paul Simon to the crowd’s delight. Towards the end of the first set, Jontavious joined G. Love & The Juice on stage for a little funk with “Big Leg Woman (with a short, short mini-skirt)” originally made famous by Israel “Popper Stopper” Tolbert in 1970.
G. Love & The Juice will be out touring behind the Grammy Nominated Best Contemporary Blues Album, The Juice, until the end of March. Make sure to click here for dates near you. While you’re at the site, be sure to check out the other cool stuff by G. Love including a children’s book that he wrote about touring dad’s, some special sauce with fabulous recipes to try out and some rad art work; definitely worth a look around while visiting.
Set 1:
- SoulBQue
- Go Crazy
- Shooting Hoops
- Free at Last
- Peace, Love, & Happiness
- Who’s Got the Weed?
- Ride
- She’s the Rock
- Laughing in Sunshine
- Casey Jones (Grateful Dead Cover)
- Big Leg Woman (With a Short Short Mini Skirt) with Jontavious Willis (Isreal Tolbert Cover)
Set 2:
- Fix Your Face
- Rodeo Clowns (Jack Johnson Cover)
- (Unknown)
- Give Me a Topic
- Murder She Wrote
- (Unknown)
- Cold Beverage
- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon Cover)
- (Unknown)
Encore:
- Baby’s Got Sauce
Show Date: 01/21/2022
