Saturday was a great night for music at the House of Blues, featuring The Apache Relay followed by G. Love & Special Sauce. I was absolutely hooked since hearing The Apache Relay a few weeks ago and could not wait to see the live show.
The indie/folk-inspired band, originally from Nashville, had the entire crowd jamming by the end of their "American Nomad" set. The lead singer, Michael Ford Jr., was easily the most energetic and entertaining aspect of the evening. He literally did not stand still the entire 45-minute set! He jumped from one side of the stage to the other, hopped on one leg, and completely let the music take over. It was clear that each member of the band truly loved and believed each word and note they sang and played. By their last song, everyone in the room was singing along and having a blast. My favorite song of the evening was "Home Is Not Places." BTW, check out their website for a free MP3 download.
G. Love released his album Fixin' to Die earlier this year and with its bluesy-catchy-beats, I was definitely looking forward to seeing a live performance. He did not disappoint! He opened the set with Milk & Sugar - a personal favorite from his latest album - and did not lose energy or enthusiasm for two hours. What impressed me the most was his amazing talent for engaging the audience (mostly a mix of middle-aged hard core fans since the 90s) and switching between a harmonica, acoustic and electric guitar, blues, hip hop, and even covering Johnny Cash at one point. Talk about multi-talented!
During the encore, he performed a few songs with two of the members from The Apache Relay and I honestly think I could have listened to them all night. I'm hoping they'll just form one big G. Lovin' band and go on tour as a single group! Maybe in 2012?
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