By Kaitlin Thaney

My baby’s got sauce, Special Sauce that is. Special Sauce played with lead vocalist and guitarist G. Love this past Saturday, September 28, at Northeastern’s own Matthews Arena.

Garrett Dutton III, better known as G. Love, and his band Special Sauce recently showed Matthews Arena what they could do. The trio, G. Love on vocals and guitar, Jeffrey “Houseman” Clemmens on drums and Jimmy “Jazz” Prescott on bass, combine to turn out funky music that falls into a category all its own.

Led by Dutton, the group combines jazz, hip hop, funk and blues to make a style unique to the group. Characterized by their jam session and free-style way of playing, G. Love and the Special Sauce brought a fresh sound to the crowd at the Saturday night performance. The crowd seemed equally pleased with the performance as they joined Garrett in singing such commonly played songs as “Unified,” “I Like Cold Beverages” and “Baby Got Sauce.”

Dutton, a Philadelphia native, met up with his other two bandmates who make up “Special Sauce” in Boston back in the early 1990s. He played his first gig with Houseman at Tam O’Shanter in Boston, MA as a duo before they met up with Prescott. Their official debut was on February 18, 1993. From then on it seemed like the meeting of these three musicians finally made the perfect mix.

Their self-titled debut album, released on Epic Records’ grassroots label, OKeh, sold 350,000 copies alone following its May 1994 release.

The group then set off to tour throughout Europe and the United States with such bands as Blues Traveler and Black Crowes. G. Love and Special Sauce followed their self-titled album with their 1995 release on Epic/OKeh with “Coast to Coast Motel,” “Yeah It’s That Easy,” (’97, “Philadelphonic,” (’99) “Electric Mile.” (’01) In March of this year “Best of G. Love and Special Sauce” hit the shelves in the records stores and only added to the existing popularity of this blues playing funk trio that started at the very bottom in the music industry.

On September 28, Matthews Arena was full of fans that had come to see artists collaborate and deliver what they know best: music. The atmosphere of the show was very personalized, while still having the large arena feel to it all. Following the band’s set, G. Love mentioned that they ran a little short on time, after they cut their closing song short by a verse or two. He then, after chuckling to himself continued with, “Say ‘G. Love, I had fun.”

This live performance was one to remember, including the shout-outs to Northeastern in Dutton’s free style rhyme with Clemmens. G. Love and Special Sauce definitely delivered last Saturday, you may even say it had sauce.