A Lucky 100 Get to See G. Love's Fingerprints Set

G. Love, real name Garret Dutton, treated only 100 of his lucky fans to an intimate and unadvertised acoustic concert at Fingerprints music store in Long Beach on Tuesday night. Word spread of the small show in 23 hours via Twitter from G Love & Special Sauce, the full band's name. It marked the Feb. 22 release of his long-awaited new album, “Fixin’ to Die.”

“Its great to be back in the LBC,” Dutton said after taking the stage. “I used to play at a library with Marshall way back,” a reference to Marshall Goodman, a member of the popular ska punk band Sublime, which hails from Long Beach.  

For just shy of an hour, G. Love performed songs off the new album and also played songs from “The Hustle,” an album he released in 2004.

The crowd represented G. Love fans young and old. He dedicated his finale, “My Baby’s Got Sauce,” to a young audience member, who immediately fell into star-struck shock—to the clear delight of the amiable G. Love.

“Fixin’ to Die” reflects the artist’s love of the blues, and Bob Dylan’s influences can be heard throughout. The title track is even named for Dylan’s song, “Fixin’ to Die.” Compared to other G.Love albums, “Fixin’ to Die” is bluesier than some of his more recent album releases which all have more of a rock and roll feel.

The album is released by Jack Johnson’s label “Brushfire Records,” and also marks the first time G. Love produced an album with the Avett Brothers, who are also featured. To hear it: http://www.myspace.com/glovespecialsauce

G. Love stayed after his performance to sign autographs for all in attendance. The line circled around the entire store, but G. Love did not disappoint any of his fans.

Known for his live concerts, the surprise announcement for his show at Fingerprints was only made the day before,  on his Twitter page. To the thrill of his fans, G. Love often plays surprise shows that you just have to be in the right place, at the right time, to hear about and then catch. It was fitting that the last-minute show go on at Fingerprints, long a fixture of Belmont Shore but which relocated just weeks ago to a bigger location for live performances closer to downtown.

G. Love starts the official “Fixin to Die” tour March 1 in Nashville and will come back to Southern California for shows in San Diego and Los Angeles, at the House of Blues on April 8-9.