G Love, when not with The Special Sauce is a one man band. He growls out blues vocals in-between story-telling and hip hop lyrics. He holds down the rhythm stomping out percussion parts. The harmonica howls while he plays an assortment of guitars mixing in dobro, slide, and 12-string making for a ragtime, knee-slapping good time. Though the set was short, it was solid. I knew most of the songs he played and what I didn’t know, much of the crowd did. He snuck in Canned Heat’s “Going Up The Country” before ending with two of his hits, “Cold Beverages” and “Baby’s Got Sauce.”

That finale had everyone’s attention. G announced that he was going to bring out a guest harmonica player. Knowing that John Popper was in the house and knowing that the bands are collaborating had me on the edge of my seat. Just then an adorable curly-haired toddler made his way out on the stage. It was G’s son and it clearly wasn’t his first time in the spotlight. The little guy stomped as ferociously as his father and played his harp like his life depended on it. He even threw his hand in the air a few times as if he was leading the band! The performance brought the audience to our feet. Collective sighs and laughter filled the amphitheater – a testament to how cute everyone thought the father and son duo was. The boy seemed to love the attention and when it was over, he was hoisted into the air to a roar of applause.

Switch over was fast and smooth and in about 15 minutes Blues Traveler started. John hasn’t lost any of his ridiculous harmonica chops and he still belts out notes as if he never needs to inhale. Popper was also quite talkative. He mistakenly referred to the crowd as “Cleveland.” It could have passed as a joke, but the way he retracted his statement made it seem like a real misstate – the quintessential stage gaffe! He stumbled through a brief understanding of Cincinnati, finally yelling “F— the Steelers” before admitting that he doesn’t know what he is talking about and that he was just killing time to drink more tequila. The whole sequence was laugh-out-loud funny!