G. Love & Special Sauce to Play Culture Room

Just like the stuff they put in hot dogs, you're probably better off not knowing what makes "special" sauce so special. On the other hand, G. Love & Special Sauce have been brewing their lip-smacking concoction for more than a decade now, and they've got the recipe down pat — equal parts soul, funk, hip-hop, and blues simmered over a seriously laid-back vibe.

That recipe earned them a steady cult following that has grown since the band's self-titled debut in '94. G. Love & Special Sauce's most recent U.S. release, 2008's upbeat and light Superhero Brother — they dropped Long Way Down in 2009, but only in Australia and New Zealand — isn't music for brooding fans of gloom and doom, while never departing from the band's essence. Like "Cold Beverage" says, kick back and have a cold one. And that's just the recommended way to see them at Culture Room this week.