José Gonzalez

I’ve never seen the Forum fill up so quickly. I didn’t think the adorably Swedish José had such a massive following in Oz, I guess he’s what you’d call a “cult hit”. The audience tonight is a mixed bag of the young and the old, the cool and the uncool, the subversive and the reticent. It’s interesting to watch these various species interact with one another until the show starts.

Support Emily Barker was nice enough; her songs were careful little pretty ditties sang with earnest and heart. Like a washed out Jewel, though she rates closer than most. I would have preferred to see her in a small, shadowy bar so the massive crowd wouldn’t have hindered my hearing, but alas and alack, she’ll be back.

A loud murmur dotted with sparse cries of excitement is the only welcome José Gonzalez is given when his hunched figure is lit up on the stage, announced only a few choice mood lights. Heartbeats gets the biggest reaction of the night, though I don’t know whether this is a sign of a clear fan favourite or simply a case of punters having paid 60 bucks to hear “the song from the Sony ad with the bouncing balls”. Regardless, it’s a beautiful track and I confess to shedding one or two tears.

José is quiet, withdrawn, hints at hidden depths behind a tousle of dark hair and a soft, thick accent. His songs are beautifully crafted like a wooden toy and his songwriting is matched only by his gorgeous finger picking on guitar. I don’t mean to sound sycophantic, but its clear José has more than just an entertaining effect on an audience; I have never heard a crowd so quiet, so immersed. Some tunes are so haunting I feel like punching anyone who dares to interrupt it with their chatter (popcorn was banned in cinemas during screenings of Schindler’s List, I think beer should be banned at gigs of beautiful songwriters; it allows punters to misjudge the volume of their voice and the subsequent debasement of a great track you’re trying to enjoy!); Slow Moves, Down The Line and In Our Nature are highlights but I am blown to the back wall by his cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart which, more often than not, I feel far surpasses the original. During Deadweight On Velveteen I see a woman dabbing her eyes and I cant help but feel an enormous sense of camaraderie with my fellow man- and woman. Were all in this together, this show is just for us.

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