It must be a strange and somewhat uncomfortable position, being an artist who is mostly famous for covers of other people’s songs. But this is exactly the position that confronts Swedish guitarist and singer José González. His enthusiastic following, too broad now to be defined as ‘cult’, is largely based on González’s intricate, classical acoustic guitar work and softly-sung vocal renditions of ‘Heartbeats’ by The Knife and ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack – where the adaptation from the solely electronic originals to González’ acoustic arrangements is especially impressive. The thing is, González’ original songs have never seemed to make as much of a stir. With all this in mind, it was of great interest to see how a crowd would react to his music in a live setting.
González’ songs and singing style give an impression of a low-key individual, and this impression is strongly emphasised by his live show. González is on stage with no fanfare, in his seat and playing almost before the first sharp-eyed punter has time to let out a surprised ‘Whoo!’ Nor is there any hint of flash surrounding the man himself – he’s just a chap on his own, sitting in a chair with an acoustic guitar. No elaborate stage set-up, no pyrotechnics, no costumes. He’s wearing a nondescript blue collared shirt, a jumper and jeans. He could just as well be sitting in a pub. He’s looking intently at his guitar, not at us. With his dark beard, tidy curls, and studious appearance, he has the air of a young cleric rather than a rock god.
González plays the first three songs straight through, still without a word. The third song is ‘Heartbeats’, and as expected, it gets a much bigger reaction from the audience than anything preceding it. González gives a quick thank-you, then gets on with it again. He’s playing like a man on a mission, hardly looking up, as though all there is in the world is him and his guitar. His voice carries well under The Forum’s vaulted ceilings. Armed only with his acoustic, González is a one-man band. He slaps and knuckles the body of the guitar for percussion; he works the strings in arcane ways to create sounds you didn’t know a guitar could produce. Throughout, the presence of other musicians’ accoutrements on the stage – bongos, mic stands, empty chairs – only serves to emphasise the fact that González is alone. He has said that he produced his first album entirely on his own because he wanted full control over everything, and all that he knew enough about to control were his vocals and guitar. Well, he has full control tonight as well. He is obviously a prodigious talent with his instrument, producing a sound far fuller and richer than a solo guitarist has any right to produce.
All the songs are short and crisp, and González keeps rocketing on through them like a downhill sled ride. Finally, for the title track from In Our Nature, the empty chairs on stage are filled by two back-up vocalists who double up as percussionists – one on the bongos, one on the mighty cowbell. Now with one female and two male voices harmonising, an extra layer is added to the texture of the songs.
Despite all the prettiness though, the crowd is passive and subdued, and the atmosphere is less than electric. Being the second of January probably doesn’t help, but one can’t help feeling that perhaps González is a bit too low-key. While it’s not compulsory to be a showman, he really makes no attempt to bring the crowd into it. There is no talk, no interaction, just the performance at arm’s length. And while the execution of the songs is technically per fect, there is something of a lack of feeling. They feel like what they are – songs that he’s played a thousand times before. The Forum could have put a José González DVD on a projection screen without there being too much difference, in terms of both performative value and crowd reaction. There is one whooping, bourbon-soaked character down by the speaker stacks, arms in the air, a hangover from some nightmare vision of Pyramid Rock. But apart from him, the rest of them barely make a peep.
González is an extremely skilful exponent of his art. On the Forum performance though, perhaps he doesn’t have the package required to be an all-round entertainer. Also, his set is far too short. Admittedly his two albums barely top half an hour each, but he is finished in well under an hour, cracking his first smile of the night as he quickly says thank-you, waves, and goes offstage. The obligatory encore is three more songs, and none of González’ works are epics. With a ticket price of sixty bucks, punters would be justified in feeling disgruntled – whether José González fans are capable of getting disgruntled is another matter altogether.
The encore set is capped off, of course, with González’ version of ‘Teardrop’, his current hit. And the crowd reaction? Easily the biggest cheers of the night. To be fair, it is a fantastic version of the song. The bongo and guitar carry the space and echo of Massive Attack’s original incredibly well, and González’ vocals are perfectly suited. The song is familiar but reinvented, as any good cover should be. It also takes serious balls to tackle a cover of such a genuine classic, a song so well-known and well-loved. But would it be damaging to an artist’s psyche to receive his two biggest cheers of the night for other people’s songs? Having heard ‘Teardrop’, with González offstage, the hall empties out in no time at all. If González hadn’t played it, I’m sure the encore call would have got another work-out. In that simple fact, perhaps there is illumination enough.
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