Jose Gonzalez - The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide (13th Feb 09)

19 February 2009 by Max Easton

Fresh off the back of the Playground Weekender, Jose Gonzalez continued his Australian tour, making an appearance as a part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival at much loved venue, The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. Soulshine was there to witness exactly what this Grammy winning artist had to offer live.

Think Jose Gonzalez and a billion coloured balls bouncing rhythmically down an empty street springs to mind. Making his break covering The Knife’s ‘Heartbeats’ for a Hewlett-Packard commercial and seeing it all snowball with the release of ‘Veneer,’ there’s almost no chance you haven’t heard of this man. Of course, what you possibly haven’t heard is his live show. Questions tend to arise of touring artists of this stature; can they pull it off live, will it translate to the stage and how manufactured is that recorded voice? Forget that line of questioning. After gracing Adelaide’s Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, Jose Gonzalez is proven as the real deal and then some; his hypnotic brand of classically grounded guitar and gorgeous voice setting the scene for a night of impressed and stupefied faces. A night where any expectation was blown out of the water and carried away by airmail. A night that started with ‘Deadweight on Velveteen.’

Humbly taking a seat with a guitar on his lap and soft smile on his face, the first few notes of ‘Deadweight on Velveteen’ are met with a massive response, his unwavering concentration playing through an absolutely superb rendition of the track, one with very heavy shades of CSNY. He continues playing through the crux of his debut album, ‘Veneer.’ Tracks like ‘Remain’ and ‘Stay in the Shade’ are huge highlights, the latter highlighted by some very fine percussion. Jose travels through his catalogue, playing a very broad sweep of new tracks and old, with ‘Veneer’ most definitely at its heart.

Of note is the rapturous reception following each song. In fact, the response to each song becomes deeply interesting. At times it’s hard to gauge exactly how well loved an artist truly is when hiding behind a couple of albums, but from this gig, there’s no doubt that Jose has an extremely passionate following. Even at the completion of the sombre and peaceful ‘Broken Arrow,’ the crowd erupts into voluminous applause and screams. It would almost feel out of place if it weren’t for the brilliance of the actual performance, but each song is so deserving of this reception that it’s hard to really complain.

Roaring through some newer tracks from ‘In Our Nature’ and unexpectedly playing a stripped back version of ‘Send Someone Away’ (a collaboration with DJ, embee) he picks through a very finel constructed setlist. Finishing his set with his cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ (which almost everyone has had a go at in some shape or form, very few deserving comparison to this version) the audience engulfs him with applause as he nods politely, thanks Adelaide and retreats before a scheduled encore. The volume of applause and screeches for more barely cease through his return and the start of the two song encore, finishing off on a high with hallmark track ‘Heartbeats.’ The lights dim, the house music starts to play, yet the crowd isn’t satisfied. The volume increases in intensity, a select few making their way for their door, turning awkwardly in confusion as to where exactly the noise is directed. Surprisingly, the terrible electro track is stopped as Jose Gonzalez returns to the stage, smiling in his signature modest approach, slightly hurried as he again takes his seat.

For the second (and genuine) encore, he settles on one song; Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart.’ With the Gov’ providing backing vocals, Jose plays impressively through the ins and outs of what once belonged to Ian Curtis. He raises a hand, absorbs the applause and exits as the Gov’ empties into the streets.

What began as a mystery ended as a musical highlight. The questions of his translation to the stage were answered ten-fold, anything short of ‘absolutely impeccable’ existing as an insult. While he varied little from his recorded work, the depth and skill shown in the live performance trumped anything he could sell to you as a tangible object. His guitar, his voice, his backing duo – all of it was as fine-tuned and perfect as you could imagine from a performer of any kind. Jose Gonzalez presented a live performance to as high a calibre as I’ve seen from a touring artist in the last five years. In fact, the only problem I have with him on this tour is that it means his next one will be too far away.

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