A few years ago the unique talent that is Jose Gonzalez might have gotten lost among the crowd of other finger plucking non-traditionally tuned international singer-songwriters. All of that seems to have changed recently with his latest release Vestiges and Claws, order and perhaps more notably from scoring the majority of Ben Stiller’s soundtrack for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Although where the latter might have gained him a wider audience with a bit more of a palatable approach from the Argentinian born, Swedish raised folk musician, Vestiges sets him apart not with anything new but rather its consistency built on the trajectory of the success and slow burn cult following of his first two albums; 2003’s Veneer, and 2007’s In Our Nature. With Vestiges and Claws, Gonzalez isn’t really doing anything different than he’s done before, he’s just doing it better, which is perhaps the pay-off or culmination of taking an exuberant amount of time between solo records, touring with first band Junip, and working on numerous one off collaborations and projects. Either way, the results have paid off with another ten song intimate acoustic masterpiece that is equally good lounging or driving music, barbeque, or yoga music, and he brought the tour behind this new record to Boston for a sold out show at the Paradise this past Saturday.
Mingling around the Paradise pre-show, I had to admit I underestimated both the international appeal of Gonzalez and his ability to draw a fan-base from so many varieties of music fans. At first, the most obvious of these two miscalculations was evident from the wide variety of languages being spoken among the genuinely laid back and polite audience throughout the night. The second was picked up upon as I worked my way around the balcony early on when I observed a couple both quietly reading. Later on I spotted a dreadloched Phish fan with a “Melt” hoody, and there were even some patented squawking white girls that talked all throughout the first three songs. All in all though, this seemed to be a highly intellectual, passionately devoted crowd, and besides a rare “You’re doing great Jose” from a Spanish accented super-fan, the crowd was quiet and focused both during and in between songs.
The set began with “Afterglow,” a track off of Vestiges that immediately introduced the bands simplistic compliments to Gonzalez’s intricate staccato finger plucking that would accompany him for the majority of the night. “Let it Carry You” was an early highlight and continued to awaken the quiet precision of the band. “What Will,” did this again, only this time was broken up into two sections, reprising the second with a double timed guitar pitter-patter, percussive rim shot and perfectly plucked solo.
In the middle of the set the band took a break and Jose worked through three or four songs as a solo act, which showcased how much work he spares himself when the band plays with him. At this point, I began thinking that it wasn’t necessarily Jose’s unique voice, insightful world view lyricism or branding that defines him or sets him apart, but rather his craftsmanship and unbelievable devotion to the way he plays guitar. His tunings alone are something to be marveled. There wasn’t a guitar tech or a bevy of acoustic guitars pre-tuned at his feet to choose from, so the audience got to hear Jose’s ears use harmonics to constantly tinker with the one nylon stringed guitar he played throughout the night. Of course there’s the Latin styled finger picking, but the use of the crafty droned bass notes also speaks to his rhythm and precise repetition.
The set ended up being a “greatest hits” of Jose’s career so far. He picked off of not only of his first three solo albums, but from his Junip material, and a mix of notable covers he makes all his own and most of which I did not realize were covers until later on. There was Kylie Minogue’s “Hand on Your Heart,” Arthur Russell’s “This is how we walk on the Moon” without the horns of the studio version but still just as delightful, and Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” a song Gonzalez released himself on In Our Nature. The set closed with fan favorite “Down the Line” prompting the loudest response of the night and an encore demand.
Jose thanked opener Olof Arnalds, a Icelandic singer songwriter who started the night off with a solo set of yodeled traditional folk songs played on a variety of stringed instruments, before jumping into three more songs including “Always,” a Junip song, “Every Age,” a Vestiges ballad and the most commercially friendly song off of his new release and perhaps his career “Leaf off / The Cave.”
In the end a Jose Gonzalez show can be summarized by a serious of contrasts. He’s quiet, but never boring. He’s simple, but the bands arrangements are complex and precise. It’s relaxing music, but also compelling and uplifting. He’s serious in his demeanor and message, but fun in his delivery and never depressing. He’s a troubadour of what it means to be an international folk sensation and he pulls it off with effortless grace and class. There’s no gimmicks, fancy lights, or made up character perpetuating anything else than himself, his guitar and voice, and that to me is what you call a true artist at work.
