Seeing and hearing José González live is food for the soul. Bringing his tunes to the Sydney Opera House for the first time, he had a humble stage presence, and a suite of songs that transported the audience to another place and time. Starting the night with a crowd favourite, Crosses, the Swedish-Argentinian showcased his skilful playing with mesmerising hands solo on stage.
His band joined him in the second song, What Will, all members perfectly in sync. Layers upon layers of guitars, voices and percussion made for a beautiful sonic journey, spanning the length of González's three albums.
The set also included two beautiful acoustic covers — Hand On Your Heart by Kylie Minogue and an encore that included Line Of Fire by Junip, a band that he co-created with fellow Swede Tobias Winterkorn.
González's softly spoken tones and resonating lyrics make for a finely textured brand of indie folk. The stirring and powerful surges and lulls — like waves — were showcased most in the breakdowns of songs like The Forest and Walking Lightly. Tuning and retuning his guitar every few songs, his earnest care for both his instruments and audience was evident.
All of this was enhanced by the House's expert live mixing, which made for a fuller and perfectly balanced sound. If you're going to go and see something a beautifully technical as José González, go and see it at the Opera House. The sound was phenomenal.
Ending on a decidedly high note in the aftermath of so much contemplation, Heartbeats and an encore of Down The Line was a great way to finish. Being surrounded by such rich and multilayered sounds in such an iconic space — as González said — was a real pleasure.
