I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: March 25, 2025] José Gonzáles

I was pretty obsessed with José Gonzáles’ debut album Veneer.  The melodies were gorgeous and his singing voice was so calming.  His song Heartbeats was so darn good.  It was surprising to discover it was a cover (by The Knife, a Swedish band that no one I know had heard of).

I hadn’t really thought about seeing him, although the last time he came arounds my friends saw him and said he was amazing.  (He has played Philly in 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2021).  So when he announced this tour (which wasn’t even going to Philly), but was going to Montclair!   And was seated!!  I grabbed tickets for my wife and I.

I was also delighted that there was no opening act.  Normally I love an opening act, but this was going to be a mellow show and I didn’t fancy an extra 30 minutes of someone else being mellow too.

The stage was set up with a platform (which was great–it meant we could see him completely) and this cool-looking object on stage.  It was metallic and silver and looked like  cash register or some other kind of old-fashioned odd musical instrument.  And then a roadie came in and sat on it.  Turns out that with the lighting and perspective, this simple wooden (not metallic) chair looked like a fascinating object (the stranger next to me agreed).

José came out, said some words of thanks and then proceeded to play some beautiful songs.  I know his first and second albums very well, but I hadn’t really listened to much since then.  But i figured it wouldn’t matter, and it didn’t.

His songs don’t sound the same, but they all have the same vibe–mellow folk with a huge swath of melancholy (he is Swedish after all).

I loved hearing Lovestain, the first song on the album.  I really enjoyed watching his hands glide effortlessly around t he neck of the guitar as he strummed and picked and presumably looped parts of his songs.

He also occasionally added a “drum” by tapping his foot on the–with varying intensity.

Visually, the backdrop was a nighttime sky with trees surrounding, as if he were at a campfire.  Occasionally the lights would change from red (Lovestain) to blue and back, often ending with Jose in a white spotlight.

Did I drift off?  Yes.  His music is hypnotic and beautiful and I closed my eyes and let everything flood over me.  It was amazing.  I saw images in my mind (was I asleep and dreaming?  Maybe.)  But I didn’t feel tired at all, I simply knew this was a great way to experience this hypnotic songs.

I really enjoyed the intensity of Killing for Love and the wondrous hypnotisms of Cycling Trivialities.  He sang a few songs in Swedish (like the set ending Tjomme and even though most of his songs are in English, his voice sounded the same–soft and warm.  I think the Swedish lyrics made him even more hypnotic.

After a brief encore, he came back out.  The crowd was quiet and respectful for most of the show but when he came back out someone shouted “play every song you know!”  This led to a whole lot of people shouting requests (most for Heartbeats, which, duh).  He acknowledged that he was going to play that but was going to play these other songs first.

After a new song, he made my night by playing Crosses from the debut and then Heartbeats (amazing to hear live) and finally Teardrop (from Massive Attack) which I had forgotten that he recorded.  This song got a huge response and people started clapping along which was awful, made all the more awful because after two lines, the clapping was out of sync and they mercifully stopped).

He played for just about 90 minutes and it was perfect.  We were even home nice and early (after talking to our friends Jonathan and Molly for a few minutes after the show).

1. With the Ink of a Ghost &
2. Stay in the Shade ∀
3. Lovestain ∀
4. Valle Local £
5. Down the Line Ø
6. Line of Fire (Junip cover)
7. The Void £
8. Horizons £
9. Stories We Build, Stories We Tell &
10. Killing for Love Ø
11. El Invento £
12. Cycling Trivialities Ø
13. En stund på jorden £
14. Visions £
15. Leaf Off & / The Cave
16. Tjomme
    encore
17. Every Age &
18. Crosses ∀
19. Heartbeats (The Knife cover)
20. Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)

£ Local Valley (2021)
& Vestiges & Claws (2015)
Ø In Our Nature (2007)
∀ Veneer (2003)