Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.10.2005, Síða 13

ARTIST
José Gonzales
PLACE: ÞJÓÐLEIKHÚSKJALLARINN
TIME: 23:40
>>> Sleepy González Or Misery Loves
Company <<< After missing his connecting
flight, being forced to wear the same black
shirt and jeans for three days straight, and
having to go to work with an atrociously
bad loner guitar, José González was in
need of a little love on Thursday night. By
the time the sandwiched together crowd
here physically pushed him back onstage
for an encore of Joy Division’s love Will
Tear us Apart, it was perfectly clear that
love, was indeed, in the air. ¶ “I got some
emails from Iceland before I came here,”
the 27 year old said as he huddled in a
corner signing autographs and bracing for
giant pats on the back from fans. “But I
was really surprised when people started
singing along to my songs or clapping when
I would start a new one.” ¶ He shouldn’t
be. Despite only being on the musical radar
for the past couple of months, González’s
sombre, flamenco-on-downers warbling
has burrowed upward from a uk whisper
to a legitimate underground buzz. Fresh
off a crowded showcase gig in new York
City on Tuesday, the Buenos Aires-born,
Sweden-reared González arrived in Iceland
to further spread the word. If only his
luggage had made it with him. ¶ “I think
my things are lost in Boston somewhere,”
González explained. “They said maybe I’d
get them tomorrow. But clothes are one
thing. The guitar is what I really miss. I just
played with the worst one I’ve ever held
in my life.” ¶ not that anyone could tell
the difference. Bending strings, warping
frets, and laying down a sparse beat with
stomped feet, González hunkered down
over his guitar with his eyes closed. This
was serious work. What emerged were
whispered, melancholy songs that floated
easily through the room like a slow moving
rain cloud. each one was met with whoops,
whistles, and the occasional sing-along.
not bad for a man who, two years ago,
was studying for his PhD in biochemistry.
¶ “I couldn’t do both,” he says. “So I just
decided to stick with music. Since then I’ve
been playing nearly 200 shows a year. To
be honest I’m surprised I’m still out here.”
BART BlASenGAMe
JOSÉ GONZALES PHOTO BY HEIDI HARTWIG
{ 15 }Grapevine Airwaves 2005 Friday October 21 – Issue 1 of 3