Jose Gonzalez review and photosJosé González
The Agora, Cleveland, OH
By Rob McCune
For a sit-down show at Cleveland’s The Agora, Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter José González appeared solo on a raised platform against a backdrop of trees silhouetted against a night sky and seemingly lit himself by moonlight.
With just his guitar and soft, sonorous, sometimes haunting vocal, he harmonized on hymns about love, memory, nature, unity, and conflict to a crows that was locked in and loving it.
His set evenly blended tracks from his four albums, and a five-song encore included covers of “Blackbird” (The Beatles), “Heartbeats” (The Knife) and “Teardrop” (Massive Attack).
Particularly resonating was “Line of Fire,” a song released by his band Junip, for which he collaborates with Tobias Winterkorn. The soothing but existential anthem to internal struggle posits a future of unknowable possibility, where each choice might lead to fight or flight, light or darkness.
It’s music on a precipice, like the one we all are on, and it feels vital as ever.
Rob McCune is Every_Thing_After_Photo on Instagram, where he shares his concert photography and reviews, as well as clips from his “Every.Thing.After” podcast, with interviews with musicians and bands.
