Götaplatsen - August 10. José González and the Gothenburg String Theory - like meatballs and lingon jam. What a combination. The local singer-songwriter armed with his classical guitar and a posse of 10-15 musicians took to the Götaplatsen stage on the opening night of the Gothenburg Culture Festival. The sun was shining, the huge crowd was feeling festive and José couldn't stop smiling.
Things kicked off with a calm start to the song Cycling trivialities,just José's finger-picked guitar, beautiful voice and the barely audible string orchestra. But they offered a taste of things to come as the song built up to a powerful finish.
Next up, Teardrops! I haven't seen Massive Attack live, but if they can match José's version of this song, I have to see them. This song has so much power it gave me chills and looking around the crowd, I don't think I was the only one! The vocals, the guitar and the string orchestra all stepped it up several notches creating an intense wall of sound. The only bad thing was that it was played so early.
The show continued and songs such as In Our Nature, Crosses, and Hand On Your Heart (by Kylie Minogue) all made an appearance. The rhythmic Down the Line was a definite highlight and crowd favourite.
José has an amazing ability to really lift a song, either with his voice, his guitar, or the combination of both, his timing is impeccable.
I have seen José González live several times, sometimes solo and others with support vocals and percussion. This time in the song arrangements was modified and the string orchestra created a bigger sound, but it definitely worked.
He finished the show with an encore, a beautiful cover of the song Heartbearts by fellow Gothenburgers the Knife.
