Who: Jose Gonzales
Where: Bruce Mason Centre
KEY POINTS:
Anyone expecting a hushed, slow spectacle from Jose Gonzales on Tuesday night would have enjoyed a rude awakening.
The Swedish-Argentinean musician known for his introspective indie folk songs made it clear early this was be no wishy-washy, pindrop performance but a bold, shimmering display of musicianship.
Every song - not just his famous cover of Heartbeat delivered in the encore - had a pulse.
This was his third trip to New Zealand and first national tour but the adulation hasn't gone to his head.
Gonzales is an unassuming performer - head bowed to his guitar as though absorbing its contents, a graciousness between songs that makes him a man of few, whispered words.
Add his hypnotic, Latin-style finger-picking and fugal sensibilities and it was hard not to get swept away by his guitar playing alone.
When he spoke it was as though he'd just remembered he had an audience, an endearing wake-up call as the crowd were also lost in the groove of the songs.
Gonzales made an assured solo start that included first album single Crosses, and it wasn't until In Our Nature's Fold that he let his softer side show.
His "band" joined in after the first few songs: a seated back-up singer who acknowledged the intimate atmosphere by slipping off her shoes, and a bongo player/singer who grounded Gonzales' rippling strings with earthy textures.
Their accompaniment showed admirable restraint yet helped to created a spine-chilling wall of sound, particularly on new songs In Our Nature, Down the Line, and Cycling Trivialities, dry ice curling in spools of light behind them.
Occasionally Gonzales' dynamics peaked to the point where they threatened to red-line the speakers and overwhelm his delicate voice; some of the harsher intensity hinted at his previous life in a hardcore band.
He also showed a knowing sense of humour, performing reworkings of Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy Massive Attack's Teardrop and Kylie Minogue's Hand On Your Heart.
If the humble star had stuck around long enough, he would have received a standing ovation.
