josé gonzález
mosaic music festival late night series
it took a couple of songs for the show to warm up, and then gonzález kicked in with slow moves.
at times, it didn't feel like a concert, more like being an onlooker/listener to a private, almost sacred musical communion as he sang with eyes-closed intensity.
the soft-spoken singer didn't engage much in small talk though there was a flash of unexpectedly wry humour on weed and the death penalty in singapore as an intro to send someone away.
finally heard his cover of kylie minogue's hand on your heart and it was revelatory. could something so achingly beautiful have been buried in the synth-pop jauntiness of the original all along?
there was also a cover of massive attack's teardrop. it was good, but the original, with liz fraser's other-worldly vocals, was already a personal favourite. it didn't need a re-interpretation to unveil its gorgeousness.
gonzález's new song down the line (darkness) was a more muscular beast, a welcome change from the stripped-down acoustics on veneer.
he saved crosses and heartbeats for the encore, though there was a slip-up on the latter. and yeah, it was kinda perfunctory, as if he didn't quite like the idea that he had to perform his hit (cover) song.