José González at the Swedish American Hall

I just got back from seeing José González down the street at the Swedish American Hall. If you've tuned into my morning radio show in the last 2 or 3 months, you'll have heard this guy since I play music from his debut album alot. The show was fantastic if brief.

Some things I hadn't realized about him; He's a very technically adept guitarist. I hadn't realized the complexity of a lot of stuff he's doing on his album. My favorite song, "Hints", is mind boggling to see him play. The majority of the song is played not by strumming but by moving his fingers along the frets rapidly. He's also extremely shy. He didn't speak between songs at all for the first half. He's Swedish by birth and Argentinian by heritage. He sings in a flawless American english accent and then between songs when he speaks, he does so with a heavy Spanish accent. It's downright unnerving.

He finished out his set with a riveting cover of "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. He said thank you and the entire room erupted in a standing ovation in seconds. It was a moving experience. He played 3 more songs and was gone. 55 minute set. Best thing I've seen in the last 2 months. You can get his album here.