Magic is a relative idea.
Whether you believe in such a thing or not is what makes it as fascinating of a concept as it is. Experiences that transcend even our wildest imaginations can fall in this realm, but it’s all up for interpretation, and that’s the beauty of it.
With that in mind, Saturday night at the Orpheum Theatre was undoubtedly a magical one. As José González, a Swedish-Argentinian indie-folk artist, and Jess Williamson, a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, graced the stage, the two left me in a euphoric and mesmerized state that I never wanted to end.
With González’s North American tour following the release of his fourth studio album, “Local Valley,” hitting its stride, his stop in Phoenix was his first since 2018 when he performed at The Van Buren. González clearly hasn’t lost any touch since then.
But an opening performance from Williamson arguably seized the evening, leaving myself and the rest of the theater in awe. Upon speaking to the Texas-born artist, you can tell she enjoyed the experience as well.
“It was a dream situation for a solo performer,” Williamson said. “It was a beautiful venue with really good sound, and everyone was sitting quietly just watching. When all of those things come together, as a singer you can really relax and enjoy it.”
Williamson performed a medley of songs from her latest album, “Sorceress” which was released near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Her angelic vocals contrasted beautifully with simple riffs on the title track to her recent record and “Smoke,” which she performed back-to-back to begin the evening.
Follow-up performances of “Pictures of Flowers,” a song Williamson wrote with all the uncertainty and fear during the pandemic, and “Abilene” were brilliant odes to her past that felt as nostalgic as a beloved bedtime story. The comforting yet striking way in which Williamson played throughout the night was a testament to her country roots and inspirations stemming from artists such as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Patsy Cline.
“Lately I’ve been thinking about classic country and folk singers,” Williamson said. “It’s not so much about the guitar, it’s about the singing and the words. I’m really just thinking about my heroes in country music on this tour.”
Williamson’s sound reflects a subtle twist of psychedelia, but at its core, her sound is free-flowing, inviting you to listen to her as she consciously relives her own memories. The product is nothing short of genuine, and her performance of “Ponies in Town” embraced that in every way.
While detailed, emotional lyrics winded listeners down a path of reminiscence, Williamson displays some of her most beautiful vocal work on the track’s symphonic outro before leaving you with a final line of: “Free as a bird ‘til the end of the cage.”
I was moved deeply by her overall showing, which speaks to her talents as a live performer where Williamson feels she is at her best.
“I was thinking about this, a lot of times when I’m recording songs they’re really new,” Williamson said. “I’ve never performed them live and I’m making a record, but by the time I go on tour I’ve played those songs a bunch of times. I shouldn’t say it’s better but it’s just different, I get to know the songs in a different way.”
A brief intermission gave way to González’s performance, which began with a divine rendition of “With the Ink of a Ghost,” a shining deep cut off his 2015 album “Vestiges and Claws.” His trademark whispers and soft vocalization backed by masterful guitar work were on full display with his opening number, a sign of things to come.
González also demonstrated his ability to swing from one song to another in three separate languages, something the trilingual Swede did for the first time on his recent record, “Local Valley.” Swedish spoken tracks such as the jazzed-up “Tjomme” and “En Stund På Jorden,” which is a cover of a song written by Iranian-Swedish pop artist Laleh, seemingly weaved between Spanish infused songs such as “El Invento” and “Valle Local.”
Like Sean Penn’s character Sean O’Connell eloquently said in the film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a movie González helped compose the soundtrack for, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.”
That, to put it mildly, is González’s career in a nutshell. Up and down his discography are some of the most carefully crafted pieces within the indie-folk genre, ranging from records such as “Veneer” to “In Our Nature.”
His documented label as the modern-day Nick Drake fits perfectly, a widely overlooked songwriter known for his polished acoustic guitar playing and raw vocals. Drake’s influence on his sound was evident in González’s thoughtful cover of “Cello Song” a wonderful highlight of the evening.
“Head On,” “Visions,” an intense rendering of the suspenseful “Cycling Trivialities,” and his renowned cover of the Knife’s “Heartbeats” were all performed flawlessly with González’s relaxed yet meticulous demeanor throughout the show and served as some of the more memorable moments.
Throughout the tour, Williamson said she has seen González wow crowds with that same calmness. It is something she feels personifies him as an artist, inspiring her during her own performances along the way.
“He’s really humble, and he doesn’t get stressed out,” Williamson said. “I see him backstage just chilling out a minute before he’s about to walk out and play in front of this sold-out room of people. That’s a cool thing to observe because I know sometimes I get nervous. To watch him have this ease about everything has been a really inspiring thing.”
Another highlight was González’s simplified recreation of “Line of Fire,” a track featured on his latest album that he originally wrote as a member of Junip, an alternative rock group that he co-founded with two close friends from Sweden. He capped off the night with a subtly improvised version of “Killing for Love” before rising from his chair, thanking the crowd and exiting to a delightful applause.
“After the show, I went to the tour bus and said to myself, ‘If this is the best that it ever gets, I’m completely satisfied,’” Williamson said. “[González] has been at this for a very long time and he’s got some of his closest friends on tour with him and he’s performing solo while playing in these beautiful venues. It’s a nice feeling to be that intimately connected to the audience.”
I tried to sum up what these two did this past Saturday as best I could with the words I’ve seemingly spilled throughout this piece, but as cliche as it sounds, you really did have to be there to truly feel how special their collective performance was.
The essence of this show proves that powerful words, an acoustic guitar and a microphone can go a long way toward making magic seem real. My only issue with the show: it had to end.
Contact the reporter at cabradl4@asu.edu.
