Jose Gonzalez, Wexner Center, 11-30

I’m a sucker for mellow, acoustic songs with literate lyrics. So I expected to be whisked away to a magical dreamland of engaging folk pop at the Wexner Center’s Jose Gonzalez concert Friday night. Instead, I ended up pretty bored.

Don't get me wrong, Gonzalez is talented. The man has complete mastery over his classical guitar, and deftly fingerpicks and strums his way through songs effortlessly, creating droning, hypnotic landscapes on the instrument. If he were merely the guitarist in a larger band, I’d probably sing his praises. His voice isn’t too shabby either. The soft tenor is pleasing on the ears, with no harshness to be found.

But...

Hearing Gonzalez live, all those mild, palatable qualities become dull. He’s like the hipster version of Jack Johnson--laid-back and mellow to the point of soullessness. Or maybe the singer-songwriter version of Al Gore--expressionless, robotic and lacking charisma. The performance just didn’t feel inspired, and he didn’t convince me that he actually meant any of the things he sang, which is a shame since he’s not a bad lyricist.

The tunes that worked best were songs in which his two percussionists added some depth with various instruments and vocal harmonies. Other bright spots of the night were a few of Gonzalez’s most popular songs, which are favorites for a reason. On “Fold,” “Down the Line” and his cover of the Knife’s “Heartbeats,” his personality shines through in the creative vocal performances that complement the melodic guitar hooks. He’s also good at keeping the songs short and sweet.

I envision these stronger songs on a mix CD that a guy makes for his girlfriend. “I’m in love with those two Jose Gonzalez songs on the mix,” she says. “They’re sad but so pretty.” She then decides to go buy his two albums, but after a few listens she realizes that all she really needed were those two songs. The others are more of the same, yet not as compelling. “Sad but pretty” eventually becomes “tiresome and repetitive.” Then they break up.

A few more similar pics on the Flickr page.