On a night when grief, doubt and despair still permeated throughout the state, there was tinge of guilt in enjoying an intimate and delightful performance by Swedish troubadour José González. Set in the charmingly archaic surrounds of the Athenaeum Theatre, González treated his seated-audience to an 18-song set with both Veneer and the more recent In Our Nature played almost in their entirety.

Opening act Luluc proved somewhat of a surprise. Not because their sumptuous brand of locally-produced cotemporary folk was at odds with the evening’s headliner. Or that their debut release, Dear Hamlyn, translated extremely well in a live environment. Simply, it was the fact that neither Tickemaster or even the Athenaeum’s box-office chose to advertise their presence in the slightest, resulting in many punters missing most of what was a truly lovely, albeit relatively brief set.

Lead vocalist Zoe Randell stood largely motionless as she sang, playing an acoustic guitar that she claimed to be over a century old. Her slow, deep, voice carried a slight hint of pain to it as she sung about relationships made and lost and “finding a place where you feel you belong.” Backed by Double Bassist Pete Cohen and guitarist Steve Hassett who harmonised on backing vocals, the band, having supported Fleet Foxes earlier last month, looked humbled but not overawed in playing at such a venue. Warm One, Black Umbrella and Body On the Water were personal favourites in a set that was extremely well received by those fortunate enough to be present. I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Dressed all in black, José González strode onto the stage, sat down, plugged himself in and promptly began. Illuminated by a single overhead light, González, hunched over his guitar opened with Storm, a track that has only ever featured on two EP’s. It may have been a strange decision but it was one that served nonetheless to highlight his proficiency as a guitarist. Hints from his debut release Veneer was next; the Swede’s tapping foot clearly audible to a silent and captivated audience. The warmer, gentler Fold then followed, González’s guitar work this time less severe and aggressive.

‘We saw the smoke today coming in on the plane. Our hearts go out to those affected by the fires’ he said simply but genuinely, something appreciated by the sold-out crowd. The rising and falling tempo of All You Deliver was next before being joined by Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano and Erik Boden for backing vocals and very basic hand-percussion. After In Our Nature and How Low, the gentle strumming on The Nest provided a window to what it perhaps may have been like to see Nick Drake perform; an early highlight for the evening.

With little embellishment or added interpretation to any of his songs, the set moved along quickly. A steady handclap drove Time To Send Someone Away while the anti-religious sentiment of Abram served to underpin the depth of In Our Nature as a well-rounded recorded. The reception given to Lovestain and Remain, merely album tracks from Veneer, did however suggest that his first release remains the public’s favourite. Feeding off their support, González strummed quickly into the earnest Down the Line. Touching on the ‘comprise’ and ‘darkness’ in relationships, Down the Line sits, without doubt, as one of the standout tracks from ION. The set by this point was really reaching its peak so it was somewhat disappointing that Crosses, the song this reviewer had most been looking forward to, lacked González’s usual vocal power and fell someway short of the mark. Much to his own embarrassment, the challenging opening note to Broken Arrows then saw the Swede’s voice break ever so slightly. ‘Urgh. Sorry,’ he said over polite laughter before starting from the top. On Cycling Trivialities, González and his band afforded themselves a lengthy instrumental; the audience, for the first time, bathed in the stage lighting. Following what really was a nice moment, the strong percussive beat that backed radio hit and Massive Attack cover Teardrop served to reflect the original classic slightly more than González’s album version. The uplifting harmonies provided by his backing section really elevated the song with an enormous applause greeting the song’s conclusion.

It would have been a fitting way to end the evening but, as González and his band waved goodbye, the absence of that song meant that we knew he’d be back. After a minute or two of really thunderous applause (impressive, given how respectful they’d been during songs), the three returned and, smiling and waving, reassumed their seats. First to come was indeed Heartbeats, the beautiful cover of The Knifes’s minimalist electro track that took over the world following Sony’s decision to release 10,000 bouncing balls down the hills of San Francisco and play José González behind the slow-motion footage. Although appearing somewhat weary of the song, it was, nonetheless, delivered perfectly to a huge ovation. ‘This is a Kylie Minogue song. It’s called Hand On Your Heart. Thank you and good night,’ were González’s final spoken words before enthusiastically tapping both feet to yet another masterful cover. A simple bow and he was gone, this time for good.

There may be something in the fact that José González’s three final songs for the evening, probably his three most popular, were all covers. He is a talented songwriter and an excellent guitarist so this, in some respects, is a bit of a shame. Future albums will hopefully see him stick to producing strictly original material as he is very capable of succeeding with that alone. Either way, though, the moving experience of his live show is always likely to leave him in extremely high demand.