Medulla and MAKO @ The Village, Dublin

Posted on 21st Nov 11 by Alex Millar | 0

James Hunter hit Dublin’s Village a while back to check out an excellent show from Brazil’s Medulla and Cork’s MAKO. Check out what he found.

On a cold, dry night in the Capital city, not too long ago, two extremely polished rock bands took to the stage of The Village to wow a faint crowd with professional and evocative displays of rock song writing. The two artists in question were Cork’s own MAKO and Brazil’s Medulla, performing as part of a cultural exchange known as the Brazil Celtic Festival.

Straight out of the blocks at 9:30 p.m. came MAKO. Though there was much cheering and rejoicing at their presence, the venue was sparsely populated. Not that it deterred the band. As always they were in astounding form stacking up track after track of rock gold. ‘Unstoppable’ and ‘Miss Alison’ are just two of the glittering tracks that were observed. They are without a doubt one of the hottest tickets in the country at the moment.

The movements of enigmatic front man Declan O’ Shea are a sight to behold, showing that he hasn’t lost any of his stage presence since the Cyclefly days. The same can be said for the other Cyclefly members present onstage Christian LaMontagne and Delcan’s brother, and renowned producer, Ciarán, both of whom exude experience and cool. And for those of us who have a knowledge of the band’s back catalogue of old were in for a surprise as we were treated to a rendition of ‘Violet High’, a track lifted from Cyclefly’s debut LP, ‘Generation Sap’. It was a special moment…

But that’s not to diminish the value of the headliners. Medulla were brought from the New World to give a taste of what modern Brazilian rock has to offer. And that seems to be a lot.

A divine mix of pure mainstream rock, pop, rap, funk and hip-hop, Medulla are unlike any band this country has ever witnessed. Their energy, their style, their

presence and their songs are just brimming with unadulterated talent. Fronted by two hyperactive Brazilian gentlemen, the pair hopped and screamed around the stage backed by a tight-knit line-up of guitars, bass and drums.

It’s a deep shame that there weren’t more people at this show, and a conversation I had with a member of MAKO hinted at the reasons why.

About a month ago, Brazil hosted the Brazil Celtic Festival that celebrated the connections between Irish and Brazilian artists. On the Irish side were BipolarEmpire and MAKO. All the artists received a great deal of publicity throughout the festival with radio and TV appearances, as well as performances to huge audiences.

Yet despite how well these artists were received in Brazil, it seemed to be impossible to garner any media attention for the Irish leg of the festival. And it doesn’t seem to have been for want of trying, with the Irish artists contacting various media outlets, most of which had previously been sympathetic to the bands; their contact fell on deaf ears.

It seems that as soon as you mention cultural exchanges to Irish media you seem to be met with a certain degree of cynicism, and as a result, nights like that in The Village get overlooked and the bands suffer.

But you can take solace! The truth of the matter is that, despite the poor turnout on the night, both MAKO and Medulla possess such overwhelming talents that there is no doubt as to their futures. They’re some of the worlds finest.

Check out MAKO at their site here and Medulla at theirs here. Also, stay tuned for an interview with MAKO’s front man Declan O’ Shea.