Photos: Remy Connolly
(Click on first photo - top - to begin slideshow)
Æ MAK played a sold out headline show in The Grand Social last night with support from fellow Dundalk act, Hunting Hall (aka Tim Shearwood). Performance is always a key element to any of Aoife McCann's shows, movement and contemporary dance bringing the music even more vividly to life before the audience. Just over 5 months ago on the same stage Æ MAK copper-fastened one of the stand-out memorable sets of Hard Working Class Heroes 2018. Where do you go from there? Well, new songs, new sounds and different moods all came into play last night, more than enough variety to make for a uniquely different experience to the previous one. Musically I found the moments of almost trance / house interludes particularly invigorating, instrumental episodes that acted like conductors for Æ MAK's visual performance. From start to finish this energy poured like an upturned industrial-sized vat of water down upon the audience from the stage - a collective experience that strengthened a bond between act and attendees that didn't really need strengthening to begin with.
Support on the night came from Tim Shearwood under the moniker of Hunting Hall, who released his excellent solo debut single 'Helium' only a few months ago. A merry-go-round of acoustic and electro-pop, humorous lyrics belying what you felt were songs that were more personal than the delivery suggested, and purely based on having only heard his single to date, a really impressive vocal range that I did not see coming.
With our communal sweat still hanging in the air, it was over, abruptly in the sense that there was no time to pause for even the most inane of thoughts, the doors opened, we emptied out, until the next time!
Æ MAK play Dali on Carey's Lane in Cork tonight, event page here.
