Gig Review: Maria Gadú at Button Factory

Expectations were high for Maria Gadú as she anticipated an amazing night in Dublin last week. In an exclusive interview with Hot Press, the singer said she was grateful for the opportunity to return to Dublin with another maturity and new experiences. Ten years ago, Gadú has sung in the Temple Bar streets for two months and now she’s back with a bold sound and swells of musicality.

The visit confirmed what some had already noticed. In Guelã, Maria Gadú swaps the acoustic guitar for an electric. It’s a sensory encounter, where the notes transport us to new places and make us relive old songs in an innovative way.

With all-black stage and a theatrical lighting, she returns with full-sold-out house and a more ethereal and intense show than ever.

The first three songs that open the third album, Guelã; also open the show: Suspiro, Obloco and Ela. Previous versions of Bela Flor, Paracuti and Escudos were exchanged for a more electric, dense and surround sound.

"Good night. Thank you for coming. I’m very happy. It is an important day, very beautiful". And so Maria Gadú presents her musicians Federico Puppi (cello), Lancaster Pinto (bass) and Felipe Roseno (drums and percussion) who follow the European tour next to her.

Songs such as Altar Particular sound new, richer and slower in tone, Lounge feature bluesy overtones while, Tudo Diferente with a vibrant, more pulsating air.

For those already familiar with Gadú’s version of Ne Me Quitte Pas, forget what your ears already recognize. Jacques Brel's song pulses with the tune of drums that vibrate through the chests of the audience.

A break in the show leaves time for an important reflection on the political situation of Brazil. Maria explains that the country is experiencing a very strong social-energy-political problem and that it is up to us to fix it.

"Unfortunately these problems in Brazil are bringing superficial quarrels; many people are using terms without really knowing what it is. We need calm to understand what is surfacing in the head and heart of the people regardless of their political stripes. I dedicate this next song as a collective protest! "

And so Maria Gadú performs Axé Acapella, a song from her second album Mais Uma Página. And the lyrics could not be aligned more perfectly with the moment: “They stopped to repair? Do you hear that sound? Pulsing dry in the air… Deserves our attention!”

The protest sentence "Out Temer" sung in loud and clear by Gadú is a criticism of the Senate's decision approving the coup against the mandate of the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff and put her deputy Michel Temer as interim government.

Elsewhere Há, from the new album and Laranja from her first album; also gains a faster beat and new modulations. The lightness is taken up with the purity of Dona Cila, a tribute from Gadú to her grandmother, an opera singer who lost her voice after using a chemical that damaged her vocal cords.

"Of all the love I have / half was you who gave me / saving my soul from life / Smiling and making me”.

The show had already finished when the Brazilian crowd asked for Shimbalaiê...

And it was with this song, raising the flag of Brazil that Maria Gadú said goodbye to the Irish capital. Thrilling and rhythmic gig that remains in memory can only be relive with the DVD release in 2017...