Microwave + Free Throw | The Corner Hotel
Ah, ye old reliable Corner Hotel. The dark, damp band room never fails to lure me in, as I fight the beer demons at the back corner bar (Spoiler, it’s a losing battle everytime). VB can already in hand, I snatch up merch that reads “Meowcrowave” and squint my eyes as I search the room for my beautiful mosh lover - Hanna. This is the first gig we’re at together, despite having identical taste in music, and as I almost lost hope in finding her without juggling my phone and booze, I was crushed in a hug from behind. We squeal, meow, and jump up and down in shared elation for the night ahead of us.
Microwave / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Last time I found myself at The Corner was for Crywank, where I spent most of the set in a drunken haze of tears and melancholic adoration, and before that was when Microwave opened for Mom Jeans. Upon reflecting on this, I’ve realised that every gig I’ve been to here I have cried, and I don’t plan on letting that streak end tonight. As if it was divine timing, as Hanna and I parted from the bar with fresh cans, Bukowski took to the stage.
Bukowski’s set made my heart sing, with glimmering guitar riffs and upbeat tempo’s intertwining with gut wrenching lyrics, the polarisation in their music spoke to me. I was planning on conserving my energy for Free Throw, but as the four piece slammed into their track “One Hundred Seconds”, a phantom grabbed me by the arm and soon I was twisting and contorting with a small sea of other bodies. High energy, cheeky charm and instant neck snapping beats, Bukowski are one to keep your eye on.
Garage Sale are a fantastic local band, I’ve had the honour of seeing them perform three times now. Each time is better than the last, and as their dreamy, gloomy whirring fills the room, every head is immediately swaying along. In my heart and household, “Sink In Yr Ship” has gone platinum, and each time I hear it live, it takes me back to the first time I fell in love with them. I can never get enough, nor do I ever want their sets to end. Whispy, bittersweet hums of “Can’t you see, I’m doing me. Can’t you tell, I’m doing well,” twist in rich layers of whirring guitars and layered harmonies. They played “Punching Up”, a song off of their upcoming album “Any Day Now”, which as of writing this review is less than two weeks from releasing. Truely, from the bottom of my heart, one of the best bands out in Naarm right now, so do yourself a favour and catch them next time they play.
Despite the album “Those Days Are Gone” remaining in my top ten list of all time for nearly a decade now, I’ve never been able to catch them live. This truly felt like a baptism of sorts for me, as the amps began to shake with the opening chords for “Such Luck”, my nerves shook too. Every second of it was all I could have hoped for - they played “Tongue Tied” and I cried, the crowd pressured lead singer, Cory Castro, into doing a shoey, and the setlist had me jumping at any given moment, only resting in the brief crossover between songs.
Free Throw / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
This set made me fall in love with them all over again, the sincerity in every note had my heart wrenching like it was my first time listening to them again. I managed to drag all my friends into the centre of the crowd for the band's final song, “Two Beers In” (or what I like to consider, the anthem of my adolescence), and of course it did not disappoint. Castro stood away from the mic to let the crowd scream “Fuck everything about this” back at him, and he was grinning ear to ear. It felt as though I had only blinked, and the band was heading off the stage, waving goodbye. Like a dog from the pound, I tucked my tail between my legs and cowered back to the bar, trembling with excitement for the final act.
And then, as God himself intended, the lights dimmed and Microwave took to the stage. I could’ve sworn I was so excited that my heart was leaping out of my throat and I couldn’t help but bound my way through the crowd, right into the heart of it. “Stovall” was the first track they played, that final verse still stung as it reverberated around me. Surprisingly there was only a small group of us jumping around together, screaming the lyrics in each other's faces and laughing as we all fell over and helped one another up. One guy even lended me a hand during "Circling The Drain”, lifting me up and propping me half on his shoulder so I could point at lead singer Nathan Hardy and sing the lyrics right back at him. Quite frankly it healed something inside of me that is even making me giddy just typing this out, the small smirk that played on his face as he watched an entirely drunk, curly haired freak scream at him with no voice.
Microwave / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell
Jumping from older hits like “Leather Daddy” and “Trash Stains”, and slowing it down for my personal favourite “Whimper”, they managed to weave in a few songs from each of their records. Hanna wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I leaned back into her, swaying as we sang along to “Vomit”, the final breakdown of gut punching slamming guitars made my eyes prickle and throat close over, and the tears once again fell as “But Not Often,” closed out the night. Feeling a confusing mix of elation, devastation and dizzy due to the ringing in my ears, I pranced out of The Corner Hotel, not even phased by the cold.
Microwave / Photo Credit: Tristan Skell