REVIEW: The Corner live at The Empire

My main focus of the evening, however, was the return gig of The Corner. A Thursday night at the Empire for the band has been on the cards since their meet up with the hugely influential blues guitarist Rab McCullough a few months previous. In fact, it was a landmark gig for the band in the sense that it was The Corner’s first ever gig, since their name-change from Rainbow Corner which they had on their first album Songs About Everything. This aesthetic change had not yet permeated to the announcer, as he introduced local band Rainbow Corner onto the stage. They begin their set with new track If You Could See Me Now, to be released on a forthcoming EP. It remains true to their classic-rock style, melodic bass twists coupled with hazy and intricate guitar solos from Martin Connolly and Lee Crane respectively. It though, is a slight development for the band; the song shifts tone when drummer Mark Toman takes grip of the song in a style which is reminiscent of desert-rock (a slight nod to the Arctic Monkeys of Humbug) before it’s eventual crescendo. The crowd are further indulged with new track Walk Away, lead singer John/Buck Rogers providing a booming and imposing chorus, “You don’t have to walk away,” , and the crowd’s indulgement is reciprocated by Lee Crane as his solo ends with a string of airy harmonics; twists such as these are small and not noticed by some, but in effect give the band and their songs a new, interesting dimension.

Followers of this band will have heard their cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy before. Not often played by the band live (in my own experience, I had not heard the band play it since their album-launch night in the summer of 2009), it is nearly not played again as John Rogers has lent his capo to what I believe was another band; it is eventually cleared up though and The Corner produce one of their stand-out tracks of the evening. They fuse hip-hop into rock with ease, skill and verve and all band members appear in their comfort zone.

The short set is chorused with a crispness and quality reaching far beyond what would be expected of a band only one album deep. The adept and proficient instrumentation and vocalisation closes in on itself and culminates in the set closer, Jesus for Sale; introduced with a jokey-quip which you will have to see the band to hear. This extended track is joyous and exuberant, and is where the band flourish. Lead guitarist Lee Crane’s fingers are impossible to track as he hazily ploughs through the fret-board, sporting a grin which is shared by the entire band. And this is the cusp of The Corner’s set – they appear to thoroughly enjoy performing for their crowd, and they do it extremely well.