Despite a Melbourne Cup holiday for many Melburnians a few days later, the week has been a fairly wet and miserable one adding another seven days onto what feels like the longest winter/ not-spring-or-summer for locals in some time.
Though if there was anyone to switch the mood up once inside out of the rain, our money would be on Alex Lahey. And, little did we know what was to come at The Corner Hotel (27 October), this could not have been more true.The local artist hasn't played a lot since COVID restrictions lifted and saw gigs come back, and this stop is part of her first headline tour of the country since 2019, this time on the back of new single 'Congratulations', which follows studio albums 'The Best Of Luck Club' in 2019 and 2017's hook-laden guitar-pop debut, 'I Love You Like Brother'.
With only 'Congratulations' out, predictably much of the set came from older material – Lahey and full band, dressed to the nines in white shirts and dinner jackets, kicked off with 'Love You Like A Brother', 'Am I Doing It Right?' and 'I Don't Get Invited To Parties Anymore', before giving the crowd just one of the treats of the night, in 2016's early fan favourite, 'Wes Anderson'.
Lahey mentioned several times that we were in for a big night, and mentioned the band tried to dress like a wedding band but ended up looking more like parts of an orchestra.
But even then it took the charismatic singer to spell it out – that there was in fact a wedding about to take place and we were all invited – for The Corner audience's collective penny to drop.
It was around this time, mid-set, that everyone in the room turned to the smaller side stage to witness the nuptials of brides Alice and Melissa, big Lahey fans, who reportedly got in touch with her after the singer pondered how perfectly the 'Congratulations' tour would be for this sort of side hustle.
It was a wholesome, special few moments – even the bar staff shed a few tears over the proceedings – with Lahey and co. then standing in as the wedding band, covering Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' and a wonderfully punk-rock take on Faith Hill's 'This Kiss', before the show within the show ended and the set resumed.
The happy couple hit the stage to dance to 'Congratulations', and Lahey soon finished up on "last song", 'Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself'.
Of course an encore was always on the cards, with two of her biggest songs still to come. Fittingly, 'Every Day's The Weekend' transitioned perfectly into its after-the-party flipside, 'I Haven't Been Taking Care Of Myself', in which anxiety and regret are bundled up in such a joyous, catchy anthem that it actually becomes an uplifting celebration despite the lyrics.
Lahey said it might be her best gig ever, and given what managed to take place in just over an hour of stage time, it didn't sound like hyperbole.
And we didn't even mention the incredible sax solo she offered near the end, since the night offered so many standout moments it was hard to take them all in.
