CorMae - The Sunny Side Tour at Lucky Liquor Tavern

On the eve of Halloween, Lucky Liquor Tavern hosted a Halloween costume party in which CorMae performed among four other post-punk rock bands. While entry was free for those wearing costumes before 7 p.m, it was clear that these fans would have gotten inside no matter the cost to see this performance. 

CorMae is an Austin, Texas based garage or punk band that formed in February of 2004. Their sound is a sweet blend of early 2000s indie rock, late 1990s riot grrrl energy, and egg punk. Through their lyrics, they break down the hardships and highlights of love, mental health, daily life, and economic struggles with a cathartic, sarcastic edge. 

Currently, the band is on their Sunny Side Tour, traveling throughout the Western United States. Fortunately, Seattle was on the schedule for Halloweekend at Lucky Liquor Tavern.

Located in Tukwila, Washington, Lucky Liquor Tavern is a timeless, eccentric dive bar and the perfect spot for punk rock culture and live performances. It has an intimate, retro vibe, that was completely elevated by the costumes and energy that was brought by the punk assemblage.

I'd never been to a punk show before, so I was completely unaware of how the crowd would choose to express their love for the music. However, I quickly found out: with the first strum of a guitar string, I was thrown a generous 20 feet towards the back of the room. Mosh pits are part of the show experience in itself. Fans don’t just come to these intimate concerts to listen, they come to throw and be thrown. Now, it may seem this would ruin the night, however; it did quite the opposite. You could see the passion and outrage that people had buried finally leaving their bodies in an aggressively cleansing way. Was I scared? A little. But was I also in awe? Absolutely.

CorMae has an incredible way of connecting with the audience's energy to match each song they play. What I found most impactful and moving was how Amber Appleton, their vocalist, incorporated the band's sociopolitical views into her performance, using it as a way to get everyone even more energized. Appleton’s crowdwork was especially impressive. During one of their later songs, she got the entire room to crouch low to the floor during a slower portion of the song, only for everyone to immediately shoot back up and start dancing as the chorus kicked in.

CorMae clearly brings out a lot of deeply rooted emotion and electricity from their audiences and listeners. Whether that means releasing their pent-up adrenaline or expressing outrage toward current personal or societal issues, their performances create an environment where people can do so without hesitation or judgement. While I'm sure every one of their performances carries this same intensity, I think this particular show, taking place over Halloween weekend, made the experience even more charged with life. Everyone was in costume, nobody seemed to care what anyone else thought, and the entire room embraced their role in this vibrant and empowered community.

CorMae came together through a social media ad and a long-distance connection between Amber Appleton, originally from Bakersfield, California, and Aaron Gilligan, the band's drummer, from Austin, Texas. From there, CorMae flourished and eventually earned a nomination for Best Punk Band at the Austin Chronicle's Austin Music Awards. They have also shared stages with renowned acts such as of Montreal, Murder City Devils, and Pretty Girls Make Graves. The band even joined of Montreal on a national tour, which marked an exciting milestone in their musical career.

Additionally, CorMae recently released their debut full-length studio album, Everything is SO GREAT!. One of the highlights on the album is “Rut”, a song about feeling stuck in mediocrity and the monotony of living and working in modern America. The “Rut” music video is a perfectly accurate representation of the band's whimsy, hardcore and thrilling personality. The fast pace and hard rock sound of their music matches the urgency and angst behind the topics they write about.  

All being said and seen, go check out CorMae on Instagram (@coremae_band) and Spotify. Go listen to their new album, Everything is SO GREAT! and be sure to watch the “Rut” music video on Youtube. 

Very excited to see what they do next.