That is all true. I guess I love it because the sound is so good, the best of any small venue I've been to, and I've seen a lot of great giga there, but yeah, sometimes even I can't see properly, and I'm six-two. And that motherfucking pillar. Goddamn.
At any rate, I'll be distraught if it disappears.
As far as sound for the crowd goes, yeah, the Corner's generally up there as one of the better venues in the city. I was quite surprised to learn that for performers it can sometimes be a bit of a mess - I guess the irregular shape of the stage really does not help. By comparison, The Toff has a good rep for sound on stage, in contrast to the fact that it's one of the more rubbish venues for sound if you have the misfortune to love a band and want to be in the first few rows.
As far as the larger live music clubs in the city go, i.e. those over about 500 capacity, I'd rank them as follows:
1. Billboard the Venue (great sightlines, sound's good no matter where you are, well air-conditioned - it looks like one of the sleaziest places ever in nightclub mode though, and the drinks are a monumental rort, so it's worth it for bands and bands alone)
2. Corner Hotel (as above; lots of nostalgia for me but those terrible sightlines are a big mark against it)
3. Gershwin Room, The Espy (lovely, lovely room, very good atmosphere, but unforgiveably deep; I don't know how anybody sees anything from the bar)
4. The Hi-Fi (how could a venue with great sound and great sightlines still work out to have absolutely NO ATMOSPHERE AT ALL?!)
100. Prince Bandroom (eww)
Here is a terrific article on The Butterfly Club that the same colleague wrote -
Flight of the Butterfly Club | Port Phillip Review Local
Small venues are the lifeblood of the music and comedy scenes that Melbourne's known for.
Thank god.