Despite being fire-bombed, shut down for being high risk, and closed for two years during the pandemic, The Tote is celebrating its 40th anniversary in wild style in 2022.
“The Tote’s 40 year cultural legacy is the history of Australian contemporary music of which, we are immensely proud of. It’s a miracle the Tote endures considering being fire-bombed, shut down by the State Government in 2010 for live music being “High Risk”, the pandemic lock-downs, and the odd plumbing disaster. We remain today committed to our core value of staging original contemporary Australian live music by celebrating the 40 plus years with hundreds of truly awesome gigs of old school and emerging Australian rock’n’roll bands,” Tote owner Jon Perring said.
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A cornerstone of live music in Melbourne, The Tote passed 40 years as a live music venue in 2021 and now with eased restrictions, is celebrating the milestone in grand fashion over the next 12 months.
They’re in the midst of hosting 12 featured Tote legends gigs, featuring the likes of The Meanies, Holy Serpent, Kim Salmon & The Surrealists, The Slingers, Warped, The Grinding Eyes, a celebration of the life of Spencer P. Jones, Desert Highways Festival and more. They’ll also be handing over the programming reigns to a special series of guest curators, including Bruce Milne, Wally Meanie, Penny Ikinger and Kasumuen Records.
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The Tote will also host three outside concerts in their stunning surrounds of the Abbotsford Convent, they’ll release a book of the 40-year history of live music at The Tote, there’ll be a limited-edition Tote Lager by Brick Lane Brewing, and a ‘Tote School’ – a series of public workshops on aspects of live music practice.
In final exciting news, The Tote will be launching Tote TV, a free live streaming channel where you can watch sold-out gigs on The Tote’s main stage. They’ll record the best selection of these gigs for a vinyl LP release to document The Tote’s 40th Anniversary: ‘Live at The Tote’.
The Tote is open from Wednesday to Sunday, located on the corner of Johnston Street and Wellington Street in Collingwood.
