Make your way down to the CBD's late night hero, where you'll come to escape the cold, and leave a few hours later than you'd planned.
The Toff in Town is one of those things that Melbourne wouldn’t be complete without. Not only is it a bit of a cultural hub, known for being a breeding ground for our country’s best exports, but it’s only a couple of flights of stairs away from the hustle and bustle of Swanston Street and the rest of the city.
Like always, there’s plenty on this month, with even tastier cocktails and a whole manner of food to keep mind and body happy.
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviewsΒ here.
Jazz and Jaffles
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- Every Thursday
Every Thursday night, the Toff transforms into an approximation of your childhood kitchen (we’re generalising here), courtesy of Moor’s Music. Take this as an opportunity to regress, to fall back on when things were a little bit more exciting and fuzzier around the edges and embrace being a cheeky little kid again.
Here’s the genius part: every week, to accompany our little daycare exercise, the folks upstairs have gotten us a new jazz act, each bringing their own unique flavour to keep things interesting. What better way to enjoy some of the finest at the forefront of the genre than with tinned spaghetti on your face and milo cocktails in hand?
Jerry
- Thursday, August 8
- w/ The Dependables
- Get tickets here.
The eighth marks this month’s second iteration of Jazz and Jaffles, and tonight’s entertainment will be the revered Jerry! A group of masters pushing the boundaries in modern jazz fusion, a group who aren’t afraid to take risks and really lean into the weird and whacky, the heavy and dark, the dirty and stinking parts of the sonic palette afforded to them.
They aren’t a force to be trifled with, and only the chosen few can indulge and survive. Will that be you? We’ve got reason to believe so.
Fairtrade Narcotics
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- Friday, August 9
- w/ In Xira, The Spares & Public Leisure
- Get tickets here.
Melbourne maestros Fairtrade Narcotics are putting out an album! Where better to launch it than at the Toff?
The album itself revisits ideas explored by the band in a live context, bringing them all together in a succinct package, embracing the sounds of modern jazz, psychedelia and progressive rock. Supported by In Xira, The Spares and Public Leisure, this’ll be one to go down in the history books of groove for many years to come.
Small Town Alien
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- Saturday, August 10
- Get tickets here.
The bandβs motto is βno genre is safeβ which rings true for these Sonic conquistadors. Though they’ve dubbed themselves as a “comedy rock” act, it’s evident this is a farce when faced with the scale of destruction left in the wake of these cats.
Invading into the territories of funk, jazz, hip-hop and country, it looks like we’ve got a good old-fashioned takeover, complete with questionable moral standings and an unreadable motive. There won’t be anyone to stop them either, so we may just have to sit back and eat popcorn as they launch their album Lonely New Year’s Eve on the 10th at the Toff. Yeowch!
NOW.HERE.THIS
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- Every Tuesday
One of the highlights of the Toff roster, Now.Here.This. is easily one of the most valuable pieces of the music scene in Melbourne. The collective strives to build a community driven by passion and love for the music, aiming to capture the spectacle of improvised jazz with musicians from all walks of life, whether they be local or from all corners of the globe.
Week after week, punters line up along Swanston Street, each as eager as the last. The air is electric, and each band member takes to the stage, figures revered like professional fighters, and the display that follows can only be described as a sport. Truly hair-raising stuff.
Olive Yaah
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- Thursday, August 15
- w/ DJ Julian Joseph
- Get tickets here.
The next instalment of Jazz and Jaffles will be facilitated by the great Olive Yaah. This act will take us on a journey through the obscure, the conceptual, through a place where time doesn’t exist, nor does space itself.
A place where it all comes together a little bit. Olive’s music explores ambient, technicolour soundscapes reminiscent of a dream, or an old videogame, or a damaged videotape. So turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.
SLICK
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- Saturday, August 17
- Get tickets here.
Some things are better left unsaid and instead experienced for the self. We won’t give you absolutely nothing though, so listen closely to this: the 17th. Hot, sensual, slick, R&B under the red sultry light, a chance to get things going before spring comes around.
Hosted by Stone Motherless Cold, we wish you all the best.
Marco Micro (Julien Wilson)
- Thursday, August 22
- Buy tickets here.
For yet another instalment of Jazz and Jaffles, we have Marco Micro, the Pseudonym of afro-jazz maestro Julien Wilson. An alumnus of Now.Here.This, Julien comes from a 30 year pedigree in Jazz sax and all things music. Safe to assume this foray into the sounds of afro-jazz will be a momentous one, and something you’ll kick yourself for missing.
RIFF RAFF
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- Saturday, August 24
- w/ Hot Machine + Rock DJs
- Get tickets here.
This band will transport you back to a sweaty club from the 70s, minus the smoking indoors and most of the casual sexism. RIFF RAFF reminisces on times when Bon Scott was still up and walking around, magnificent chest hair and hall.
Prepare to have your socks rocked off and your ear drums pushed to the very edge of safety as they play only the greatest hits by AC/DC. Supported by the equally as rambunctious Hot Machine, put on the skinniest jeans you can find and leave the ephedrine addiction at home.
Uncomfortable Science
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- Thursday, August 29
- w/ DJ Jazz is Dead
- Get tickets here.
This act is somewhat of a specialty, in that they’re one of the most impressive bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing with my own eyes. Here’s the brief: take some of the best players in the city, burn all their music books, place them all in one room and introduce a crazed lunatic with a whiteboard and marker.
What’s the last guy for you may ask? Well, they decide what the band plays, writing down chord progressions and making changes on the fly. This is one of those rare opportunities to see what happens when players that would make Mingus blush have the rug pulled out from under them. It might sound like a gimmick, but we promise there’s really nothing like this out there.
Nocturna β Vogue Night
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- Saturday, August 31
- w/ Bebecito, Soju Gang, Olita b2b Zalina and Haus of Ralph
- Get tickets here.
Get ready to shimmy those winter blues away, because the first-ever Vogue Night – Nocturna is about to shake up the Toff. With categories including Twerk: Baile Funk, Surprise Cat and Realness, expect moves that’ll have you gagged. Join in on the dancefloor if you’re brave enough.
The music lineup is no joke, with Melb faves like Soju Gang, Haus of Ralph and more spinning hard-hitting tracks til late late. It’s a night curated by the baddies, for the baddies. Don’t miss it.
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