Tuesday,
19th January 2010
Played 1,293 time(s).
Last song at The Tote.
The drones with Joel Silbersher on vocals singing My Pal by Joel’s band GOD.
Fucking amazing. Nuff said.
Update: Download here.
Friday,
7th May 2010
ACS Laboratories senior consultant Andrew Higgins, analysing a piece of The Tote’s famed sticky carpet:
Ethanol was found to be present but as the bag the sample was received in was open, we can assume the original higher levels have dissipated. Acetaldehyde, acetone, butanal and pentanal was found, which are known constituents of passive smoking. The banning of smoking from the venue may have reduced these over time.
Acetic acid, propanoic acid and butyric acid were found, which are constituents of sweat and BO. These are the same chemicals which give Werribee its rich and fruity odour. This would have, along with the chemicals above, given the venue its ‘individual fragrance’. Benzeneethanol is a disinfectant, which was probably used during cleaning. The other chemicals are part of the glues and backing of the carpet … No illegal narcotics or drugs were found to be present; this indicates patrons were very careful not to waste any.
Thursday,
10th June 2010
I’ve said my goodbyes. I really don’t expect The Tote to reopen and be the same as it was. I don’t really know what I was expecting — perhaps it would become some kind of rock ‘n’ roll disco, or maybe a quiet local’s pub. Hell, it could’ve been knocked down to make way for a car park, a Red Rooster, or medium-density housing.
So why aren’t I jumping for joy on the eve of the venue’s reopening?
I’m worried about the new owners, Seventh Tipple. For many years they’ve operated Pony in the CBD, which has served as the destination for trendy young things looking to get smashed and make out with strangers since the days I counted myself as young and lucky enough to be allowed in.
They also operate Bar Open, a long-lived venue on Brunswick Street which has a history of getting bohemian types smashed since the long gone days when hippies actually lived in the area. It also provides the perfect venue for making out with strangers thanks to its many dark corners.
Recently Seventh Tipple have opened Yah Yah’s in Collingwood which is fast becoming a noted destination for trendy folks in their late twenties and early thirties for getting smashed and making out with strangers.
Notice a pattern?
Hopefully I’m wrong. Hopefully it’s just me who sees this pattern and that my observations of Seventh Tipple venues aren’t typical. But somehow I doubt it.
The Tote reopens today to a selection of industry folks, a sharp contrast to the the way it closed a few months ago.
Back then, only staff, musicians playing on the night and a couple of hundred punters were allowed in for a day of ear-shattering, debaucherous rock ‘n’ fucking roll. The punters allowed in were the ones lucky enough to snaffle tickets in a half hour period from a website which, under immense load, was rendered almost useless. I would’ve given a lot to be there, but unfortunately couldn’t get a ticket.
Now, Seventh Tipple have invited the Age in for an exclusive first look at The Tote 2.0, and tonight’s launch will be exclusively attended by those in the entertainment industry. The cynic in me imagines Angela Bishop and Richard Wilkins interviewing Molly Meldrum on the red carpet leading into the band room out back.
As I said, I hope I’m wrong. Seventh Tipple deserve a lot of credit for re-hiring a lot of the original staff and trying to stay true to the venue’s much-loved history.
All I’m saying is that I’m not getting my hopes up.
Permanent link to The Tote’s Reopening, but Will It Be the Same?
By day, he works for 99designs as a web developer and writer. By night, he plays bass guitar in Look Who's Toxic. There are plenty of other things he should be doing, but most of the time he's dreaming of what he'll do when he grows up while watching bad Star Trek spin-offs.
