Wally Kempton first set foot in The Tote in 1988. “I felt right at home there,” Kempton says of his initial introduction to the pub. Within a year, Kempton had become part of The Tote fabric, taking up the position of venue booker as well as taking over bass duties in The Meanies (Kempton also admits to having lived on The Tote premises, a possibly dubious honour shared by a number of Tote figures over the years). “They were very formative years for me, ’88-’93, my Tote tenure,” Kempton says. As venue booker, Kempton saw plenty of legendary gigs – though he laments the fact that Nirvana never had the opportunity of playing there (“If Nevermind hadn’t have gone so ballistic I don’t doubt it would’ve happened, same promoter as Mudhoney, Lemonheads and Fugazi,” Kempton says). Kempton nominates the gig of another band on the upswing of popularity as one of his favourite memories. “The night we had 496 payers for Ratcat and The Fauves and The Hybrid (Ross McLennan pre-Snout) were supporting,” Kempton recalls. “Mayhem. People everywhere, even standing in the window frames to get a look. That Ain’t Bad had just catapulted Ratcat to mega stardom for 15 minutes and we copped it. Bloody unreal,” Kempton says. “And seeing The Meanies’ first ever gig there before I’d joined the band was pretty up there with a fond memory too,” Kempton says.
Roberts, who booked bands such as The White Stripes, Hellacopters, Guitar Wolf and Dead Moon, describes the period from 1998 to 2000 as a ‘golden period’. “Most of them were touring Australia for the first time. It really helped strengthen the identity of the place,” Roberts says. “Before then The Tote had always been seen as a shitty venue. That period really built a scene as such and gave the venue international recognition.”
In 1981 Little Murders was arguably at the peak of its game, riding the crest of Melbourne’s mod revival wave. While The Tote was never a mod venue as such – to the extent that it had an initial sub-cultural focus, it was more the ducktails and western shirts of the rockabilly scene than the mop tops and zoot suits of the mods – Little Murders guitarist and singer Rob Griffiths says, “The Tote is style”.
“Over the years it’s developed its own cache,” Griffiths says. “It’s created its own history. It brings out the best in bands. It is legendary in the sense that London clubs like the Marquee, the 100 Club, and New York’s CBGBs are legendary,” Griffiths says. “Of course it’s a little grungy and all that but it’s a rock ‘n’ roll club. And you’ve gotta cherish that”.
Griffiths even remembers The Tote’s distant days serving meals with fondness. “Once or twice I dropped in there after work with some friends. We sat in the bistro where the band room is now. I remember they brought out this bowl of small potatoes covered in butter and herbs. Fantastic. Never had potatoes that good ever again,” Griffiths recalls fondly.
Recently a Little Murders fan showed Griffiths a setlist from one of the band’s 1981 gigs; when Little Murders was presented with the chance to play at The Tote as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations on the evening curated by Off The Hip Records, Griffiths decided to cast his eye over the 1981 set. “We thought it might be an idea to play those songs for one night,” Griffiths says. “There is one song on the list I don’t recognise though called Don’t Blame Me which I’m gonna have to dig around the old tapes for. But I think it was probably a song that changed titles. So yes, we’re gonna go all Modtastic and play the songs from when we were a young Mod band. All those Au Go Go singles like Things Will Be Different, She Lets Me Know and Who and Monkees covers too,” Griffiths says.
In January 1983 Le Hoodoo Gurus drove down from Sydney to play The Tote alongside the enigmatic Triffids. Gurus drummer James Baker has very hazy memories of the gig, due in part to a social game of cricket in the afternoon preceding the gig. “We were pretty drunk by the time we turned up to play,” Baker recalls. “I don’t know what we sounded like, but it probably wasn’t very good!” he laughs.
Surprisingly, Baker didn’t set foot on The Tote stage for another 23 years when The Painkillers, the duo Baker formed with fellow Perth musician Joe Bludge, ventured across the Nullaboor for the first time. Five years after The Painkillers’ 2006 debut at The Tote, the band will also feature on the bill for the Off The Hip evening. With Perth plagued by the same round of venue closures that’s hit many other cities, Baker was impressed at the rearguard action that arose when Bruce Milne announced the closure of The Tote in early 2009. “It was great that people got out and protested – that doesn’t happen over here. It just showed that people really cared about The Tote,” Baker says.
“On a good night there’s no other place like it for atmosphere,” Griffiths says, when asked to summarise The Tote’s enduring qualities. “I don’t remember having a bad night there. The crowd is always supportive. The talk is always friendly. The beer garden a great social mixer – the perfect rock ‘n’ roll hangout. You can judge a good venue by the fact it’s fine to go there alone and not be alone. The Tote’s like that,” Griffiths says. Kempton’s assessment is equally positive, though more pithy. “The Tote has chutzpah,” Kempton says.
