As The Tote’s 30th anniversary celebrations move into their final week, we ask former and current staff, bookers and owners what makes the place so special. Photos by ROBERT CARBONE and KRISTY MILLIKEN.

The 20,000-strong SLAM Rally was the culmination of a raft of issues – from draconian Liquor Licensing regulations to the coupling of live music and alcohol-related violence – but at the heart of it was always a shabby pub on the corner of Wellington and Johnston Streets in Collingwood.

Since the McVeen family brought live music to the pub in 1981, The Tote has arguably been the epicentre of rock’n’roll in Melbourne. It's become a "second lounge room" for the likes of Magic Dirt, Cosmic Psychos, The Meanies, Mach Pelican and The Drones, as well as hosted international acts such as The White Stripes, Fugazi, Soundtrack of Our Lives and Mudhoney. But what drives thousands of apathetic Melburnians into the streets to protest its closure when other venues are left to go quietly into the night? To mark its 30th birthday, we ask alumni and current staff.

Bruce Milne

Former owner

What's your fist Tote memory?
Seeing The Crackajacks play there in late ’81.

How did you come to work there?
Richie Ramone conned me into investing in the business with him.

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
After the Tote closed last year some blokes broke into the building through the roof above the stage. As they looked around, they saw the security cameras and instead of covering their faces they took turns to climb up and check if the cameras were on. They were, and I, as well as the local cops, have great footage of the numbskulls’ faces.

Also, when the beer lines leak, huge red worms grow on the cellar floor. They are, I suspect, a unique Tote species. Oligochaetologists take note!

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
Sadness.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
No, the spirits I saw were in bottles.

Why's it so special?
Because of the people – musicians and music fans, including all the staff.

Andy Portokallis

Co-owner

What's your fist Tote memory?
1985. Live bands. People everywhere, upstairs and downstairs. Crazy young band from the country called "Carrot Farmers"? Front bar till close. Very, very vague.

How did you come to work there?
My partners [Jon Perring and Sam Crupi] and I re-established The Tote after its demise. With Bruce and James Milne’s blessings we approached the landlords and brokered a deal to get the Tote back to doing what it has done for now 30 years.

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
When Bruce Milne was talking to the few thousand people in Wellington Street on the last day, out of the office window, I was holding a speaker on the ledge of the window, so people could hear, it was a very sad occasion, I remember feeling a bit weird and accidentally nearly let go of the speaker. I'm sure I would have killed a couple of the punters listening outside, like a sketch from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Too many countless amazing gigs passed through my head at that moment.

When we took over the Tote, the place was a physical mess: no proper floor behind the bar; on the punters side of the bar, the floor was starting to collapse without the sticky carpet holding everything together; the entry to the band room almost collapsed under its own weight; and the place was rotted with old beer. We had to replace all the floors from the entrance to the main stage including the mosh pit. We also rebuilt the bar, remodelled it inside to function better, but kept the original bar top and all the stuff on the back walls, we changed/fixed heaps, but didn't change the look or feel.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
I helped behind the bar for a bit on the Sunday. I helped organise barrels of booze for the last days (we also have three other live music venues, Bar Open, Pony and Yah Yah's). I went to all the last days events after the announcement from Bruce Milne that he was closing up shop. The last song [‘My Pal’ by GOD] from The Drones and Joel Silbersher will be etched in my memory for years to come.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
No, but I’d really like to hang out at the bar for a few beers with the ghost and get their views on life, death and rock’n’roll.

Why's it so special?
Because it’s hardly ever changed, it has stayed true to its beginnings, showing live (mostly original) music from old and new bands. There is something at The Tote for everyone.

Wally Kempton

Former booker

What's your fist Tote memory?
A hot summer night, GOD single launch with Bored! and Asylum.

How did you come to work there?
I was a booker for a company called Eve Promotions and The Tote was one of the venues we regularly held gigs. Eve folded and at the same time The Tote full=time booker left so I got offered the job.

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
I'd rather not.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
I was very drunk. There was a helluva lotta love in the room. A large tinge of sadness.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
Nope.

Why's it so special?
It's my second lounge room.

Luke Roberts

Former booker

What's your fist Tote memory?
Going to see the Falling Joys and the Glory Box in 1990. A few weeks after that I saw Ratcat and the pub was heaving. I went to a bunch of Spiderbait and Meanies gig too. I found it somewhat intimidating initially, but at the same time you could find your own space somewhere in the pub. Around this time I would go see local bands two to five times a week, every week. I used to drive an old purple Torana all over town and go to gigs, so I was at every venue in town at some stage. The Tote was one of those pubs, but in hindsight bigger shows at venues like the Old Greek Theatre and the old Prince of Wales had more impact on me. Those places were full of weird people.

How did you come to work there?
In 1995 I booked Wednesday nights at the GB in Richmond, an interesting time for those involved. I would hang around the office all week with the GB's booker Jeff Halls and watch a wild venue spin around us. Those Wednesday nights were reasonably successful, I made $50 a week and got drunk for free. The Soccio family had bought the Tote off the McVeans around this time. They had a background with the Station Hotel in Prahran, so they didn't quite comprehend the alternative music scene.

John Soccio used to come down to the GB most weeks and check out the bands. The GB closed, I travelled to Indonesia for five months and when I got back I found a day job and enrolled part time in uni. I used to book some Melbourne shows for Asteroid B612 and Brother Brick from Sydney and “manage” The Martians, a band that split into Rocket Science and The Sailors. In ’96 I booked a few gigs at the Tote, most had a decent crowds and money was spent on drinks at the bar. Eventually John asked me to book the bands. I hesitated. [The Sailors’] Viktor and Hector encouraged me to do it. So that's what I did. I quit going to uni and booked bands at the Tote. That was all 1996-1996. What a career move!

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
Right when I started "working" full-time at the Tote, Jeff Halls was booking a tour for Faxed Head, an arty metal project I recall involved Trey [Spruance] from Mr Bungle and a bunch of hairy American dudes who dressed up with boxes on their heads and wheelchairs as props. Simultaneously, Jeff was also touring The Damned. Faxed Head played a Tuesday arvo “Rock Against Work” gig, the pub was fairly busy, everyone was having a fun time. Half of the Damned were at the show cause they'd just flown into the country. At one point I walked into the toilet and busted Captain Sensible trying to knock the bottle top off Crownies that he'd smuggled in from the bottle shop down the road. That was impressive.

Another good one was Andre Williams with a bottle of Baccardi in one hand try tell me convincingly he was headed back to top of the charts after a sold out show. Handsome Dick Manitoba [The Dictators] wandered upstairs into the office one Sunday afternoon, he was a nice bloke.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
Drunken ramblings. Big crowds. Seeing heaps of people I hadn't seen at the Tote for years. I was probably pretty annoying I reckon. I did manage to get my preserved Cobra wine that I'd smuggled through customs from Vietnam back from its long-term loan to the Cobra Bar.

Have you ever experienced The Tote ghost?
Nup.

Why's it so special?
Gigs, beer, bands, BBQ, pool table, juke box, beer garden, staff and punters. And most significantly, the memories.

Amanda Palmer

Current booker

What's your first Tote memory?
My first Tote memory doesn’t really make for an exciting answer, but literally, my earliest memories are sitting at the front bar on dollar pots nights having laughs with the bar staff like Damo and Lance, who were working there at the time.

How did you come to work there?
I’ve been coming to the Tote for about 13 years to see shows so I had a pretty good understanding of the place. I’ve had lots of various music-related jobs including working at Shock and managing various bands throughout that time. I’d been going to gigs from the moment I’ve lived in Melbourne and always have been particularly into the kinds of bands that play the Tote. When Janelle [Johnstone, previous Tote booker] was ready to leave, I got a call and was asked to come in for a chat. That was just under four years ago now.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
I’ll never be able to answer this in a paragraph. It was frantic. It was obviously a really difficult time because we were all losing The Tote, and the staff, their jobs. Everyone wanted to stop you and tell you their personal attachment to The Tote which added to the feeling of “we’re losing a special place”. We were all running on little sleep and it did get emotional. I’m glad we decided to keep the bands on we already had booked over that weekend. The young metal bands we had on the Sunday were stoked – they’d never played in front of that many people before.

The “Last Drinks” gig wasn’t a choice – it had to be done – I refused to think the place was just going to be locked and walked away from without a proper sendoff. It was a lot of work. We organised a mini-festival in 72 hours. I remember people reaching out and asking how they could help, all of the bands that we called on were so amazing to work with over those few days, everyone was patient and lovely. It was truly amazing to see RRR, PBS and 3CR sync their stations to simultaneously broadcast the event – that had never happened before and was organized in about three days. I don’t think I’ll ever understand just how huge a task that was. The ticket sales burst The Corner’s server for the first time, I believe. We expected it to be morgue like, but it was more of a celebration (for punters). The last drinks gig was one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen, but it was definitely bittersweet at the time.

“The Last Drinks” and The Tote’s closing marked a turn around in raising consciousness of Melbourne’s music culture so in a way, it was important that it happened. We’re spoilt for choice musically in Melbourne. It’s important that punters don’t become apathetic or take that for granted.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
No, and I even slept upstairs the night before the “Last Drinks” gig. I’ve seen the cellar – I don’t think even a ghost would wanna live down there. It’s disgusting!

Why's it so special?
I can’t give you a blanket answer to this, but for me it’s special because it’s been a massive influence on my life. I have literally had the best and the worst times (the closing) of my life at The Tote. It’s still one of my favourite places in Melbourne to see a gig at and still fosters a community in a unique way. Things just seem to happen at The Tote that wouldn’t anywhere else!

Thomy Batpiss

Bar manager

What's your fist Tote memory?
My first Tote memory isn’t too exciting. I came here for the first time to meet up with an old friend for a beer in about 2006. We didn’t end up seeing any bands, we just sat at the bar all night. I don’t remember leaving.

How did you come to work there?
I was on tour with my band Tanks in 2009 and ran into a bloke by the name of Tom Baker when we were in Canberra. We went to the same school together and were from the same shithole of a town, Goulburn in NSW. We hadn’t seen each other for about 10 years and he told me he worked at the Tote. Three weeks later I was working right beside him. Stoked!

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
Front bar is chockers, there’s one really annoying fucker pissing everyone off, the crowd turns and forms a tunnel leading straight for the front door singing, “FAAARK OFF YA CAAARNT!!” Old mate hangs his head in shame and heads for the front door. Brilliant.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
Lots of drinking, lots of crying, lots of drinking. Oh, and lots of fucking amazing bands and people.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
Unfortunately I have never come across ye ol’ Tote ghost.

Why's it so special?
Well, anywhere you spend more time than your own home has gotta be pretty bloody special. Best job ever.

Snoop

Manager

What's your fist Tote memory?
I came here to watch some mates play on a Wednesday night back in 1999, I think. The bands were playing their first ever Tote gig: The Specimens, Cockfight Shootout and Fort Mary.

How did you come to work there?
After playing at The Tote for a few years, it was just a happy coincidence that just as I finished a job, there was some work available at The Tote. I jumped at the chance. Who wouldn’t want to work at The Tote?

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
Before we reopened, we had to pull the floors up through a lot of the building, and below the bar we found some bones. These bones were either from a six-foot rodent (Stabs reference) or they were human. I guess we will never know.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
Having more people inside for the lock-in after we closed than we did while we were still open.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
Not so far, but between the stories and the strange sounds late at night, I definitely believe she is there.

Why's it so special?
The Tote is a special place to so many people – whether it be where you played your first gig, where you first threw up and continued drinking, or where you picked up last night like a serious Joe Kokomo. There is a feeling of community that is rare to find and it’s the punters that feed that, we just give out the necessary tools to do the job being booze and good times. That, and the fact that Therese works here. Who doesn’t love Therese?

Bek Duke

Self-described door bitch

What's your fist Tote memory?
I was about 16 or 17 and snuck in to see a gig. Probably The Meanies. Some of the people I met there around that time are still going to the Tote, sitting in the front bar or down the front watching the bands.

How did you come to work there?
By sheer accident! I’d worked the door at a couple of other venues for years so someone must have been foolish enough to ask me to do some door shifts. I work full-time elsewhere but the Tote is a fun place to work a couple of nights a week.

Tell us a story we may not have heard.
Sorry. What happens at the Tote lock-in, stays at the Tote lock-in.

What are your recollections of The Tote's "last drinks"?
Frantically running around on the day, spirits buoyed by seeing some of our favourite bands play one last hurrah, but tempered with an overwhelming sadness from staff and punters that one of our favourite places was closing. There was a sense of disbelief – how could this really be happening? The staff from The Arthouse, I think it was, dropped off a huge care package of muffins for the overworked bar staff. We might have all had a little cry out the back. That small gesture was just indicative of the sense of community that people who run and go to small venues in Melbourne have.

Did you ever experience The Tote ghost?
If their name’s not on the list, they’ll have to pay like everyone else.

Why's it so special?
I’ve never once felt unsafe or unwelcome there, even as a lone female teenager going there for gigs. Some of my favourite gig-going memories are from the Tote – there’s no hang-ups, no dress code, you can see a band of any genre on their first gig or their thousandth. It sounds hokey, but it’s home. And the bar staff are hot. Be nice to them.

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The Tote’s 30th anniversary celebrations continue this weekend with performances by Area 7 (tonight), Gareth Liddiard (Saturday) and Dan Sultan (Sunday). Tickets and more information here.