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The Tote is a grimy pub in a grimy inner-Melbourne suburb. It’s dark and smoky, and the carpets are definitely sticky. How appropriate then, that it is the focal point of Melbourne’s vibrant rock scene which, in case you missed all the hoo-ha, is the best in the world. Just in case you forget this fact, they’ve plastered the walls with signed and mounted posters from some of the best bands of the eighties and nineties - from the Exploding White Mice to the Fireballs.

On this particular night, I was at The Tote to see The Onyas‘ last show for the forseeable future, with the drummer touring with The Casanovas and the other members busy playing with The Egos and running Dropkick records. Also playing were former Revelators guitarist and now one-man band John Schooley from Texas, local act the Lords of Gravity, and Man’s Ruin Burlesque troupe, who were performing between sets.

The Lords of Gravity played a pleasing set of Australian-influenced garage-flavoured retro rock. Note that their photo (above) perfectly captures the feel of The Tote, all other photos were taken with flash so they end up looking far too clean and well-lit. For more authentic experience, read the rest of this entry while wearing dark glasses and blow some cigarette smoke towards your monitor.

John Schooley played a foot-stompingly good set, and his clean-cut good looks made him popular with the ladies…

Burlesque is taking off (sorry) in Melbourne right now (or at least that’s the story that’s going round at the moment) with the Town Bikes, the Voodoo Trash Dolls and Man’s Ruin Burlesque (guys, build a website, quick) doing shows frequently. Some unscrupulous promoters have even been promoting events as a “burlesque extravaganza” and then delivering a strip-show instead. It’s like getting Linda Lovelace when you were really hoping for Betty Page.

Man’s Ruin performed two 3-minute acts. Their show was more cute than sexy; the sort of thing you could take your mother to…if you were the sort of person who goes to pubs with your mum.

The last time I saw the Onyas was an intimate show at the Town Hall Hotel…perhaps a little too intimate; there was no stage and the audience was so densly packed that they were practically standing nose to nose with the band. If you wanted a beer, you had to squeeze between the band members and their mike stands to get to the bar, and I’m sure that the portion of the crowd directly in front of Macka had an “oh fuck” moment when his shirt came off and they realised that they were just a little too close to his bare sweaty flesh.

They were playing to a full house again, but this time the band/audience barrier was comfortably maintained by stage and foldbacks; which was good because, sure enough, the shirt came off again before the first song. The Onyas played their usual chaotic and messy set (which is what everyone was there to see), covering the favourites from Get Shitfaced with The Onyas, Six!, and Heterospective.

They finished the night with an unrehearsed jam with Schooley. It went on just a little too long, and I got the impression that The Onyas were waiting for him to hurry up and finish so that they could get to the bar.

I’ll be looking forward to their next show…whenever that happens.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 22nd, 2005 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Music, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.