The Tote is one of the most important small live music venues in Australia, a grungy corner pub on Johnston Street that has been a launching pad and proving ground for Melbourne's rock, punk, and independent bands for decades. The front bar is all sticky carpet and band stickers; the band room out the back is where the noise happens, most nights of the week.
It is not pretty, and that is exactly the point — this is a working music pub, not a heritage display. The booking is heavy on local and touring guitar bands, with cheap beer and a beer garden for the gaps between sets. For anyone wanting to understand why Melbourne calls itself a live music city, a night at the Tote is the single best lesson.