Melbournians are tonight saying farewell to one of our iconic music venues,
The Tote in Collingwood. Current owner Bruce Milne is unable to pay new liquor-licensing fees and has been forced to close the venue.
Crikey today has reported a potential rising from the ashes for the venue but for tonight, there is no tomorrow for
The Tote.
In a fitting farewell a long list of bands, most of them regulars at the venue, are playing a final super-gig tonight which is being simulcast live on community radio stations Triple R, PBS and 3CR. Not only is this an unprecedented occurrence for the three stations but the hard work and organisation that would have had to take place to get the operation underway at such short notice proves the immense collaborative abilities of all those involved.
Triple R announcer Richard Watts asking patrons and workers at The Tote what the venue meant to them was powerful stuff. As breakfast host Fee B Squared tweeted when a former self-proclaimed "door bitch" broke down;
Looking at these two situations, one a begrudging lending of a hand (involving a child's life no less), and the other a peaceful coming together of like-minded people with equal intent - you can't help but feel the warm-and-fuzzies for community media.
Commercial stations have the equipment to give you, the viewer, a story that is polished to within an inch of its life, digital, wide-screen, dramatically re-enacted, botox injected, special effected.
- But what community stations can give you is simple; the real story - Never Mind the Bollocks