The Tote Hotel

The Tote Hotel is a 409-capacity Collingwood pub and live-music venue whose three stages host a dense stream of local bills. Its clearest distinction comes from January 2010, when licensing costs forced a closure that helped galvanise Melbourne’s live-music community and prompted a government compromise on the rules. For a showgoer, that history translates into a room built around bands, close quarters and a deeply practical pub setting.

A corner pub becomes a music room

The building began as Healy’s Hotel in 1870, then traded for decades as the Ivanhoe Hotel. In 1981, Michael Lynch and Paul Doherty took over the Ivanhoe and opened The Tote with a brief centred on new local bands and an inner-city audience seeking new sounds. Early bills ranged across new wave, ska, reggae and folk, establishing a broad musical remit before rock and garage came to dominate public perception.

In January 2010, Victorian rules requiring extra security at late-night venues with amplified music raised operating costs sharply enough to close the Tote. Its closure triggered public rallies; on February 23 the state government announced a compromise with venue operators, and the Tote reopened six months later under Sam Crupi, Jon Perring and Andy Portokallis. A later ownership crisis ended in September 2023, when Last Chance operators Shane Hilton and Leanne Chance bought the property after a crowdfunding campaign raised over $3 million; they outlined a legal-trust plan for its long-term live-music use.

What the room gives you

Expect a multi-room pub format: main band room, front bar and smaller upstairs space, plus a sizeable courtyard for set breaks. Rock and punk remain the centre of gravity, while the broader program welcomes emerging acts across indie, alternative, metal, electronic, pop, folk and Latin bills. The Tote’s original booking idea still fits the present experience: newer local artists share the calendar with established names, and packed band-room nights reward an early arrival. Between sets, the front-bar jukebox and courtyard give the evening room to breathe.