On a sunny last Tuesday before Christmas, the Tote provided Melbourne punters with an early Christmas present by putting on another of its world famous Rock Against Work shows.  This show featured the final leg of the One In All In national tour shared by four of Melbourne’s finest bands. Comradery amongst the bands enabled them to decide the order of the line-up each night over a game of poker!  Better get down there early then…

And lucky I was early, because up first was Melbourne/Tasmanian sludge-core erm, legends, Legends of Motorsport. Vocalist/organist Richard Fyshwyck, who owns one of the more distintive voices on the Melbourne scene, fuzzed it up with some quirky playing and quick-fire Hammond chords. Guitarists Whispering Ken and Honest Lee tore every last bit of feedback out of their amps, and provided the coolness with sunglasses on in the dark room. How they make their guitars sound like the dirtiest, sludgiest bass guitars on earth during songs such as On A Clear Night, I will never know (or is that the organ?). Drummer Whiskey A-Go-Go, owner of the world’s largest afro, was also in fine thumping form. Some of their newer material includes some classic riffs - so chucky you could carve ‘em. They got the audience chanting during one song – not bad for 7:30pm! It’s a shame they didn’t play a little later, as I’m sure the roof would have ripped clean off the Tote’s band room.

After a couple of sausages and vegie burgers cooked expertly by Adam from Blacklevel and Slatts from Cockfight (community spirit – I love it!), it was time for the Kamikaze Trio to hit the stage. As per usual they put in a fine set, and had a much better response than at their recent Immortal Lee County Killers III support (see review here).

Up next were Blacklevel Embassy. They had an amazing on-stage presence, with their music delivered with precision, anger, and passion. Bassist/vocalist Brett (ex-Warped/Ricaine) seems to believe in the music of this band moreso than with his previous band. He didn’t stop flying around the stage, pounding his bass, screaming blood-curdlingly into his microphone, and is the master of pulling feedback out of a bass amp.  Guitarist/vocalist Adam (ex-Hardware) patrols stage-left as a menacing figure, and drummer David conducts the onslaught from behind his kit, giving the other boys the OK to punish their guitars when the time is right. This band is brutal, you must see them.

The Tote was pretty packed and full of anticipation by the time of the headliners were about to start. Tonight’s lucky headliners were Melbourne stoner heroes, Cockfight Shootout. Their sound borrows from Nirvana, Black Sabbath, and Fu Manchu, but their songs seem to have a bit more of a poppier side that makes them very accessible. Set highlights were A Question of Guilt, and the awesome Step In Line. Drummer Alan appears to have taken some lessons from Tommy Lee with his raising of drum-sticks, and entertaining ways of banging his skins. The band seem to improve with every show, and are now a very professional outfit. Cockfight Shootout is a world-class band, and is thoroughly deserving of many more accolades and world tours in the future!