Live Review: Lumpy & The Dumpers, Tommy T & The Classical Mishaps, Red Red Krovvy, Ausmuteants, Grotto

It seems like any normal Friday night at The Tote. In the front bar, a gaggle of punters enjoy a beer or two eager to get into the Band Room for touring St Louis hardcore punk group Lumpy & The Dumpers. But first up tonight are the first of many local acts, Grotto. They are boiling, threatening to blow out every few seconds, embracing feedback and distortion as just another part of their day. With a heavy, unrelenting pace, Grotto do well to open a night that many of the Melbourne underground punk scene have been anticipating.

Ausmuteants hit the stage next and only reaffirm how little they care about what people think while continuing to be hilarious. The Devo comparisons are completely lost as the guys decide that, in the spirit of the tour, they're just gonna bash it out as hard as they can, complete with hilarious rockstar kicks and a few solid shouts of, "Are you ready to get dumped?!" from bassist Marc Dean. Freedom Of information is intense with the moshpit leaving basically everyone on the floor as the group kick hard into this racket of a song. "Isn't that a potential hit if you ever heard one?" Jake Robertson quips cheekily from behind the synth, his guitar held aloft. To an outsider the set might seem like a shambles — there's a whole lot of yelling and joking between songs — but to everyone in the room it's just good fun.

Ash Wyatt is a powerful figure up front of Cairns three-piece, Red Red Krovvy as he paces up and down the stage, leaning out into the crowd. "And that's how you write music!" she yells, following a particularly hard-hitting track. The set is solid and we're only about 30 minutes in when Wyatt pulls out some sort of whistle, letting loose into the microphone with a high-pitched squeal. One more song slams into the crowd before it all ends and, despite The Tote's hardcore nature, many look visibly stunned at what they just saw and heard.

The frontman from Tommy T & The Classical Mishaps has been celebrating the night with a few healthy beverages, possibly a few too many. In a fairly questionable manner, he hurls his mic stand into the crowd, although it only seems to bother a few. Despite his state, the band are able to salvage some sort of composure — enough to continue with a fairly solid collection of songs full of visceral screeching guitars and popping keys. The set continues fairly normally, the singer burning his gremlin-esque screech into the brains of all.

There isn't enough time for the crowd to finish their cigarettes between sets before Lumpy & The Dumpers take the stage and launch into their first song. What follows is probably 40 minutes of the most raw, uncompromising music that many present have ever had the pleasure to behold. The Dumpers scratch and smash their way across their instruments. A disposable nappy is torn apart on stage, leaving a strange dust in the air. Lumpy (Martin Meyer) himself is a pure expression of anger, disgust and aggression. He is surrounded by violent noise and flying objects, yet remains untouchable. The crowd is wild, hurling themselves in every direction without fear of pain or judgement. A female punter throws as many empty beer cans at the stage as possible. Gnats In The Pisser has many screaming, only intensifying a show that was already so far gone.