The Cue are, though they're a bit low-key. Maybe they'll expand their remit to take up the slack?
The Evelyn never seemed to have many good gigs. They took up a little of the slack when the Punters Club closed its doors; I still remember the masses of pissed-off homies congregating around outside on a night that their haunt had put on some guitar-folk singer-songwriter or something.
I read that it is because they have changed hands and the new management don't want live bands for some reason.... However it's amazing how many venues there are with live bands in High St these days....
High St. Northcote? Yes, but they're mostly feral crash pads, roots/blues/country/folk nights or world music; last time I checked, High St. didn't have any rock/pop venues of note.
The Evelyn used to have heaps of good gigs, local and small international. Going back a year or seven I'll grant you, but the Evelyn's $2 nights were a staple of Brunswick St. Then the Ev was renovated and they dropped most of the local shows. Still, the Mark Gardener show was good and you would remember seeing Neil Halstead there too.
Evelyn is on Brunswick street, however it's a little harder to get a gig at. Is The Cue still having gigs? (near corner of Brunswick and Johnston)?