Monotonix may not be one of the bigger bands playing
this
year’s Bumbershoot, but they are definitely the most explosive. Maybe a
better word is incendiary: They begin sets by lighting the drum
kit on fire. Monotonix’s stage antics are quickly becoming the stuff of
legend—with every town they visit, they permanently brand
themselves into the memory of all who witness their spectacle.
Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Monotonix are a testament to the
international unifying power of garage rock. The trio’s sound is
stripped down and basic: vocals, guitar, and drums influenced by Led
Zeppelin, the Sonics, and Thin Lizzy. Asked to describe the band’s
sound to the uninitiated festival attendee, guitarist Yonatan Gat says:
“Like heavy metal falling from the sky.”
The band formed in 2005 and quickly outgrew their local Israeli
music scene. “It’s pretty small,” says Gat. “There are some friends who
do pretty exciting stuff, but most of them have jobs and lives, so they
usually stay in Israel. The rest of the bands are probably like
anywhere, just smaller—less bands, less going on. I wouldn’t say
we really fit in; this is why we had to start traveling.”
And travel they have. For three years, Monotonix have ceaselessly
toured the world, playing hundreds of shows. They’ve already made
several trips through Seattle, most recently playing the Comet in
February. At that show, they set fires and climbed the walls. The
singer spent most of the performance on top of anything he could
summit—the crowd, amps, PAs. He played the kick drum with his
face. Then he set more fires. Everyone was dancing, crowd surfing, and
participating in the chaos. There was sweat everywhere. The drummer
played his drums on top of the crowd. Someone tore a light
fixture from the ceiling. It was incredible. It was like an awakening:
I had forgotten rock shows could be like this, if I ever really knew in
the first place.
Is it possible for the band to give such a performance at a huge
festival like Bumbershoot instead of a tiny bar? “It’s hard to predict
these things,” says Gat. “We try to maintain a minimum level of energy,
but it’s all about the relationship between the band and the audience
on a given night. We’ve played really wild shows at restaurants,
festivals, and big rooms; and sometimes shows end up being less wild in
dive bars. It has much more to do with the people in the room than the
room itself.”
The night after the Comet show, Monotonix played a bar in Bellingham
with no stage. Tables had to be moved outside, and the band played
literally on the bar, with explicit orders from the owner not to
set any fires or break any bottles (as they had done at their previous
show in Bellingham). The band ripped through a set every bit as
eruptive as the night before, even without the dangerous stunts. Still,
as far as Monotonix can tell, Bumbershoot hasn’t placed any
restrictions on their upcoming show.
“I don’t know if Bumbershoot has issues with our performance,” says
Gat. “They seemed cool so far. We try to be respectful, at least with
the fires, but some things we refuse, like setting up on the stage or
not being able to perform freely.”
“Perform freely” is a bit of an understatement. At a Monotonix show,
the audience is the band’s plaything—a giant hunk of clay to be
molded with riff and flame. Monotonix don’t perform to an
audience, they perform inside of it.
Whether or not the band are asked to play it safe for the occasion,
it’s pretty much guaranteed their set is going to be a giant dance
party. Their hooks are infectious, their energy unparalleled, and their
mustaches unbridled. And so far, Washington crowds have had no problem
amping Montonix up. “Seattle is always great for us, and I love the
people who go to our shows there,” says Gat. “So I’m assuming it’s
going to be great fun.”
Dive bar or Exhibition Hall, it makes no difference to Monotonix.
They are a band of the world, endlessly circumnavigating, shredding,
destroying, and creating. With every show, they summon the true
universal spirit of rock and roll—then they set it on fire and
dance on the ashes. 