Monotonix, the other band I’m really looking forward to seeing at Pygmalion Music Festival, are playing Thursday night. Monotonix are sharing the bill at the Canopy Club with Robots Counterfeiting Money, Dark Meat and Dan Deacon. If you’ve been hankering to get loose and rock out like I have, then this is the band for you. Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Monotonix are some hairy, raunchy, rock’n’roll mugs. The band which consists of singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Ran Shimoni play riff-heavy rock with ‘70s FM radio hard rock leanings. Shalev’s vocals are not too dissimilar to Ted Nugent’s snotty snarl. Gat’s guitar sound is thick and heavy. It’s definitely not the cute, polite, Jersey State indie rock that’s quite popular around here.
A very unique aspect of Monotonix’s live show is that the band sets up on the floor instead of on stage. For those who have not experienced seeing a band play eye to eye with the audience, it really changes the dynamics of the show in a positive way. Gone is the invisible barrier around that separates the crowd from the band. Guitarist Yonatan explains, “Our shows are set among the audience, we are surrounded by the people and we trust the audience to put on a show for us as we put on for them. Most of the times they do. Our show is a good opportunity to dance, freak out or just nod your head and be free. It’s about doing whatever you wanna do at a given moment in time.”
Yonatan continues, “We feel it’s a way to communicate better. We don’t want any separation. We want to be down there with everyone, it’s much more intimate, we can feel their needs!” One look at the live photos at Monotonix’s MySpace page confirms the band achieves its goal.
Monotonix has a six-song EP released earlier this year on Drag City, as well as a split 7” with RTX (Jennifer Herrema from Royal Trux’s current group) that just came out on the Volcom label.
Doors open at 8:30, rock starts at 9:30 and tickets are $12.
(Ed. Note — Full Disclosure: A founding member of Smile Politely also produces Pygmalion Music Festival.)
Here’s a video of Monotonix’s live show at SXSW last year: