Philadelphia Weekly

Share this Story:

Flashback, two months ago: Monotonix are playing their 10th show in three days (with one still to go) at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in the dusty backyard of a place called the Typewriter Museum. The band--a three piece from Tel Aviv, Israel, that combines Sabbath riffs and ABBA danceability--has decided to forgo the stage and instead set up in what's essentially a sand pit in the middle of a teeming crowd.

Monotonix start and extend the repetitive single-note intro and pummeling drumbeat of their song "Lowest Dive" while singer Ami Shalev finds a trash can heaping with garbage and empties its smelly contents over his drummer--a drop-dead Borat look-alike simply known as Gever--who doesn't bat an eye or miss a beat.

The intro breaks, the show begins and things get really nuts.

Shalev--a former Israeli tank commander--rips plastic cups of beer out of the hands of those up front and showers Gever with a frothy tsunami, huge splashes of brew bouncing off the drums with every ham-fisted strike. (Not to worry--Gever wears swimmer's goggles during the show.)

Members of the audience are encouraged to throw their beer too--or anything at all, really: bottles, clothing, keys, puppies--while Shalev runs around yelping, "Yahooooo!"-ing, kicking up dust, rolling on the ground, kissing women, drinking beer from his filthy shoe, climbing rooftops, riding a bicycle into the crowd, kissing men, hanging from the rafters of the stage they're not using, dancing and smiling.

It's truly mesmerizing, and considering the dust storm kicked up in the show's wake, it feels as though we've all gathered to watch a cockfight in the hot Texas sun and a brutal but cathartic rock show has broken out instead. It's utter madness, completely and totally surreal; tooth-baring fun, mind-blowing excess. Or, put another way: typical Monotonix live set.

"Our show is very different from our real lives," says Ami Shalev, on his tour cell in the van, lost in Brooklyn. "The show is very down and dirty. Anything goes. In real life, I brought my own skin moisturizer from Israel, my favorite brand you can't get in America. I love it. It's fantastic. It keeps my face skin so niiice and smooooth. And on this tour we're even getting to take showers, wash our hair with shampoos and sleep in a bed every night. It's been wonderful."

Shalev looks like a psychotic Doug Henning; wild eyes peering through his long, frizzy mop of hair just above a mustache more thick and bushy than Gogol Bordello's Eugene H�tz's and all 19 members' of Man Man combined. Shalev sounds a bit like Balki Bartokomous when he speaks, and a bit of that carries over in his singing voice. (Sample lyric: "My bow-dy long-wage says I'm not afraid!")

Shalev's funny, sweeter than condensed milk, and his general good nature and infectious smile are integral in calming club owners' nerves once the live Monotonix mayhem starts.

In shows past I've seen him drink straight from the beer tap at Johnny Brenda's, empty a bartender's fruit well into his mouth at Austin's Flamingo Cantina, and light his own shirt on fire (while wearing it) in a venue nice enough to be aware of and obey fire codes--any one of which could see a lesser band with a different attitude banned for life.

Part of the reason this tour is going so swimmingly is because of the touring Monotonix have done in the States preceding it. Their show is like a machine specifically designed to churn out hyperbolic word of mouth and over-the-top praise (see above), and each tour brings with it more gawkers.

Their current American jaunt started on Feb. 21 and will take them through April 26. From here it's back in Israel for a few days to kiss the girlfriends, feed the pets and stock up on more face moisturizer before humping it through Europe for five weeks into June. A little time off in Israel again to write new songs, and then it's back Stateside on Aug. 20 to reap the current tour's word of mouth. This routine--for the most part--has been the life Monotonix going back two years.

Playing live as often as they do has turned them into a well-oiled unit. That cohesion lends itself to the bombastic sonic mayhem of Body Language, the band's EP being released by Drag City on April 22. "We played 50 shows in a row before we recorded it. We really know the songs in and out, can play them in our sleep," says Shalev.

Body Language was recorded by former Nation of Ulysses/current Fucking Champ Tim Green, and it's the perfect spotlight for something that often gets lost in the rapturous tornado of their live gig (and, ahem, articles written about them): the music they play.

Shalev and Gever are joined in Monotonix by Yonatan Gat and the damaged/compressed crunch of his guitar. Gat's guitar tone and style of play suggest he's spent plenty of time worshipping at the altar of Zeppelin, the Sonics, Thin Lizzy and Royal Trux. (Monotonix's MySpace page suggests it too). His meaty guitar hooks are the perfect complement to Shalev's saucy theatrics.

Body Language puts those hooks and the band's music front and center, free of distraction. It's already starting its own separate stream of word of mouth.

Next tour: stadiums. Guaranteed.

Sat., April 19, 8pm. $8. With Dark Meat, Church of the Snake + Pony Pants. WPW, 5027 Beaumont Ave.