Hectors House, 25 November 2009
Monotonix are a volatile trio of musicians who incorporate such unparalleled madness and versatility into their live acts, it is difficult to conjure up the words to form an adequate description of the events that unfolded at Hectors House in Brighton.
On reputation they are what a venue’s health and safety team would describe as a nightmare. On paper they are a near middle-aged hard rock band from Tel Aviv in Israel who appeared to be attired as Frank Zappa impressionists. In reality, on this night their astounding performances individually and collectively, personified the very essence rock n’ roll.
What I am referring to as the ‘essence of rock n’ roll’ is a total act of rebellion against almost every conventional law of live music imaginable. Every expectation was exceeded, every parameter of control was broken and just short of burning us all down, Monotonix provided Brightonians with a wild hearted and breath taking performance. The sheer lack of control the organisers seem to have had over proceedings was simply awe-inspiring.
Monotonix, comprised of lead singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman, rocked their way around the whole venue, everywhere except the stage it seems. Starting in amongst the crowd, (a move which I have come to understand as one of their trade marks) they quickly moved forward through the modest hoard of followers, repeatedly needing their guitar cables untangled from the sweating, drunken thrill seekers for the sake of strangulation prevention. Drumming on the bar, guitar solos in the window hollows, crowd surfing on their bass drum, you name it they did it. The defining lines between fans and performers no longer existed on any level – the audience, the bar staff and the bouncers in essence became the show. This brand of intimacy almost irresistibly incorporated everyone in the room into the act. This created an enjoyable and electric atmosphere, to which the crowd responded with a level of such manic intensity that the only certainty on the night seemed to be their mutually assured self destruction of one another.
With their musical style evidently fashioned from a fusion of Iggy Pop’s child like stage antics and Led Zeppelin’s fierce instrumental aggression, Monotonix created a sound that was edgy and frankly mean. The only thing in sync on this night was their on stage (or off stage as it seems) frivolities which acted as a perfect parallel to their apparent musical madness.
Top class entertainment all round for the modest price of ten pounds. I would highly recommend buying a ticket whenever you get the chance.
Support act on the night: Winnebago Deal
Words by James Rowland
Photography by Emmest
myspace.com/monotonix
What did you think of the gig?
Michael (left): 9/10 “Gee… wow… fantastic, but I can’t go to 10/10, that would mean it was the best thing ever and it wasn’t, but it was incredible”
Deen (right): 10/10 “Monotonix put on an awesome performance, everyone just went crazy, they’re different to anyone else I’ve ever seen, they breath new life into rock”
The staff of Hectors House: 9/10 “F***ing savage basically!”
Joel (far left): 10/10 “What is there to say? Awesome, unparalleled and amazing!”
