Monotonix: Anything But Monotonous
The entire idea of a stage vanished. Or you could say the audience became the stage for this militant Israeli garage punk band. At the very moment the Monotonix began their set, the lead singer leapt onto the crowd and proceeded to rock out and walk over the moshers while using the ceiling’s metal bars as support. Not only the lead singer, but the guitarist, the drummer, and the entire drum set spent most of the set suspended by the audiences hands and heads, travelling back and forth across the intimate venue. No drink in the crowd was safe; beers were stolen, thrown onto the drums, and splattered onto unsuspecting hipster’s vintage leather and ironic tees. These long curly haired, wild, jungle men exuded unparalleled charisma that kept the young crowd moshing, rocking, and sweating all night.
I was drawn to see the Monotonix, hailing from Tel Aviv, at Bumbershoot in 2008 just based on their description in the program as something along the lines of “Israeli punk maniacs.” They barely got through four songs before they were kicked out for crowd surfing and mooning (yes, I was lucky enough to see the lead singer’s ass again). That 14 minute set was one of the best shows I had ever attended, and I knew I had to find another opportunity to see this insanely uncontrollable trio.
In a strange twist of fate, when my two friends and I pushed our way through the crowd at Comet Ping Pong to the ticket stand, we were informed that the show was sold out. No problem. We found the Monotonix guitarist, Yonatan Gat, wandering past the bar and were able to get our hands stamped and our bodies admitted sans complications. Afterward with the band, Yonatan expressed relief that the band would be returning to Israel this year to reconnect with their families and serve in the military.
The jungle punk show was far tastier and exhilarating than any jungle juice Georgetown could offer.
– Katherine Everitt and Charlotte Japp
