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The Bay View VFW Post is best known for mozzarella sticksand weekend karaoke hosted by Bay View’s older croonersnot exactly the epitomeof wild and crazy. So when wild and crazy comes knocking at one’s door in theform of Monotonix, three Israeli men who seem unassuming given their ages(singer Ami Shalev is 44), one isn’t in complete realization until everythingis at an all-encompassing, dreamlike state. Motionless abandonment, evencomplete unawareness, seemed to surround the venue as the wildness and hilarityescalated last Tuesday evening. Good thing the all-ages crowd was anything butasleep.
Leading off the build-up was Centipedes, a local four-piecewho made good use of aggressive percussion and sung, not shouted, vocalstheirfeet half in hardcore, half in melodic rockmade for an absorbing opening set.Spazzy electro trio Terrior Bute threw all their energy into their danceablesounds, as the crowd moved in closer to catch the keyboard manipulations andbop around. Vocalist/keyboard player Jeff Graupner’s yelp-y screams cut in andout from his frazzled mic, but the trio bashed through the technical troubleswith an “oh well” attitude to turn out a solid performance. Rock trio Call MeLightning followed suit by playing their newer material with precision and easeto a receptive crowd. Shane Hochstetler bashed his drum kit with confidence,while guitarist/vocalist Nathan Lilley executed his trademark howled vocals,occasionally hitting harmonies with newly recruited bassist/vocalist TylerChicorel.
The came Monotonix. Before the set, the crowd milled outsideto smoke and downstairs to chat, while Shalev was busy measuring out thedistance his microphone cord would travel. It went all the way to the backbleacher seats, where many people had spent the night trying to get a betterview over the crowd or act as a mere spectator, but Monotonix shows never havemere spectators.
Drummer Haggai Fershtman set up a red carpet on the VFWfloor near the middle of the room, placing his bass drum, snare and cymbalsaccordingly. That carpet would later serve as a vehicle for those instruments,one that wouldn’t stay in place for any longer than five minutes. Shalev,wearing a pair of tiny burgundy shorts and a knee brace (he broke his leg at a Florida show in January)grabbed his mic, shook his wild mane and off they went. The crowd encircled thetrio, Shalev and Fershtman in constant motion, guitarist Yonatan Gat coollycrunching into his guitar to create a mess of sound that was Thin Lizzy, GogolBordello and Led Zeppelin all in one.
Those familiar with the band’s material from their 2008 EP Body Language and 2009’s Where Were You When it Happened musthave recognized some of the songs pouring out of the three hairy andincreasingly sweaty musicians, but that didn’t seem to be the point. The pointwas to participate. Shalev and drums traveled to the back of the room, Gatfollowing with his guitar, all while playing. Shalev, shouting into the mic,thick-accented and gregarious, jumped onto the bleachers to hang out next to acouple slightly unnerved audience members, the rest of the crowd clamoring andshoving at his feet.
Without notice, Shalev jumped down, ran across the room asbest he could through the crowd, and jumped into the other bleachers. The PiedPiper tactics had everyone at his feet once again and Shalev was greeted warmlyon the other side, one audience member shoving his beer down Shalev’s throat.Shalev downed most of it and threw the rest into the crowd. Things got evenmore sweaty and raucous as Shalev again moved the operation and set up camp,getting the crowd to hoist him up on Fershtman’s bass drum. There Shalev stayedfor the entire song, waving and hitting his drum sticks from his mid-air perch.As a prelude to a finale, the trio moved to the “proper” venue stage and calledaudience members to come and dance with Fershtman and yanked an eager youngdrummer out of the crowd to sit in on a song. Shalev, leading into what seemedto be a folk ballad, had the volunteer drummer confused at where to dig in, butsuddenly Gat swung into a raunchy rock riff and the volunteer followed suit,crashing out an admirable and unplanned moment in song.
The band appeared to be winding down, visibly sweaty and abit weary. This was the spark for the most energetic moment of the night, whenthe band led literally the entire crowd outside into Kinnickinnic Avenue, playing in thechilly spring air for almost an entire song. Gat sauntered back inside first,his guitar cord trailing after him, and Shalev and Fershtman followed, the Milwaukee crowd in highspirits and genuine appreciation of the spectacle. The quiet after the show wasnearly unsettling. The VFW, in a state of New Year’s Eve aftermath, had cupsstrewn about like confetti and the tired but satisfied atmosphere of witnessinga display of slightly organized chaos, where every day is New Year’s forMonotonix.
Leading off the build-up was Centipedes, a local four-piecewho made good use of aggressive percussion and sung, not shouted, vocalstheirfeet half in hardcore, half in melodic rockmade for an absorbing opening set.Spazzy electro trio Terrior Bute threw all their energy into their danceablesounds, as the crowd moved in closer to catch the keyboard manipulations andbop around. Vocalist/keyboard player Jeff Graupner’s yelp-y screams cut in andout from his frazzled mic, but the trio bashed through the technical troubleswith an “oh well” attitude to turn out a solid performance. Rock trio Call MeLightning followed suit by playing their newer material with precision and easeto a receptive crowd. Shane Hochstetler bashed his drum kit with confidence,while guitarist/vocalist Nathan Lilley executed his trademark howled vocals,occasionally hitting harmonies with newly recruited bassist/vocalist TylerChicorel.
The came Monotonix. Before the set, the crowd milled outsideto smoke and downstairs to chat, while Shalev was busy measuring out thedistance his microphone cord would travel. It went all the way to the backbleacher seats, where many people had spent the night trying to get a betterview over the crowd or act as a mere spectator, but Monotonix shows never havemere spectators.
Drummer Haggai Fershtman set up a red carpet on the VFWfloor near the middle of the room, placing his bass drum, snare and cymbalsaccordingly. That carpet would later serve as a vehicle for those instruments,one that wouldn’t stay in place for any longer than five minutes. Shalev,wearing a pair of tiny burgundy shorts and a knee brace (he broke his leg at a Florida show in January)grabbed his mic, shook his wild mane and off they went. The crowd encircled thetrio, Shalev and Fershtman in constant motion, guitarist Yonatan Gat coollycrunching into his guitar to create a mess of sound that was Thin Lizzy, GogolBordello and Led Zeppelin all in one.
Those familiar with the band’s material from their 2008 EP Body Language and 2009’s Where Were You When it Happened musthave recognized some of the songs pouring out of the three hairy andincreasingly sweaty musicians, but that didn’t seem to be the point. The pointwas to participate. Shalev and drums traveled to the back of the room, Gatfollowing with his guitar, all while playing. Shalev, shouting into the mic,thick-accented and gregarious, jumped onto the bleachers to hang out next to acouple slightly unnerved audience members, the rest of the crowd clamoring andshoving at his feet.
Without notice, Shalev jumped down, ran across the room asbest he could through the crowd, and jumped into the other bleachers. The PiedPiper tactics had everyone at his feet once again and Shalev was greeted warmlyon the other side, one audience member shoving his beer down Shalev’s throat.Shalev downed most of it and threw the rest into the crowd. Things got evenmore sweaty and raucous as Shalev again moved the operation and set up camp,getting the crowd to hoist him up on Fershtman’s bass drum. There Shalev stayedfor the entire song, waving and hitting his drum sticks from his mid-air perch.As a prelude to a finale, the trio moved to the “proper” venue stage and calledaudience members to come and dance with Fershtman and yanked an eager youngdrummer out of the crowd to sit in on a song. Shalev, leading into what seemedto be a folk ballad, had the volunteer drummer confused at where to dig in, butsuddenly Gat swung into a raunchy rock riff and the volunteer followed suit,crashing out an admirable and unplanned moment in song.
The band appeared to be winding down, visibly sweaty and abit weary. This was the spark for the most energetic moment of the night, whenthe band led literally the entire crowd outside into Kinnickinnic Avenue, playing in thechilly spring air for almost an entire song. Gat sauntered back inside first,his guitar cord trailing after him, and Shalev and Fershtman followed, the Milwaukee crowd in highspirits and genuine appreciation of the spectacle. The quiet after the show wasnearly unsettling. The VFW, in a state of New Year’s Eve aftermath, had cupsstrewn about like confetti and the tired but satisfied atmosphere of witnessinga display of slightly organized chaos, where every day is New Year’s forMonotonix.
