Monotonix/HEALTH live at TFC

by Steven in Concert Reviews, Musician Reviews, Reviews, bands to watch

On April 26, 2008, the Terrace Eating Club of Princeton was graced with not one, but two of the most exciting/noisy bands in music today. One might ask…”Who, Steven? Who are these rock-and-roll animals you speak of? And what the hell did you do to deserve a viewing of these alleged wonders of noise rock in the same night?” And I would respond, in so many words: “Oh…you know…this band called Health…and some guys from Tel Aviv who call themselves Monotonix… [For the record, the ellipses would stand in conversation and could easily be confused for pauses of pretentiousness, but in fact I just have a hard time organizing my thoughts before having words leave my mouth in a jumbled mess. And for that, I apologize.] YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! blah blah” Or something to that effect.

L.A. noise-rockers HEALTH (of the bourgeoning “The Smell” scene), headlined an energetic bill of feedback-goodness and indiscernible screams with opening act Monotonix, from Tel-Aviv, Israel, who gave such a great performance themselves that I had my doubts that the boys from L.A. would be able to compete with the impromptu traveling-drum set antics of Monotonix.

Monotonix

As usual, the show started late…but when the Monotonix set off, it was clear that the audience was not going to be able to watch passively as the band ripped into song after song with more gusto than one might be expected to muster in the wee morning hours. Shirts were off after a few minutes [both band members' and audience members'] and the performance was both engaging and tight. Within a few more minutes, the guitarist had dumped a large trash can (and its contents) over the drummer’s head. Audience members surrounded the band as distorted vocals and guitar were cushioned by mad drum beats, and I have to say that it felt so good to be a part of a crowd that had no qualms with throwing aside concerns about looking “hip” and just dancing…so hard. The set was closed out by an impromptu exodus of the band (instruments in hand and playing as loudly as ever) from the club, and the final song of Monotonix were played on the entrance steps of Terrace Club. Bad news for the club bouncers, good news for moshing college kids.

HEALTH

In the dead period between the bands’ sets, friends and I sat around, still wondering what to make of what we had just seen. More importantly…we had to ask ourselves how the headliners, HEALTH, would measure up to the Israeli rockers who had just blown our minds. Health began their set soon enough…and all I can remember thinking as they launched into their first song was, “Oh my god I have to piss so badly…but I can’t leave now because I’m in the front row.” No, kids, I didn’t pee myself…but to be perfectly honest, I’m almost considering whether or not it would have been a sacrifice worth making to keep my spot about 1 foot away from Jake Duzsik’s face. It probably wouldn’t have been pleasant. Health’s set was, in a word, amazing. There’s something about the careful placement of controlled feedback via microphones being shoved towards guitar amplifiers that is incredibly satisfying while jumping around and frantically trying to keep track of the intricate rhythm of the music. The drummer of Health was a beast behind the drumset, swinging his ponytail around as he changed the meter of his drum beat every other measure, and the other members of the band were incredibly tight with the frantic drum hits; reverb-laden vocals soared over a background of guitar riffs with heavy delay, fuzzy bass guitar strums (yeah…strums), and heavy heavy synth. Oh, and their bassist/microphone-feedback-generator-extraordinaire is an amazing dancer who hops around on one foot back and forth across the stage as he wraps the microphone cord around his body. Amazing? Yes…decidedly, and resoundingly, yes.

In other news, I’ve settled upon how I will qualitatively assess how much I enjoy a show from now on: how many belongings are thrown off of my person while dancing during a show. For Monotonix/HEALTH, the damage is as follows: 1 zippo lighter (if found, please return), 1 pair of glasses (3 times…how they were not destroyed on the floor of the club by the many stomping feet of concertgoers, I will never know), 1 mobile phone (recovered upon calling), 1 carabiner with keys (recovered upon looking). The bar has been set high, bands of the world. Impress me.