Wow. All I can say is that my Tuesday night was most likely better than yours, unless you were lucky enough to be at the Bluebird, as well. If so, you know how mind-blowingly awesome it was. If not, I'm about to tell you (and make you feel slightly sour about deciding to miss out).
Before heading to the show, I could hardly contain my excitement. I was lucky enough to be the Live Buzzer on the scene that night, as I'm a hardcore fan of Monotonix, the raw rock trio straight out of Israel who happened to be headlining that night. Seeing them twice in one week back in my home state of Ohio just mere weeks prior, their infamous live show still raged fresh in my mind. Like some kind of dirty addiction, I just wanted more, and by goodness, they were willing to dish it out.
Think I'm exaggerating? Check these out:
A friend and I arrived at the Bluebird at 9:30, and sitting outside, greeting us with a "hello," were the singer and drummer of Monotonix, Ami Shalev and Haggai Fershtman. To anyone who hasn't ever seen their live show, their calm demeanor wouldn't seem so shocking, but knowing what was in store later in the night, I could only laugh---they could fool anyone.
Walking in, the club was close to empty. I was greeted by Dagan Thogerson, drummer of beloved Bloomington exports Murder By Death, at the door and I had a minor (and slightly embarrassing) fan moment. Picking my self-respect up off the floor, I made my way to the back and found myself surrounded by quite a few tattooed individuals, sipping on $1 PBRs and waiting for the show to start.
The few that were there soon surrounded the stage as Bloomington/Indianapolis hybrid Slam Dunk stepped up to the plate. Unleashing a raw set of bare-bones hardcore, the three piece (consisting only of drums, chugging guitar and a set of gnarly growls crawling overtop) took a no-nonsense approach and delivered a consistent set of looming metal. It may have been conventional "br00tal" hardcore by some people's standards, but to me it was a thrashing breath of fresh air, bringing back the metal lover in me of yesteryear. It made me wonder for a quick minute: Have I grown jaded by the indie scene?? *Gasp*
Their set soon ended and my friend and I were left to wait nearly 40 minutes as the next act set up. But, despite the time, the crowd was up for a treat. Local bands Tremendous Fucking (TremFu) and Push-Pull joined forces to create a new power group they promoted as "TremFu vs. Push-Pull." This wasn't your typical "jam sesh." Bringing two guitars, two basses and two sets of drums up on stage, and passing vocal duties between four people, the band powered through a set that drew the crowd even closer. Most impressive was the precision that each member played with---even the drummers played in perfect time. Wow.
After that mix of madness ended, it was already past Midnight. However, the night had only just begun. The crowd waited around as the three members of Monotonix began assembling their simple setup on the floor of the venue, and there was an audible buzz growing from those around me, everyone wondering what hell they would unleash that night.
Slowly, the crowd came closer and encircled the band's setup until it was surrounded by people on all sides. Many people stood on benches and chairs (including me) to get a better view of the action on the floor and waited anxiously for the mayhem to start. Those who had never seen the band could have only imagined what was going to happen next.
Singer Ami Shalev worked his way through the crowd, wearing nothing but red short-shorts, a blue belly shirt (which he quickly removed) and striped knee socks, his long, curly hair whipping around his face as he crawled on the stage and instructed the crowd to chant "Yasoo!" In an instant, guitarist Yonatan Gat ripped into their signature opening number, "Ride," which immediately got the crowd moving. They soon dug into material off of their Body Language EP, including its title track (and my favorite on the disc), and rocked the entire room.
Running all around the room, flinging cheap beer on even the most innocent of observers, Shalev worked the crowd into a frenzy until the room turned into a swirling sea of people that crashed on top of itself and the band. The music was electrifying and powerful, Gat's guitar sounding just as strong as two and Fershtman's drumming solidly pounding out the beat (despite the fact that his set was being knocked around or that Shalev covered his head with a trash can).
In a quick instant, the bass drum was being lifted over the heads of those in the crowd and passed up to the platform, the cymbal and snare not far behind, while the band and the crowd followed. Soon enough, the audience was lifting the bass drum in the air, Fershtman sitting on top and playing the rest of his drum set as the crowd held it up for him.
And just as soon as the crowd was awestruck by this latest feat, Shalev ran toward the front door with Fershtman not far behind him. Knowing their usual antics, I quickly made my way toward the door as most of the crowd stood in slight confusion until they realized the show was yet again on the move.
Once outside, Fershtman ripped into a minutes-long solo on his snare drum, the crowd spilling out onto the street and circling around him, cheering him on. Smoke rose all around as the nicotine-deprived indulged in their chance to sneak in a cig as they watched the spectacle before them. Everyone else went crazy, some dancing, some crowd-surfing, and one guy even managed to scale a tree amidst the excitement.
Just as soon as it started, the show came to an exciting end as Shalev jumped into the crowd from atop the bass drum, raised high in the air by the hands of the excited concertgoers below. And with that dive my crazy night at the 'Bird was over, and boy, what a night it was. Days later, I think I'm still recovering.
(Sadly, I couldn't stay for the end of the show and missed the set by Bloomington band Gravitas. Judging by past performances, I can only imagine it was a good one. I guess I'll have to catch up with them soon!)
-Photos and Story by Kelsey McArdle
