Not the best band, but certainly the best show

MONOTONIX!

The show started behind Bourbon Rocks, in a gravel lot with about 50 people. Three men were on stage, a singer, a guitarist, and a drummer. They all looked greasy and slightly Arabic, but it was the drummer that most resembled Borat. I was seeing the Israeli band Monotonix. I will never forget what I saw at this show.


In the middle of the first song, the guitarist and singer were already off the stage in the middle of the crowd. I watched a member of the audience take his full beer and nonchalantly pour the entire thing on the singer. The audience member then sat there expecting something to happen, for the singer to react in some way. But the singer just turned around, grabbed someone else's drink, and threw it all over himself. This was all happening without the singer pausing for a second. That is when 90% of the audience took their cameras out and never stopped taking pictures until the show was over.


Through the mass of cameras, the singer grabbed the kick drum and placed it in the exact middle of the gravel lot the guitarist then walked up to it and played it for the entire next song while the drummer attempted to play with one less drum. More beer pouring and picture taking took place, and it was all awesome.


Finally the drummer made it out with his entire kit and the set continued, but now all the artists were in the middle of the crowd. By now, a lot of beer was on the drums and cymbals which added to the crazy ambiance as small droplets of beer rained across the crowd with every smash of percussion. You should have been there. I will never miss a monotonix showcase at SXSW again. I hope they keep coming back.