If you didn’t see Monotonix at least once during Sled Island you missed out. It was a rare treat to be a part of the Tubby Dog show on Friday, June 26. Phrases like “reckless abandon” and “total disregard for personal safety and hygiene” come to mind when trying to explain the mentality of Israel’s blues-infused, garage-rock trio.

Front man Ami Shalev was the star of the hour, which at times bordered on condiment fetishism and circle prayer, more than rock show.

With a freshly smeared body of ketchup, creamer and sweat Shalev slipped his way through the packed hot dog joint on numerous occasions, offering snot-rockets and body odour-infused headlocks to anyone who made the mistake of making eye-contact with him.

How Shalev managed to play a drum while crowd surfing was inspiring. The room between his head and the ceiling was a matter of inches.

Perhaps feeling restricted by the small stature of Tubby Dog, the band led a march out onto 17^th Avenue where they hopped up on mailboxes and bikes and rocked fucking hard for the 6 p.m. downtown rush-hour traffic.

One can’t help but feel the only thing missing from an otherwise perfect show was blood and an arrest or two.

Check out this video by a YouTuber who was at the show.

       

Written by :

Johnny Elbow