words & photos by Keith Marlowe

Brahms @ 450 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY - July 15, 2010

I felt weird as soon as I walked in the room, which had a girls giving out candy standing by two Toyotas, opened up like they were in a showroom. There was a DJ playing club music, and signs that read Toyota and the Village Voice everywhere, because everyone knows the only thing more important than throwing a party is constantly reminding people WHO is throwing the party. On the other hand, there were pretty women giving out free Cabo Wabo tequila, so I decided to have some drinks and try to relax. As I watched people take photos of themselves in a car turned into a makeshift photo booth, I still felt more like I was at a mall than about to witness one of the most unique touring rock bands in the world.

Brahms was the opener, and they seemed a curious choice to me - not only their music, but because the band stood almost motionless behind orange pieces of plexiglass or something. They were the exact opposite of what was gonna happen when Monotonix came out. I listened to a couple songs, and went backstage to watch my friend Haggai (the drummer) do push-ups in Garfield underwear.

While getting warmed up for the show he told me they had just come from Chicago where they finished a third recording session with Steve Albini. They had originally planned on doing a single, but it went so well they went back two more times and ended up recording an entire album, still untitled, that will drop this winter on Drag City. "I'm really excited about this record, I feel like it's the first time we really got the live show energy into an album format," he said. Monotonix formed in Tel Aviv, Isreal, in 2005. This record will be their third.

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