Monotonix at Uptown Bar tonight

It's an age that sees rock bands go to ever greater extremes in order to keep a crowd. G. G. Allin ate poo. Marilyn Manson wore fake tits. A whole host of performers cut themselves with all manner of implements, bladed and dull.

Enter Monotonix, the Israeli garage rock three-piece who begin a two day residency at the Uptown Bar tonight. It's not hyperbole-- no active rock band works harder, faces greater performative dangers, and keeps larger crowds in a suspended state of fear and excitement than Monotonix.


Monotonix break-down Tennessee.

They've been on an exhaustive touring regimen over the last few years, and have torn through Minneapolis a handful of times. In that time, the Uptown Bar has become a favorite destination of theirs-- perhaps because it's the only bar left in town that will tolerate their performances which, in the most literal sense, know no boundaries of space, taste, or fire code.

Fire. Garbage. Dirt. Decibels. The band, for a time, was virtually outlawed in their home country, and it's not hard to see why. Browse their Myspace page, sift through some YouTube clips-- at a Monotonix show, audiences implictly sign away their right to privacy and safety.

And yet, it's nothing menacing. Despite the unmatched aggression and audacity of a Montonix show, the attitude is positive and good-natured, unlike the wholly destructive antagonisms of some of the acts mentioned in the opening paragraph.

It's mildly surprising to see how well they've caught on with the typically austere Twin Cities offices, but their shows are an easy sell out. The wise will line up early, both at the door, and at the stage after The Millionth Word tears down. Score a front row spot for Monotonix, and you'll be bragging about the bruises and stains for weeks to come.

21+. 9:00 P.M. $10.00. With The Millionth Word and Condo$. Uptown Bar, 3018 Hennepin Ave. South, Minneapolis; 612.823.4719.