Last May, Winnipeggers were given the opportunity to witness one of the greatest live shows ever to take the stage in this city. Monotonix, the three-piece garage rock explosion from Tel Aviv, Israel were playing the Pyramid Cabaret. The Pyramid’s capacity is over 400, but that fateful night less than 50 people were in attendance.

Blame it on the unbelievably bad pairing of the opening band, or perhaps the venue choice itself, but one thing is certain: there should be 10 times that many people in the cabaret this time around.

Local journalists in attendance all placed that show on their year’s best lists and anyone who was there to see it has undoubtedly told as many people as would listen that they just saw the greatest show on earth.

“I’ve got a feeling that there will be more people with mouth word spreading from the last crowd, building the fan base [from our] first time to [the] city,” said Ami Shalev, the band’s singer, about how that last show here was their worst attended in Canada.

Monotonix is back touring the land and will hit the Pyramid Tuesday, Jan. 19, this time with appropriate opener War Elephant.

The history of the group, whom Spin magazine once called “the most exciting live band in rock ‘n’ roll,” has been one marked by fate. A chance opening for the Silver Jews in Israel led them to be picked up by indie oddball label Drag City. They’ve recorded an EP, a 7” and a new full-length LP with Tim Green (the Fucking Champs/Nation of Ulysses) for the label.

“Drag City is great people, like a family we like very much and we hope they love us back. They never limit us or say ‘you can’t do this’ or ‘you can’t play a certain place,’” Shalev said.

The label has been a perfect fit for Monotonix’s raucous sound, unruly attitude and its balls-out live shows.

When the band ripped up the ‘Peg last year, they didn’t play on the stage but all over the bar, starting on the floor and ending up somewhere up the tree in front of the personal care home just north of the venue, with stops on the bars, the bench seats and the rafters, stealing drinks along the way.

“I can’t promise we will go outside this time around,” laughed Shalev, referring to the likely frigid temperatures they will be facing this month.

Their show is a self-abusive, supersonic detonation and in-your-face to the point of danger. Surprisingly, Shalev said that his only big injury on stage was a broken shoulder, which you could say is par for the course. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman appropriately add to the insanity, with Fershtman often taking the literal brunt of the band’s aggression, notoriously ending up on the receiving end of a flying trash bin at many a show.

“I must say, in our band – in every band – everyone in the band hates the drummer. It’s a basic relationship that we decided to take to the next level,” Shalev chuckled mischeviously.

Make sure you don’t miss the show this time.