Anthonie Tonnon – Freida Margolis November 20, 2017

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New Zealand singer-songwriter Anthonie Tonnon is developing a reputation as one of the most impressive performance artists in the country. With his eccentric interactive live show and melancholy folk-pop songs, Tonnon has quickly become a must-see act, with his sold-out series of gigs at Grey Lynn’s Freida Margolis testament to that.

Supporting his new EP Two Free Hands, Tonnon has been touring around the country over the last month, concluding his six-date Two Free Hands New Zealand tour at the small boutique bar Freida Margolis on Monday night. This was my first time at a gig at this cozy intimate venue, which incidentally used to be the Grey Lynn Organic Butcher, making for an unusual but pleasant setting for live music where there was no barrier between the audience of around forty people and the performer.

Yes, the venue was small, but having seen Tonnon perform before in small venues, as an artist, he seems to thrive within these intimate settings, connecting with the audience more on a personal level and hooking the audience’s attention from the get-go. Appearing in his customary blue suit complete with slicked-back hair, Tonnon had the audience’s attention right from the start, with his quirky robotic dad dancing, in-depth and humorous song descriptions, and stage show complete with multi-colored flashing disco lights going down a treat with the small but enthusiastic audience.

This was Tonnon’s first full tour to accompany new music since his 2015 album Successor, an album which earned him a Taite Music Prize nomination, as well as a Silver Scrolls nomination for his environmental anthem Water Underground. Most of the songs were taken from Successor, including Water Underground which Tonnon got the audience to sing the chorus to, and Railway Lines, a song which he introduced by saying how the last thirty years has been bad for train enthusiasts, much to the amusement of the audience.

New material also got an airing. This included the title track of his new EP, Two Free Hands, one of his best songs to date, a yet unreleased track Leave Love Out Of This that he began the show with, and “a very old” track I missed the name of that he wrote in the 2000s, a song which he described as being his attempt to combine folk with 90s Ponsonby house music. It sure did sound kind of folky house, if such a style exists.

Tonnon really is an amazing performer. Aside from the quirky dancing, his ability to recreate and remake his recorded music live on his own using loops and a deluge sample machine is remarkable. The tracks sound completely different every time he performs them, are not studio replications by any means, while he is constantly searching for new and interesting ways to get his music across within live settings. This is no easy feat given the limitations of his set up, just him, guitar, loops, a sample machine, and keyboards, while he is performing in an age where many fans expect to get live what they hear on the album at home almost note for not. Not at an Anthonie Tonnon show that is for sure, where you can always expect the unexpected both musically and in terms of performance.

Although this was the last show on this tour, Tonnon did announce one more show in January at Golden Dawn, hinting also that this could be the last date of this particular solo setup he has going on. Whether this means his next phase as an artist will be as part of a collaboration or band remains to be seen. However, for now, we should marvel at the fact that this man is a top-class performer on his own, bringing new life to his songs with all the electronic tricks and wizardry he can muster, and indeed, all for the enjoyment of an at times marveled and unsuspecting audience.

Sam Smith

The 13th Floor
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