Friendly Metal From Neighbourhood Kids: TONNN

By Jen Houston

Toronto’s TONNN took over the Poor Alex Theatre on Saturday, delivering a powerful and quirky set that effectively blew my mind. Having never seen the nerd-metal band’s act before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, as “metal” usually means to my small frame “stay away from the front or you’ll get pummelled.” But the crowd that gathered for TONNN looked more like the scene at a hip gallery opening than the typical black-leather-clad tough guys that congregate for Ozzfest. The high-energy set had us all dancing (or trying to, anyway) while flooring us with throaty screaming, particularly the guttural cries erupting from the quartet’s only female member, Sooz Van Beek Rogers. The modest-looking guitarist/vocalist peeked out from thick and fiery three-foot locks to deliver an unexpected wall of noise, leaving us to wonder how this girl-next-door developed the lungs of steel needed to match her male bandmates’ intensity. While the noise level was cranked up to 11, the deathly-serious attitude that suffuses most metal acts was muted in favour of a playful and refreshing joie-de-vie. These square-looking neighbourhood kids don’t take themselves too seriously, and seem more likely to be found watching old Transformers cartoons than wallowing in despair to Cradle of Filth. The event was celebrating the launch of Toronto label Itchy Roof Re-k&rds, as well as their release of TONNN’s new split 12”. The record is a joint effort with fellow locals Lice, whose whirlwind 8-minute set left the audience confused at their sudden departure and hungry for more. TONNN will do one more hometown show at Siesta Nouveaux on July 3rd, then visit Waterloo on July 4th, their last Canadian dates before embarking on a 2-month U.S. tour in support of the split. If you like heavy music, but can’t stand the negativity, make TONNN part of your headbanging playlist. These innovative and fun-loving friends prove you don’t have to be angsty to be loud as hell.