Action Bronson crushes at the sold-out TLA

Action Bronson | Photo by Morgan Smith | phobymo.com

At capacity and straining under the crushing weight of Action Bronson’s massive personality, the sold-out TLA’s stage shook under punishing bass and rose to meet the gregarious Queens MC on his Mr. Wonderful tour.

In what was a seemingly short but passionate set, Arian Arslani AKA Action Bronson brought it. The “Fuck, That’s Delicious!” star arranged all of the ingredients necessary for a memorable night. With way more energy than you’d expect from a guy so solidly built, the Flushing rapper ripped a page out of Oprah’s handbook and took to merchandising as he bounded across the stage between songs – showering the crowd in gifts, sonic and store-bought alike. Water bottles and vaporizers rained down, hurled by inveterate dabber Bronson and cousin Big Body Bes. The audacious Bronson sampled some of Philadelphia’s offerings as well, stopping for a moment to pick a blunt out of the hazy crowd for a breath’s worth of brotherly love.

Performing from his new album, Mr. Wonderful, as well as some older songs and a mash up of his most recent single “Baby Blue” and Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend,” Bronson easily kept the crowd entertained. Playfully singing out of tune, Bronson cruised through his high energy set with “Acting Crazy”, “Easy Rider” and “Strictly for My Jeeps”. The night’s energy only built from there, peaking when an unfortunate fan snuck onstage during “9-24-11”, only to be utterly demolished by Bronson himself – knocking the dude clear out of his shoes. Frustrated but in no way allowing that to detract from the showmanship, Bronson snaps back at the crowd with a “Who the fuck is hungry?” and unleashed a barrage of…cheesesteaks as he rocked out to AC/DC’s Back in Black.

This man clearly knows his people and they were all to happy to receive the oversized sandwiches delivered at high velocity, even making their way into the rear balconies. An immediately likable person with limitless bravado, Bronson lived up to the name of Mr. Wonderful.