Action Bronson: Tiny Desk Concert

Bobby Carter | August 8, 2023
There are times during Action Bronson’s Tiny Desk when his vocals momentarily drift. We instruct our guests to face the directional microphones so that our recorders clearly pick up the voices. Action warned us of the improbability of that happening before we started filming and sure enough, the Flushing, Queens emcee strolled off mic a couple of times, did an about face here and there and even took a knee mid-show. By the time we got to “Latin Grammys,” he looked over to our engineer Josh Rogosin and said, “I told you I couldn’t stand still. How do you play music still?” He’s got a point.

Action’s band Human Growth Hormone reinterprets his records so funky, it’s nearly impossible not to move, yet the small imperfections during the set tickled me. Bam Bam, primarily known as a rapper, has turned his passion for food, clothing, sneakers, wrestling, writing, fitness and painting into bonafide professions. Never veering too far away from the booth, he’s consistently dropped projects since 2011. After working out in the green room, Mr. Baklava walked to the Desk, greeting nearly every person in the room with a handshake, and proceeded to perform highlights from Mr. Wonderful, Lamb Over Rice, White Bronco, and Only For Dolphins. Bronson was born to entertain us.

SET LIST
“Dmtri”
“Live from the Moon”
“Latin Grammys”
“Terry”
“Baby Blue”

MUSICIANS
Action Bronson: vocals, effects
Matt “Yung Mehico” Carrillo: keys, saxophone
Nicholas Coleman: bass
Wahkiba “9Ether” Julion: drums
Red Walrus: percussion
Julian Love: guitar

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
Audio Assistant: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Catie Dull
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #actionbronson