Action Bronson @ Manchester Club Academy, 12 May

What's a great performer made of? In Action Bronson's case, a 300 pound, 5’7” stack of a man that spits words in a Queens tongue. As the show opens, we hear his voice but his distinctive frame remains a squat silhouette until the familiar power ballad piano keys of Elton John's Island Girl resonate around Manchester Academy's basement for Silverado; Bronsolini is immediately in command.

The crowd engages and arms flail, with wrists following a strict regime of nodding movements. A Latin spell injects the atmosphere as Pepe Lopez's clean-cut and infectious guitar riff has the throng shamelessly shaking their behind in a manner fit for a professional dance class.

When Bronson's mouth isn't occupied by something delicious (it's said that his culinary displays have become such an internet sensation they may overtake Baby Panda Sneezes) then it's usually engaged in a sizeable smoke. Tonight, the punters have taken inspiration: smoky cloud dissipates; the inhalation of which causes glazed-over expressions and elevated states across the audience. 

The gig feels like a showcase for last year's Blue Chips 2 mixtape until Saab Stories' The Rockers punches through. Bronson takes his cue and saunters off stage into the audience as his admirers widen their peepers in awe. Like a hurricane picking up speed the crowd rapidly track his movements and form a constantly shifting circle around him until he reaches his original position.

As the alarming, singular clashes of Strictly 4 My Jeeps barges in, the light-hearted mosh pit that has self sustains throughout the gig suddenly becomes monstrous. Here we see the ingredients that make up a great performer, and top of that list is some 300 pounds of unrelenting energy. [Edwina Chan]