Tony! Tony! Tony!
Tony Wilson doing flips in front of Regent Theatre on Saturday, 15 June 2024.
A special performance for Arlington Porchfest draws crowds of humans, plus one Daschund.
If Tony Wilson’s Arlington Porchfest performance beneath the marquee at the Regent Theatre was intended to whet your appetite for the August 14 date, then it served its purpose. In fact, after two-hours of gratis entertainment on Medford Street, your appetite was probably sopping whet.
Fans arrived early to stake out seating in the outdoor patio across the street. The lucky few grabbed the shady spots while the rest of the audience soaked up the sun on a sultry afternoon.
No complaints though – if Wilson, at a stately age, can still reel off two back-to-back sets in a sequin suit, the comfortably-situated shorts-and-sandals crowd can weather the heat.
The band numbered six, seven, eight, maybe nine players. Each time you looked up there was a new horn player, or a guy pulling up with congas, to amplify the sound and rhythm. Tony Wilson, flanked by female backup singers to his left and right, led the amorphous ensemble through its paces.
Classics of soul and funk predominated. When Wilson wasn’t singing, he was dancing. And when he wasn’t dancing, he was pulling off acrobatic stunts that would scare off performers half his age. Flips, somersaults, and all manner of shimmies atop the concrete sidewalk and asphalt road. It was the kind of spectacle that gives insurance adjusters nightmares.
You can catch Tony Wilson (aka “Young James Brown”) at his Super Bad Birthday Bash on August 14 at Regent Theatre.