By: Andrea Myers
 |
|
Crescent Moon and Slug - Photo by Andrea Myers
|
A funny thing happens to people when they walk into an Atmosphere show. They become hip. Rushing up to the front of the stage, throwing their hands up in the air and forgetting, just for a second, how white they really are does something to the psyche.
I call it the Elixir of Atmosphere.
Some people find these kinds of shows annoying; but to me, the parade of hollaback girls and yuppies dressed as gangsta rappers makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I make a point to catch these all-ages shows. There is an entire culture surrounding popular hip-hop music; a culture that promotes guns, drugs, and being mean and violent toward one another. Slug (aka Sean Daley) and his crew of talented producers and musicians have cultivated a following by rejecting all hip-hop stereotypes and writing lyrics from the heart; and it’s a formula that has paid off in spades.
I’ve been in love with the group for a long time, and my affair with Atmosphere most likely followed the same trajectory as any average suburban girl from Minnesota. In high school, I loved them because I thought Slug was cute and I secretly wanted people to think I was a badass. In college, I listened to Lucy Ford while learning to smoke cigarettes and write poetry, and the words, like, spoke to me, man. And now, I’ve crossed the threshold into that great abyss that lies somewhere between post-college and pre-over the hill, and I love Atmosphere for their eternal youthfulness, their love-all vibe, and their ability to just plain rock out live.
So Friday night was especially fun for me. I worked my way up to the front of the room just as Slug took the stage, sandwiched between a friend who had never been to a concert before (who stood slack jawed and glowing with euphoria during most of the set) and one of the friends who taught me to smoke, a long lost relic of a person from that era of insecurity and untamed creativity, a girl who once taught me that playing “Guns and Cigarettes” every Friday after work was enough to make the whole work week fade away into oblivion.
Atmosphere played a great spread of tracks, covering almost all of their major albums (including an energetic, almost a capella version of the aforementioned “Guns”) before parlaying into their newer material. Slug and Ant owned the stage and the audience’s attention for the first half of the show, and with Ant half hidden toward the back corner of the stage it was a chance for everyone to take in as much Slug as possible. Backed by rapper Crescent Moon of Kill the Vultures (who opened the evening), Slug was commanding and proud as he stalked around the stage, showing off his prowess and then nodding and shyly thanking the crowd between songs.
Similar to his last time through town, Ant exited the stage halfway through the show and Slug was joined by his full touring band – a crew of tight and powerful musicians that converted the experience from a hip-hop show into a full blown concert. Highlights from the latter part of the evening included recent hits “Get Fly,” “Pour Me Another,” and “Panic Attack,” anthems about youth and angst and hyperactive partying that got the whole underage crowd moving up and down to the beats. As usual, Slug kept the entire room eating out of the palm of his hand the whole night, teaching the kids how to wave their hands in the aaiiier and helping them understand that you don’t have to be a gangster to understand rap music. All it takes is a good ear and a love for the youth.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Atmosphere
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus