The hip-hop duo Atmosphere made an explosive return to Los Angeles last week in support of their latest record 'Mi Vida Local'. The record is a mature piece with plenty of acoustically melodic beats that all point towards a darker direction from the band. At this point Slug and Ant have been creating records and touring for around two decades and it led me to wonder the type of impact they still had on the hip hop scene. Were these guys just catering to nostalgia, building a new fan base, or simply worn-out artists trying to cash out? It was clear that their studio efforts were still as haunting good as their older music, but I really wanted to experience this live for myself.
After an impressive warm-up performance from deM atlaS, Atmosphere finally took the stage to a sold-out crowd at the Novo in Downtown Los Angeles. The crowd seemed impatient. No one had any clue when the opener would finish and when the headliners would begin and although the music and beer was flowing, everyone was at maximum anticipation by the time the lights dimmed down for Atmosphere.
What we received was pure love from the audience reciprocated by maximum emotion and energy from Slug. He used this excitement to propel his first three tracks which were new ones off of 'Mi Vida Local'. Although I am sure there were many people present that had never heard the new record, they gave these tracks the respect they deserved. After showcasing the new ones they jumped right back in-time with hits off of God Loves Ugly and continued to perform a combination of old and new that covered the duo's entire career.
Slug pointed out how it seemed like there were a lot of old people in the crowd. It was clear that these older fans were the die hards. They were the ones who have the most memories attached to Atmosphere's older catalogue. Nonetheless it didn't feel like a Willie Nelson concert, people were full of energy and screaming their hearts out during the entire show. Slug performed line after line of twisted lyrics and made everyone laugh with his ghoulish stage banter.
Overall the band powered through an impressive amount of music and a solid encore. By the looks of it both young and old fans were all satisfied with the level of performance delivered by Atmosphere. If you haven't had a chance to catch them yet take a peek at the rest of their tour dates here!
