I went to see Atmosphere in concert last night at the Henry Fonda Theater, and they were INCREDIBLE. Seriously INCREDIBLE. Atmosphere has been one of my favorite groups for the past 4 years now, and I've always wanted to see them live.
I'm not sure I can put the entire experience into words. The doors were supposed to open at 7, and the show was supposed to start at 8, but everything got delayed an hour. That part kind of sucked---we got there at 6:20! The opening acts came on at 9 sharp, but they played for 2 hours! I enjoyed most of the opening acts, but I felt like they were longer than necessary, and I became antsy because I really wanted to see Atmosphere. A girl fight even broke out within half an hour into the show, ha. I don't blame them, we were completely packed in the pit, it was hot, and the stench of weed was everywhere.
Note to self--never get a drink at the Henry Fonda Theater. Bad drinks, high prices---blech.
Atmosphere FINALLY came on at 11 pm. When JK and I first got to the Henry Fonda, we were about 6 or 7 rows in from the stage, but I got so claustrophobic and nauseous from the combination of cigarette and marijuana smoke that we ended up moving to the back of the theater. Slug (the MC in Atmosphere) was incredible from the beginning. I've been to several hip hop concerts now, and right away, what struck me the most about this concert was how personal it felt. At other concerts, it felt like there was still this barrier between me and the MC, but even from the back of the Henry Fonda, Slug was interacting with the whole crowd, and he rapped in a way that made you identify with his songs. Seriously--the man's a fucking poet. I've always been in awe of some of his lyrics, but to hear them performed live is a whole other experience.
I love going to hip hop concerts because it's not so much about the performance and the theatrics, but it's about the music. It's about the lyrics, about the MC, about the crowd sharing an experience where they can just identify with the songs and the words. I love the feeling of being in a crowd and everyone is just dancing, arms raised in the air, beating along to the music because they feel it so much and so deeply that they can't do anything but dance along to it. It's that sense of freedom and happiness blended together that I love and thrive on.
The crowd was completely into Atmosphere's performance and singing along to the songs. I love it when you can hear the entire auditorium sing or rap along with the performer. It's such a unique experience because you're in a room full of different people but everyone has one common interest: Atmosphere. To be in an auditorium full of people who enjoy a group as much as you do is an extraordinary experience.
Slug did a mixture of old songs and new songs. You could just feel the love from the crowd when he played his classic songs. I got so excited when he did Woman with the Tattooed Hands, God Loves Ugly (the crowd went CRAZY for that one), Sunshine, God's Bathroom Floor, Shrapnel, and Always Coming Back Home to You. He saved "Always Coming Back Home to You" for the last song, which was extremely fitting. I really wanted to hear the Modern Man's Hustle and Reflections, but they didn't perform those songs.
I loved this concert. I waited nearly 5 hours just to see Atmosphere come on, but in the end, it was worth it.
Now, the next person I'd like to see in concert: COMMON!
