Atmosphere’s audience hasn’t changed in years. Maybe it had something to do with last Friday’s show being at the only all-age venue in town, or maybe it truly is that Atmosphere has an undying fan base of 19-year-old boys who look to lead rapper Slug as a hip-hop role model, and lustful teenage girls in weather-inappropriate sundresses hoping to catch the mid-30-year-old’s eye.
On tour for When Life Give You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, their fifth official full-length album, the steadfast duo of Ant and Slug (with backup singers and musicians) opened with material off the new disc. A slew of hands flailed in the air. After an extremely warm welcome, Slug paused to remark to the freshly frisked sold-out crowd, “Shit, it really feels like we’re having a basement party in here.” And it was: the basement of Sav-A-Lot and Maine Hardware even has that authentic subterranean sound. In fact, the Station could use a little acoustics boost for those of us drinking-age folks wrangled in the back or sandwiched between pool tables over to the side — those out-of-the-way locations make for a muted experience. Luckily, I was able to recognize and was grateful for the classic “Abusing the Rib.”
Slug continued to be full of energy, even after the hour-plus of record signing at Bull Moose the night before. Patient and engaged, he fielded questions about whom fellow rapper Murs has beef with and listened to how his album Lucy Ford changed their lives.
Maybe it’s because Slug doesn’t appear to tire of it all — the shows, the appearances, the answering the same question a million times — that this album is the highest-selling Rhymesayers release to date, and the first to make the Billboard chart’s top 10.
