Hometown Heroes Atmosphere Pack First Avenue For Sold-Out Saturday Show

There are some acts out there that I could go see night after night and not get bored with them. Atmosphere is one of those acts. There’s just something so wholesome, so honest, so raw, and so perfect about an Atmosphere show, especially when they are in their hometown. Sure, I could have chosen one of the various other shows happening in town and checked out a new-to-me band, but I followed my gut, and my gut told me that seeing Atmosphere yet again was what I needed for my Saturday night.

After walking into the sounds of DJ Stage One, Wave Chapelle took the stage to get the night started. This Milwaukee native really fit the vibe of the night perfectly, but I fear that he failed to capture the attention of a lot of the excited audience. That being said, he had my attention throughout his quick opening set. His raps and flow had a sense of danger behind them, but they were also still very situated in the midwest-rap vein of things (which I have explained in multiple blog posts, so I will save you my rant about how Midwest rap is truly something special). There was angst and honesty scattered throughout Wave Chapelle’s set, along with an endless amount of energy that radiated from the stage. Although he only performed for a short time, Wave Chapelle made his name known to those who took the time to tune in, and I think we will be seeing a lot more of the man in the near future.

I was super excited for the next act as they had opened for Atmosphere on back-to-back shows last November. I knew what I was going to get but was also excited to see if this collective from Los Angeles had evolved at all (spoiler: they have). Don’t let the name fool you, NOFUN! is full of fun, and that fun was on display on Saturday night. The massive group started off their set with an uber-fun all-member song before they broke into a couple of more tender songs. Although I was excited to see the jumps and feel the passion and carefree love that this group is known for, the more tender songs really showcased the sheer talent of the members that make up NOFUN!

I know I preached about this band the first two times I saw them, but I really have to emphasize how cool this group is. NOFUN! is made up of nine members. Each of those nine members comes from a different place with a different background and a different vibe. Somehow, all of those backgrounds and vibes come together in their set to create a sound of unison and, well, fun. It’s so cool because, as you watch certain members of this group, you catch onto what they bring to the table. Some bring more of an edge; some bring the soul, and others bring goofy smiles and carefree lines of perfectly crafted words. The way all of those things come together to create something truly gorgeous yet remain feeling oddly organic and almost improvised is genius. NOFUN! definitely had the crowd warmed up for the hometown heroes but, personally, I would have loved to see them play more than the six or seven songs they played. Everyone else may have been ready for the headlining group, but I could have easily stood there and watched more NOFUN!

Let’s start this portion of the review off the way I tend to start every review of Atmosphere– “Atmosphere”– it’s just a ten letter word but, up here in the twin cities, it’s a word that is truly larger than life. Atmosphere (made up of rapper Sean Daley– aka Slug– and DJ/producer Anthony Davis– aka Ant) put the Twin Cities rap scene on the map. I won’t get super into it, as I know I dive into the impact of this group every time I write about them, but I will say that they did a whole lot for the rap scene up here that drew me into a whole new world that I still enjoy getting lost in. I’m not a huge fan of rap, but groups like Atmosphere and many that Slug and/or Ant have had a hand in really made it a genre that has become a favorite of mine. I’m not the only one that feels this way. Scanning the crowd on Saturday night, it was clear that there were all kinds of people. People who don’t concert often, those that I see night after night, young and old, those who wanted to dance, and those who just wanted to lean against a wall– all of these people had converged on a sold-out First Avenue because of this legendary-to-us group, and it laid the stage for a truly beautiful night.

With thirteen full-length albums out there, there was no way that Atmosphere would be able to perform every song that I wanted to hear, but I loved the songs that they picked. From new to old, their twenty-four song set spanned all kinds of emotions from angst to happiness, life, love, stress, and all the way to setbacks (you’re a real MVP if you get that reference). Every song seemed to hit people in the audience differently and in ways that I didn’t expect. Some people had their emotions pouring down their faces, while other people could be seen with the largest smile their face could possibly handle. I loved that when looking around the sold-out audience, you could see all of this at any given moment. It just goes to show that music is up for interpretation, and the power of Atmosphere’s music, specifically, leans toward many different interpretations but all culminating in this overwhelming feeling of emotion.

I’m not naive- Atmosphere is not a household name, but, as mentioned, here in the Twin Cities, that ten-letter word is larger than life. That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised by the fact that Slug spent his time before the show walking down the line of fans that had showed up early and gave them all a fist bump or a hug. He didn’t have to do that. Honestly, in my mind, he’s a bit bigger than that, but there he was, walking up and down and saying hi to literally every person in the line, one by one. Out of everything that happened on Saturday night, this was my favorite moment. No matter how big those ten letters get, Atmosphere will always be a local treasure, and it’s nice to see them not forget that.