Words by: Allie Samborn
Photos by: Brendan Lee
Wednesday September 14, 2016 – Atmosphere How does one end up, on a random Thursday night in Vancouver, holding the sweaty and sticky-with-beer hand of a stranger on the crammed floor of the Commodore Ballroom? Just by being at the sold-out Atmosphere show, apparently, where the people around me along with the rest of the room, are so swayed by Atmosphere’s call for “ending the night on a note of love” that my waves of dismissal and assurances that I don’t need to partake in this specific display is met with “Nah, man. Don’t fight it. It’s all love.” And so, with hands linked and hoisted overhead, the entirety of the Commodore’s floor, in synchronicity with the performing artist / leader / god everyone came to see, chanted “We did it!”
From the moment Atmosphere landed on stage, the crowd was at his (the groups’ front man Slug’s) command. Vibrating with a palpable energy, the room warbled lyrics back so frequently that the audience more than once earned a sentence or two of appreciation from Atmosphere. Demanding the crowd tell him how Vancouver and it’s fans got so perfect, Atmosphere fittingly launched into the track of the same name.
Mixing old tracks into his new set list, the opening bars of “Happy Mess” played and Atmosphere’s question of anyone remembering it was barely heard over the screams of appreciation. Digressing for a moment and referencing the sweat pouring down his face, he joked that Vancouver makes him so wet, he’d carry our bastard because he’s not on birth control, obviously, and so launching into “Don’t Ever Fucking Question That” seemed oddly fitting. On a roll with “rare feel-good jams” he laid down “Angelface” before moving onto less happy tracks like “Say Hey There” and “Fuck You, Lucy”, for which he demanded and not surprisingly got, both middle fingers from everyone in the room.
Seemingly stunned again by the obedience and support of his Vancouver fans, he asked for 2 L’s “one for love, I love you Vancity, and one for life” before hitting the bars of “Yesterday.” Taking a moment to reminisce that he, along with Dem Atlas and Brother Ali had played almost exactly 14 years ago opening for another show on this very stage, Atmosphere also spoke about his dreams of being LL Cool J circa 1987 with strippers in a limo (“though now he looks like RoboCop”), and how fortunate he is to be here as a 44-year-old rapper playing his self-dubbed “dad rap.”
Insisting each person make eye contact with those next to them, appreciating this moment in hip hop, he slammed into his track “God’s Bathroom Floor” prefacing that it “is probably older than most of you in here.” Transitioning into “Let Me Know That You Know What You Want Now”, he had the whole club jumping to each line in the track. Taking a moment before “Flicker” to mention his little brother, to whom the song is dedicated, the Commodore’s floor was lit with a floodlight made up of cellphone flashlights.
After seemingly leaving the stage for the night, Atmosphere stomped back on demanding “What the fuck!? Go home!” and not missing a chance to toss up a metaphorical middle finger, he continued “The encore is a tool of the Illuminati. Fuck the invisible hand! How about you guys leave, go outside around the corner until we scream for you to come back so we can play one more song?”
Sliding into a freestyle with Dem Atlas, Atmosphere capped off the night with its “note of love”, giving adored fans one last moment to enjoy the atmosphere created with “Trying to Find a Balance.” Profusely thanking the crowd and expressing his awe and gratitude at his fans and life in general, Slug (and Atmosphere) stepped off the stage for the night leaving behind his palpable appreciation for Vancouver. . . And random strangers holding hands.’
