Atmosphere's Welcome to Minnesota Tour at First Avenue, 2/22/12
Categories: Last Night
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| Photo by Ryan Siverson |
With Atmosphere, Kill The Vultures, Big Quarters, MaLLy and BK-One
First Avenue Mainroom, Minneapolis
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Last night, Atmosphere brought the second annual Welcome to Minnesota tour to the performers' home base of Minneapolis in between trotting throughout the state. Atmosphere, Kill the Vultures, Big Quarters, MaLLy, and BK-One gathered together for an epic local tribute.
Atmosphere's role in the local rap scene is undeniably pivotal, but unlike many rising stars who use their city as a stepping stone, Slug and company truly hold it down for Minneapolis and Minnesota writ large. Taking his band and his scene, essentially, on the road to oft-neglected smaller towns is the opposite of what many in his position have done in other cities. Not for a second were the roots of this whole music machine forgotten, and Slug made a point to shout out everyone from Uptown to "Forest motherfuckin' Lake!" The lineup itself was inspired, bringing an eclectic mix of rap groups that hit different strides but managed to meld as a whole show. BK-One spun a number of local tracks in between, everything from Prof to Guante to Doomtree to Franz Diego. For a group that just sold out a number of venues on a recent international tour, Atmosphere's heart is still clearly in the land of 10,000 lakes.
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| Photo by Ryan Siverson |
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| Photo by Ryan Siverson |
Afterwards, Big Quarters brought their sounds to the table, and their strength is in the loose energy found between the brothers. Amid the stellar beats the rapper-producers duo crafted, they had fun with their music by involving the audience with sing and/or shout-alongs, competitive appreciation, and rapping within the crowd itself. Still riding high off their excellent November release Party Like A Young Commie, Big Quarters were definitely in rare form.
Finally, Kill The Vultures rounded out the openers with another side of the Minnesota scene. Anatomy and Crescent Moon at one time helped support Atmosphere on tour as part of Oddjobs, though KTV is radically different from that (or any other) group. The challenging avant-garde stylings kept the audience captivated despite being heady and confrontational, and the minimalism coupled with Moon's distinct stage presence made this fit among the lighter groups. An intense performer (he began the show by lighting incense and wafting it over the audience), Crescent Moon brings the skill of a trained lyricist and the energy of a stage rapper to what would otherwise seem closer to beat poetry. By the time he got to "Moonshine", where he ordered everyone to put their drink or whatever else they may be clutching into the air, the audience seemed won over.
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| Photo by Ryan Siverson |
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