“On Wednesday, March 5th, back in Eugene, Oregon, where brave artists live and naturally nothing’s boring, you could find the Sluggo posted at a theatre with the first name McDonald in a group called Atmosphere.”
The McDonald Theatre in Eugene was one sold out stop on an international tour to promote Atmosphere’s newest album, Mi Vida Local. Atmosphere (comprised of rapper Slug and producer Ant) brought fellow Rhymesayers artists DJ Keezy, The Lioness, and deM atlaS along for the ride.
As legendary as Slug and Ant are together, it was clear that a fair few in the packed house on Wednesday night had shown up to support the young deM atlaS. His performance brought no question to this turnout, as it was brimming with energy. Any second that wasn’t used for singing or rapping was enlivened with jump splits, MJ spins or air guitar swagger. Turner was an animated character to say the least.
There aren’t many as charming or charismatic as Sean Daley, however. Better known as Slug, Daley is the voice and frontman of hip hop duo Atmosphere, and has made a name for himself as a legendary MC of raw talent and sincerity. To say “he has a way with words” would be an understatement. “He knows just what to say” is more like it. In addition to his positive stage presence as a veteran of entertainment, his words to the crowd came off excitingly genuine, and unique to Eugene. Atmosphere’s large bill of hit songs also makes it hard to have a dull time at their show. With seemingly unlimited hum-worthy hooks and relatable content, their music is more than addictive.
The setlist included a handful of tracks from the new record, but was largely comprised of hits like “Yesterday,” “God Loves Ugly,” “Sunshine” and “Modern Man’s Hustle.” They ended the show with one of the oldest favorites, “God’s Bathroom Floor,” a song Slug confessed to be personally thankful for, followed by “Graffiti” from Mi Vida Local. After a short absence, Atmosphere returned for three more crowd-pleasers: “Always Coming Back Home to You,” “Drown” and “Trying to Find a Balance,” the latter two of which deM atlaS, the Lioness, and DJ Keezy returned to the stage for. After a passionate group number, the Rhymesayers bid farewell to Eugene, embracing each other as a family while the audience followed suit.
