Kidz In The Hall
Koko, London / Thekla, Bristol
18.06.08 / 22.06.08
You know the deal, your favourite act doesn’t play in the UK for years and then they come over and you see them twice in a week. Fuck a bus, this is Atmosphere and holy moly, they brought a good time with them across the ocean. The Koko show saw a packed out venue in North London baying for more and their jaunt over to Bristol saw them perform on a boat for a tightly-squeezed 300 or so fans, seeing the Minnesotan acts for the first time their West Country home.
After Duck Down’s Kidz In The Hall had tried to whip up the crowd, leaving their only real good song Drivin’ Down The Block for last, Ant took to the stage, his trademark leather jacket and pony tail there for all to see, and slammed down the intro to Strictly Leakage’s That’s Not Beef, That’s Pork with Ali and Slug bounding out on stage and immediately getting the crowd slamming their fists in the air.
Both shows saw the group run through a brilliant mix-up of tracks, old and new, with both MCs knocking out Cats Van Bags to full effect early on. The first track from Atmosphere’s amazing new album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold was Puppets, with its perfect build up before Slug told the crowd “You know this song? Oh shit, well then you know what’s next!” as the beat thumped in.
The rappers work seemlessly together, feeding off each other’s energy and this was shown perfectly at the Bristol show when, after Guns And Cigarettes, Slug said he was “bigger than syphillis” and Ali said that should be the latest design for Atmosphere’s t-shirt range. “See,” said Ali “Stick with me son, I’m a genius, I’ll make you rich”.
Both shows brought their own gems, with London holding an impromptu karaoke of old Atmosphere songs after the crowd had cut Slug off in his prime for the chorus of Woman With The Tattooed Hands and Bristol gave us an encore of Your Glasshouse and a freestyle session.
Koko’s show was finished off with Always Coming Back Home To You and after the lights went up and people began filing out of the venue, we wish they’d be coming back soon!
Abjekt