Atmosphere, the popular underground hip-hop duo, came to Toad’s Place in New Haven this past weekend. This performance was part of their “Paint the Nation” tour which began earlier this year. The tour is in promotion of their new album, “When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Sh*t Gold.”

Atmosphere consists of Sean “Slug” Daley, the writer and rapper, and Anthony “Ant” Davis, the producer and DJ. They also play with a live band featuring a guitarist, a keyboardist and a back-up vocalist. The band hails from Minneapolis, Minn., but is increasingly becoming known all over the world. Atmosphere released their highly anticipated album in April of this year. It is their fifth studio album.

As an avid Atmosphere fan, I was in attendance of this show, which began with me waiting outside of Toad’s Place in line for a solid hour. My intense anxiousness was broken when Slug came off of the tour bus and headed towards the line. He met and spoke with nearly every person waiting. I was able to get my picture taken with the rapper. Slug handed out signed posters before heading into the venue along with the fans.

The show began with two opening acts, Abstract Rude and Blueprint, both underground rappers. They were accompanied by DJ Rare Groove, a well-known disc-jockey. They each performed for about an hour, all the while building up anticipation for the main act.

When Atmosphere came out, the room seemed about 10 times smaller as people pushed forward to get closer. However, the tight space was not enough to crush my enthusiasm. He performed many songs, old and new, and often joked around with the crowd. After about an hour and a half, he picked up his jacket and exited the stage. That’s when things got interesting.

With the crowd becoming louder and louder, the band responded by coming out for an encore. After performing two or three well-known songs, he left again. However, he was soon back on-stage. He gave the fans at least four encores, each one better than the last.

He ended the concert with his most popular songs, leaving the crowd beyond pleased. Atmosphere’s performance lasted close to three hours, which was a large amount of time for a mere $20 ticket. It was easily the greatest show I’ve ever seen and I would definitely recommend going to one of them to anybody. I left Toad’s Place that evening with a new T-shirt and many priceless memories.