AIR @ Kool Haus 04/17/04

[TimmyB]

AIR, the electronic music duo from France performed tonight at Kool Haus. Air performed a nice mix from all their records from their classic debut 'Moon Safari' to their most recent release 'Talkie Walkie'.

The crowd was laid back and respectful. Felt like a Radiohead crowd, on valium and prozac.

Jean-Benot Dunckel & Nicolas Godin performed better live than I had anticipated, which was a nice surprise. I say this because I do not attend many electronic acts. I did see Moby at his Area2 festival, but I was mainly their for David Bowie.

I've been a fan of Air ever since I saw Sofia Coppola's directorial debut "The Virgin Suicides". I wanted to attend Air's show at the Kool Haus in 2001 when the venue was called The Warehouse. As they were supporting their '10000 HZ Legend' album at the time, of which I'm a big fan. It had a Beck feel to it, probably because Beck was on the record. But unfortunately I couldn't attend due to work.

Anyway here is the set list:

Start: 9:19PM

1. Venus ('Talkie Walkie' '04)

2. Alpha Beta Gaga ('04)

3. J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau ('Premiers Symptomes' '99)

4. Surfing On A Rocket ('04)

5. People In The City ('10000 HZ Legend' '01)

6. Cerry Blossom Gilrl ('04)

7. Talisman ('Moon Safari' '98)

8. Another Day ('04)

9. Hurricane/Lover ('The Virgin Suicides' '00)

10. Run ('04)

11. Kelly Watch The Stars ('98)

Encore 1: 12. Radian ('01)

13. Biological ('04)

14. Sexy Body ('98)

Encore 2: 15. La Femme D'Argent ('98)

Finish: 10:46PM (1h26m total)

The opener was an interesting band from Brazil called The Mosquitos. They are fronted by a very colourful girl who entertained the crowd, though half the lyrics not english.

[tatterdemalion]

i was contemplating seeing them here in boston last monday, but didn't feel like making the gamble ($30 ticket) on something that i hadn't heard in years. i liked Air for their spacy, psychedelic sound, and i was a little concerned that it would be the electro-techno-stuff that i'm not a fan of.

can you describe what it was like ?

[TimmyB]

AIR was far better live than I anticipated. For a band that is dubbed "electronic" Dunckel and Godin's musicianship was superb. They also had another keyboardist and a drummer on stage with them, and on occasion a roadie came out to perform another keyboard. For four new songs 'Surfing On A Rocket', 'Cherry Blossom Girl', 'Another Day' and 'Biological' the drummer played bass and a drum machine was used.

The duo and their counterparts did an excellent job recreating the material from their records. They even by the end extended their classic opening track from their debut 'Moon Safari' entitled 'La Femme D'Argent'. 'Argent' is tarcked at 7:08 on the record and for the final song of the night it ended up running thirteen minutes plus. And it wasn't fluff either the soloing was quite good.

If you have not heard 'Talkie Walkie' and you like 'Moon Safari' then you would enjoy AIR right now. The entire night of music flowed beautifully and Dunckel and Godin had a wonderfully pleasant precence on stage. And the music was very spacey with sexual overtones, both musically and lyrically. I read that much of the music from their newest release was inspired by watching pornography.

It was definitely worth the $37.75 Canadian that I payed. If AIR came around again I would definitely want to go again. I am also already looking forward to AIR's next release. I feel that they are one of those few bands out their that do something within a genre of music and make it distinctly theirs, influencing those in and out of that genre.

[Phunky Cauldron]

Checked this show out last night and it was wicked. Had a blast from start to finish...which in my opinion, came way too soon. First off, it was all over by 10:45, leaving me looking for a new party to finish off the night. I wish they had played for a little longer considering the $30 for 1:45 of playing. I guess maybe I've been spoiled by all the 'jam band' concerts I've been seeing that top two and a half hours for cheaper than that. Ah well, it was still incredible and the crowd really dug it!

[TimmyB]

Hey Phunky Cauldron, I too have been spoiled by the jam scene when it comes to the length of shows. Damn, I've seen single sets that have been longer by jam bands then last nights entire AIR show, which ran 1 hour and 26 minutes. But the anticipation of a shorter show was in the front of my mind before I entered the doors.

Though as I have previously posted, I agree the show was a blast.

For anyone who's interested and finding more about AIR, check them out at their official website. www.intairnet.org