CONCERT REVIEW: Air @ The Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC

Story by Zac Bardou
Photo by Lauren Schaefer

On May 10, the French electronic pop-rock duo Air returned to New York for the first time in nearly three years and took the stage at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Back in the United States in support of their new album, Pocket Symphony, the band headlined a three-act bill with a hypnotizing performance that provided a comprehensive review of some of their greatest music.

Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin’s compositions seem simple upon first listen, but eventually reveal themselves to be subtly elaborate, mingling mellow and meandering grooves with unrelenting bass-laden dance anthems that could pass for pop music from Pluto. An Air performance incorporates dozens of different instruments including guitars and basses, a variety of synthesizers and drums, and all manner of exotic woodwinds and strings, forging an inimitable brand of atmospheric electronica inspired by the synthesizer all-stars of 1970’s France, such as Jean Michel Jarre and Francis Lai, and psychedelic rock innovators like Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.

Those that arrived promptly at the theatre at 8 pm were treated to prelude performances by Norwegian poptress Kate Havnevik and New York’s own TV on the Radio. The gradually growing and mostly seated audience seemed attentive to every note, applauding between songs appreciatively. It soon became apparent they were saving their energy for the main event.

When the lights went down for the headlining act, plunging the theatre into profoundly deep darkness, there was an audibly collective bating of breath as a sampled symphony of whirs and blips quickly gave way to ominously humming feedback, an eerily moaning vocal and the steadily unrelenting beat of tribal drums.

Indistinguishable there, somewhere in the blackness, the band made their way to the instruments and, as though sensing them there, the crowd roared with excitement. The lilting of a harp seemed to cue the purple-hued beams from the light racks above, revealing Jean-Benoit Dunckel, Nicolas Godin, two drummers and a bassist. The crowd shrieked its approval as Air dove headlong into the pastoral stroll of the 10,000 Hz Legend classic “Radian.”

The eclectic set that ensued featured four songs off of Air’s new studio album, Pocket Symphony, including an incendiary rendition of their single, “Once Upon a Time,” but the band culled the bulk of their performance from the French duo’s previous efforts.

Moon Safari fan favorites such as “Talisman” and “Remember” shared the electronic soundscape with Talkie Walkie’s lovingly crafted “Cherry Blossom Girl” and a predictable but powerful version of 10,000 Hz Legend’s “People in the City” that culminated in an explosive climax of improvised electronic rock, visually augmented by a seizure-inducing light display.

After a raucous “Kelly Watch the Stars” to close out the show, the band returned to the stage and encored with “Alone in Kyoto,” a song off Talkie Walkie that appeared in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation,” and two of their most recognizable 10,000 Hz Legend numbers, “Sexy Boy” and “La Femme d’Argent.” The latter in particular writhed with extended improvisation, riling an ecstatic clamor from the audience enrapt.

Although traditionally brief, Air’s seventy-five minute performance, rife with fan favorites and executed with exacting precision, seemed to blow away all those in attendance. The name Air is actually an acronym for the French words Amour, Imagination and Reve, which translate in English to Love, Imagination, and Dream. If that is a mission statement of sorts, Air delivered on its promises at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and as the dazed patrons shuffled toward the exits, their minds still cloudy from the shock of the return to reality, it was as though the entire theatre finally exhaled. Hopefully, American fans of one of the world’s finest ambient outfits won’t have to wait another three years to breathe in the Air once again.