Who needs Oxygen when we has AIR! (Air in general)

Member Name: pancakelizard

Product:	Air in general
Date:	14/11/01 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: MAGICAL, FANTABULOUS, UNIQUE

Disadvantages: nowt

Monday 29th October ‘Air’ came to Glasgow! Nope, some brilliant entrepreneur did not take a huge hoover and vacuum the smog and grime up, super glue the ozone layer and save our souls – wouldn’t it be nice! However, something equally as fab :s did happen: one of the most genius acts of our time came to the Barrowlands, and created harmony in my fast and furious and generally unappreciated world!

‘Air’, as a band, mean something to me. They remind me of a beautiful time where I rediscovered a lot of me. And they represent a moment in that time that never fails to be beautiful. When I hear their music I float into that place…and then I tend to fall asleep. So was a tad ambiguous about this gig. A concert is best when you jump around, sing along, get very drunk, throw beer over your mates and watch some strange eejit throw themselves into the crowd – isn’t it? So what was to be done throughout the set? Especially since I set up the R.S.P.A.H.B (for all you non-members it’s the -royal society for the prevention of all head bopping – DUH! Tis my biggest pet peeve!!!) EXTRA pressure being I was taking someone as a surprise, to say thankyou, for being and for making a difference – what if they felt just as uneasy – sheesh, why didn’t I just get tickets to see Linken Park or something, then we could bounce and…..dang, it’s too late now!

We arrived a tad after eight, doors opened at seven, and a nice surprise, there was no queue! Jackets handed in (a quid) and pint of cider (classy chick me - £2.20 per pint – snot too bad considering people would pay anything at these things) in hand we headed up to the hall, which to be fair reminds me of a school gym hall with a bar (imagine that –primary seven, in shorts n t-shirt playing dodgeball with a gin n tonic…WOW!). People where everywhere, concert was completely sold out, generally sitting on thei
r arses, most likely stoned, pretty much chilling. Support where on: welcome….drum roll…special guests….silence…. Sebastian Teller!!!???? Nah I hadn’t heard of him either! He was, eh, mmm, terrifying, though I guess at a push, intriguing. He made noise on a guitar while some strange bird in a trance played some instrument that played loud noise but was clearly invisible. Technical stuff eh? Bet you all know what I’m talking about. It was bizarre! And ended abruptly with said tranced girl screaming and collapsing on the floor. Now that’s what I call entertainment….eh naw!!! As I said: terrifying!

Half hour passes, perfect for pint of diesel and quick scan of crowd to a)spot many friends attending (hey Clare(s)!) and b)find a decent spot to attain! Missions accomplished ( (a) failed – place was jumping, no chance of spotting one face among hundreds, ach weel, just got to be me and he then…shame! J) BRING ON THE ENTERTAINMENT!

On walk five or six men, ‘Air’ stands at two I’m sure – Nicholas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel- but without their studio they can’t work all the magic alone so they acquired the help of another 3 (or perhaps four – can’t really remember, they where bouncing about and all mingled and ouch, my poor wee head, anyways there was more than the usual two, and one of them was FINE!!) They started and all preconceived fears disappeared, the whole place was in awe of them – they where truly and completely inspiring, from start to finish! And not a disappointment in any of it – to quote every rave cd from yesteryear to forever more, it was ‘all killers and no fillers’, and much much MUCH (are you getting the muchness of the situation) better than I ever anticipated.

They started with a lot of their new stuff. Don’t expect a blow-by-blow account though, if I can’t remember how many men where a
t the joint on stage how can I remember the song list? – but shall try my best and speak of the songs I remember vividly. I had bought the new cd three days previously and couldn’t quite make my mind up. Listened to it through twice and then put it in my collection. Wasn’t too impressed, but wasn’t disappointed neither. It was a bit stranger, and less provoking than the infamous ‘Moon Safari’ but I guess it’s hard and pretty unfair to ask them to better perfection. Ah the banes of being wonderful…

From their newer set the most memorable was ‘how does it make you feel?’ a kind of electronic voice, telling pretty stories over the usual melodic perfection that ‘Airs’ uniqueness provides.

“I am feeling very warm right now, please don’t disappear, I am spacing out with you, you are the most beautiful entity that I’ve ever dreamed of, at night I will protect you in your dreams, I will be your angel.’

When I heard this on the cd (it’s called 10 000HZ legend – I nono why) I was a tad disappointed, felt the words where beautiful but the voice put me off… but now? After experiencing it live, I listen to it and am transported back to the gig. There it came together perfectly, and really was quite beautiful. Says something, really something, when a bands magic can touch you long after the band have returned to France (really hoping that’s where they is from, or else I’m just foolish). HOWEVER was a tad taken aback when it ended abruptly with ‘well. I really think you should stop smoking.’ – but made me smile in my konfuddled happy state.

Next one I recall clearly is ‘People in the City’. Air use repitition and spell out the words to create an atmosphere of chaos and speed and busyness and life and reality as it is: unpleasantville, population us! It’s a powerful piece, and I thin
k it gets it message across incredibly considering it uses very little language, but its variable volume paints the picture well:

‘P-E-O-P-L-E-C-I-T-Y, people in the city
moving watching working sleeping driving walking talking smiling moving watching….’

Easily this piece is better in reality, mind you even their huge classics where better live. I now listen to this loud and blaring until Emma covers her ears muttering beneath the bass ‘no like it, had enuuuuf maaaaaaaaaaaaaam!!!’ Far cry from my usual ‘can’t sleep shall see if ‘Air’ can help’ philosophy. After hearing them live, their power, their intenseness, their blatant beauty that stands alone in our failing music industry, they have taken on a new identity to me. Maybe because who I was there with was why they where important, and their music delved deeper in to my heart then, but maybe that’s the hopeless romantic in me! Probably because they where truly amazing! Praise where it’s due! Guys – you rocked!!!

See that was the strange thing. I came away a much bigger fan than I went. And I guess that had something to do with the company - grr, and the atmosphere, and the alcohol even – but for a concert that wasn’t filled with madness and jumping and fun and laughter, it entrenched quite an overwhelming impression. A week previously I’d been to see ‘The Eels’. I’ve followed them since I was fourteen, loved all their work, and had waited for this concert for a long time. I was so disappointed, they lacked something, they clearly don’t excel on a stage, E looked positively bored and the experience was frustrating on the whole. ‘Air’ was quite the opposite, incredibly different from all concerts I’d experienced previously and insanely tremendous! (my English teacher’s gonna murder me…I spoke proper England…yeh baby!) Woo and in
deed Hooo!

They played everything that I’m familiar with. A lot from the ‘Virgin Suicides’, and the majority of ‘Moon Safari’. Totally giving the audience what they wanted. Leaving after an hour they came back for a seven set encore, and here they played their biggies departing from Glasgow with an inspired, probably still stoned, audience thrilled and smiling from a totally awesome (Waynes world rocked! Tangents – too many tangents, I clearly need an editor) experience that, well, that blew me and all else away! ‘La femme d’argent’, ‘sexy boy’, ‘you make it easy’, ‘all I need’ and ‘Kelly watch the stars’…wow, wow, wow ,wow, WOW, WOW, WOW! (not in that order, but all there and all wow! Has I said that before?)

I expect next time round I’ll be waiting in line for tickets. Doubt it’ll ever be as magical, taking everything into consideration, doubt it could be. But they where out of this world, a definite cut above the best! And they has a true fan now in me.

Who needs oxygen when we have ‘Air’!

“Remember together, Remember forever,
Souviens toi ce jour la toi et moi”

I will!

Smiles, Pancake Lizard x

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