Air kick off Love 2 tour in Miami Beach

Air Live in Miami Beach.

Originally uploaded by Hans Morgenstern

So Air have begun their U.S. tour in support of their new album Love 2. They kicked it off with their live Florida debut in Miami Beach last night, Saturday, Mar. 13. It was a nice show. They managed to pull off the three-piece band very well while staying true to the essence of the songs they covered. The set seemed to go by fast, as they mostly stuck with up-beat tracks, which they pulled predominantly from Love 2, 10,000 Hz Legend and Moon Safari.

Though I did my best to appreciate the music of the night, some notable a-holes distracted me from the show, including some dork who snuck in a drink and a joint. Him and his friend blocked our view for the first song and then disappeared after we moved to another location, so we went back to our seats. Then there was a stupid hipster with an even stupider Zach Efron haircut and a Bud Light who would not stop chatting with his girlfriend. He sat behind us for the first half of the show, but left early, clearly not in tune with the music. Probably went to his car to listen to some Justin Timberlake.

Anyhow, those notable jerks, aside, the show was still good. I’m just glad the up-coming Of Montreal show at the same venue is general admission, so we can at least move to another location if idiots abound.

I made a few videos (as well as the photos you see here scattered through this post) and pooled them together here. Enjoy, and do share your comments if you were there, or if you are about to see any of the future dates, which you can see in my post about the tour here. I hope you think the clips (all entire songs) bodes well for whatever upcoming date you hope to catch them at.

(Copyright 2010 by Hans Morgenstern. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

Air to kick off U.S. tour in Miami

Air has announced their U.S. tour, their first in a long while, and it kicks off in Miami Beach, which is a definite first appearance for the band. I have been a fan since I first heard Moon Safari in the late 90s, and I can’t recall a time that they have ever graced Miami with a show (correct me if I am wrong, of course).

I haven’t been a devout fan, however, sporadically catching up with an album here and there. I’ve only heard their new album, Love 2 through my Napster subscription, but I’ve liked what I heard so far and have ordered the limited edition vinyl version, as I’m sure this will sound great on wax.

I think Love 2 is a strong addition to their catalog. After going through some nice evolutions into some stuff that even recalled Pink Floyd or even Radiohead (check out 10,000 Hz Legend and even some of the Virgin Suicides soundtrack), Love 2 sounds like a nice return to their chilled out French pop. I’ve up-loaded “So Light is Her Footfall” for a taste of how cool this album is. There are some beatific freak-out instrumental moments on Love 2 as well, such as “Night Hunter” and “Be a Bee,” so it is a diverse and exciting recording and worth checking out if you are an Air fan of any stripe.

According to their official website, this is only the beginning of a series of U.S. tours (this one is only two weeks long). They say they plan to tour as a three-piece with Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoît Dunckel sharing multi-instrumental and vocal duties and drumming and percussion provided by Alex Thomas, of Bat For Lashes and Badly Drawn Boy fame. Their website claims the setlist will include tunes from across their discography.

Their touring warm-up act is AM, who Air’s website describes as “a revered multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles with a flare for distilling global music influences into his own unique and infectious pop confections.” I have yet to check out his work, but plan to do so in advance, as I have heard some good things about it.

Without further ado, here are the tour date details:

March 13: Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore
March 14: Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
March 15: Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
March 17: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
March 18: Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
March 19: New York, NY @ Terminal 5
March 20: Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center
March 22: Montreal, PQ @ Metropolis
March 23: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
March 24: Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
March 26: Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
March 27: San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
March 28: Los Angeles, CA @ Walt Disney Concert Hall (according to AM’s website, this date has already sold out)

(Copyright 2009 by Hans Morgenstern. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)