Olympia, Dublin
Without question, France has given us some musical originals. From Serge Gainsbourg’s raspy
Je T’aime
to Daft Punk and their floor fillers, there’s more to the canon than syrupy Eurovision entries and bad earworm pop. Air captured the imagination of a generation with
Moon Safari
, an album they’ve been defined by and have never equalled with subsequent releases. Twelve years on, it still has a gravitational pull, judging from the size of the crowd at the first of two Dublin gigs.
Opening with an instrumental was understated and possibly risky, but Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, have an indelible sound that’s all about the trademark Korg, which etherised the crowd. One wall of woozy synths gave way to another, while Godin alternated between guitar and bass, triggering samples of everything from strings to flute. Dunckel’s array of vintage keyboards must be the envy of any music equipment geek, as are Godin’s vocoder vocals.
As a duo, they did everything right – from Rememberto Talisman– but the stage swallowed them up a little. No one expects bands to banter, but there was minimal interaction with the crowd, which added to the slightly chilly vibe. Visuals were clever (fluffy snowflakes for the Dublin day that was in it) but vastly under-used. A drummer helped out on percussion as did an occasional keys player, wearing a trilby with a Led light, resembling Van Morrison if he'd joined Orbital. The crowd clapped politely, there was the odd rogue whoop, but there was a definite sense of being underwhelmed. It's hard not to think that backing singers or a brass or string section would have hugely enhanced things.
What Air do – fey, retro soundtracks – they do brilliantly, but the live show lacks the same magic. There were still highlights – People in the Cityand the wigged-out squelches of Do the Joy– but the crowd seemed relieved when the hits arrived. The last number was Kelly Watch the Stars, and Sexy Boywas squeezed into a short encore, but we all wished the best hadn't been left till last.
