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)
Air are amazing. This is so exciting! I wonder what their act is like, since they sound so atmospheric…