A Moon Safari through Sound and Memory
On the day before (Canadian) Thanksgiving, the French electronic duo Air took the stage at Place Bell to perform their iconic Moon Safari album in its entirety, plus a second part and encore filled with some other songs from their 25-year repertoire. The anticipation inside the venue was palpable as fans from different walks of life gathered to relive a sonic experience that has been etched in our collective memory for over two decades.
In my opinion, what unfolded over the next 90 minutes was not just a concert but a celebration of nostalgia, life enjoyment, and the delicate balance between past and present.
The stage was a visual marvel: a 5-sided rectangular prism with layers of mirrors, screens, and lights creating an immersive cocoon around the three musicians (the traditional DUO plus an extraordinary drummer named Louis Delorme). This architectural wonder served not only as a backdrop but also as a visual extension of AIR’s soundscapes—reflecting, refracting, and amplifying their sonic world.
Throughout the night, the stroboscopic lights danced in sync with the music, adding to the almost otherworldly atmosphere. Additionally, fog helped densify the atmosphere for a more immersive visual experience as the light beams reflected even more.
As Moon Safari played out in full, each track seemed to connect with a deeper part of the audience’s collective memory. AIR’s music has always been about atmosphere—creating soundscapes for life’s in-between moments: for waiting, for relaxing after work or during traffic and for all other quiet spaces in our lives.
For me, the moment of connection came with “Sexy Boy.” The song instantly transported me back to a simpler time, standing in front of my TV as a teenager, waiting for my requested song to be played on The Box, a long-forgotten (and now defunct) music video channel that displayed a long queue of requested songs. Seeing the giant plush chimp glide across the screen in that video was my first introduction to AIR. That memory, now so distant, felt like it was happening again, in real-time, as the live performance unfolded before my eyes.
Delighting in that memory, I thought about how many “mes” have existed and how I both fully miss them and how fully I want to be a better me, this memory, this self-reflection, this ever-evolving notion of self it’s the bridge that connects our present selves to our younger, more impressionable selves. While some may criticize nostalgia as clinging to the past, I see it as a necessary link to who we were, allowing us to reflect and appreciate how far we’ve come.
The musicians themselves were masterful, shifting between instruments with ease, demonstrating the full range of their multi-instrumentalist talents. Nicolas Godin’s gentle bass lines meshed perfectly with Jean-Benoît Dunckel’s spacey keyboards, and the addition of a third musician brought additional layers to their live sound. Each note, each beat, was deliberate, creating beautiful soundscapes all around.
As the night drew to a close with the final tracks, the overwhelming feeling was one of warmth and calm. AIR’s music has always been a great choice to use as a soundtrack for life’s quieter moments, but in this live setting, it might have become something bigger for some of us.
As the final notes hung in the air, the audience was left with the lingering echo of both the music and their own memories weaved together in a moment of perfect remembrance.
Review – Ricardo D. Flores
iPhone Photos – Simon Williams