Air Live
By: Donna Brown |
Saturday April 28, 2007 |
| with Kate Havevnik |
| Photos By Mark Laubenheimer
Before I start anything else, I must first ask aloud the question that has been plaguing me ever since I saw the concert listing for the French duo's upcoming show - why TACOMA? If you know anything about Tacoma, Washington, it's probably from the titular Neko Case song. Case has the classic love/hate relationship with her hometown, where the "buildings are empty like ghettos or ghost-towns." She'll never go back, but she acknowledges its role in giving her a "passion for life" and a chance to invent her own history. At first glance Case makes Tacoma, home of the legendary "Tacoma aroma," sound like the last setting for a couple of urbane Frenchmen to play their slightly unsettling pop-tronica. But when I enter the stately Pantages, in the heart of downtown, I begin to get the idea. Lovingly refurbished and staffed with delightful retiree volunteers, the Pantages provides a fresh background - a little unexpected, but unaffectedly presentable. The faithful who've made the pilgrimage to Tacoma get it too; everyone seems to be acting a little more adult, showing off their good manners as they nibble on mini quiches and chicken cordon bleu bites (yummy!). There was none of the attitude that you see in Seattle, of people taking things for granted and always expecting more. Everyone was glad to be there and willing to "act right," as my mom would say. Unfortunately for the patrons who ran on "rock time," the show started exactly at eight, with the house lights dimming ominously five minutes beforehand. Petite opener Kate Havevnik appeared at eight on the dot, accompanied by two spectacularly talented musicians and dwarfed by a rich purple Yohji Yamamoto-esque number. The visual effect of the dress against her pale Norwegian skin, coupled with her exaggerated stage gestures and operatic voice, gave her a Kate Bush effect that was hard to shake. Her music was pretty, if a little inconsequential; only the ominous "Serpentine" indicated depth to her coffee-table trip-hop.  Thirty minutes later, Miss Havevnik was gone, taking with her a new group of fans-her meet-and-greet line was astoundingly long. Minutes later, Air appeared in a puff of dry ice and super-tight pants. Not that I care about hot French dudes in super-tight pants, but…oh, whom am I kidding? The audience was thrilled that Air "made an effort" (another phrase of Mrs. Brown the Elder) to look good for their public. One awestruck patron screamed "You're fucking beautiful!!" while another dude upstaged her by saying it in French. Well, then. Dunckel and Godin accepted the praise decorously, but did not let it disturb the momentum of their set, which concentrated on material from Moon Safari, 10000 Hz Legend, and their latest, Pocket Symphony. Although they stopped and thanked the audience politely after each number, the combined effect of their dreamlike analog synths, the light show, and the slight displacement caused by Tacoma was hypnotic. I wished they hadn't stopped in between songs, but that's a tiny quibble. The momentum they built with each song was strong enough to withstand a few minutes of stage patter. By the time they finished the main body of the set with a rousing "Kelly Watch the Stars," the audience had slipped out of its trancelike state, and most patrons were up and dancing- another thing you don't see in Seattle! By encore's end, I understood perfectly the allure of this misunderstood city, and why Air had chosen the Pantages. The whole city was a blank slate, reflecting Air's music perfectly and allowing listeners to "invent their own histories" away from the spotlight. Pantages Theater Tacoma, WA April 23 |
