While sitting in traffic on your way to your office job, you hear a new song on the radio titled "La Femme d'argent" from an unknown French electronic duo called Air. This is the first song on their debut album, “Moon Safari.” The song starts slow, but gradually builds as the synth, guitar, keyboard, bass, organ, percussion and vocals all meld together in perfect harmony. This is a song unlike any you’ve heard before.

You rush to your local music shop after work and pick up a copy of “Moon Safari.” You hop back in the car, insert the disk into the CD player, and are transported into an entirely new world. Each song gives the feeling of flying through space, exploring the universe like the intergalactic adventurer you always dreamed of becoming. 

That feeling of flying, of genuine exploration, is what has made “Moon Safari” stand the test of time. It’s hard to believe, but over 27 years later, “Moon Safari” is still moving fans in the same way. The only difference now is that fans are actually face-to-face with the music. 

On Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, Air brought their “Air Play Moon Safari” tour to Arizona Financial Theater in Phoenix, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album's release. Air has been touring the show in Europe and North America throughout fall 2024 and announced a North American tour in 2025. Unexpectedly, Phoenix was announced as one of the stops, the first time the band had toured in Phoenix since 2007. The tour would consist of the full “Moon Safari” album, played front to back, along with nine other songs from their discography. 

As I sat only eight rows back, the first thing I noticed was the stage. Drums, synthesizers, mics and guitars were set up inside a clean, white, rectangular stage. The stage was reminiscent of a music video, similar to the set used in Drake’s “Hotline Bling” music video. It only took up a portion of the stage, which made the set feel more intimate. The theater was set up almost like an orchestra performance and less like a traditional concert.

As the crowd of mostly 30 to 60 year olds filed in, a huge pair of starry eyes appeared on the stage, watching the crowd as they headed to their seats. Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, the two men who have fathered Air since its inception, walked on stage wearing all-white outfits, including white flare pants (reminiscent of John Travolta’s outfit in “Saturday Night Fever”). The outfits gave the impression of a 70s disco star adventuring through space. Alongside Godin and Dunckel was percussionist Louis Delorme, also sporting an all-white outfit. 

The band started slow with the song “La Femme d'argent,” the opening song from “Moon Safari.” The instruments methodically built up, until everything reached a perfect harmony. If I closed my eyes, I would not have been able to tell the difference between the live version of the song and the album version. Their playing mirrored the album almost exactly throughout the concert.

But closing my eyes would have been a sin during this concert, as the visuals were truly a sight to behold and transported the audience to somewhere they could only imagine. Sometimes the white background would turn into a feast of colors, fading from one to another. Other times, the background turned into space, or a space ship. There was no shortage of visual intrigue. 

They then moved onto “Sexy Boy,” arguably their most popular song. The moon rotates behind the band, including the toy monkey (adorning an I Heart Moon t-shirt) from the 1998 music video and single cover art.  

Next was “All I Need,” which had vocals from Beth Hirsch on the original album. Since there were no female vocalists on stage, Godin took over the role, which he performed well. The stage was blasted with fog and shined with dark blue light, giving an almost film noir feel.

They moved to “Kelly Watch the Stars,” which comedically displayed videogame visuals, such as a game of Pong. The background even glitched like a videogame along with the song.

For “Talismen,” Delorme left his drums and walked off stage. Godin and Dunckel played the song with a mellow attitude, which benefited the next transition into “Remember.” The background changed into an imitation of the rectangular box they were already in, then switched to a salmon pink gradient. 

They moved to “You Make it Easy,” with its 90s R&B charm. Next was “Ce matin‐là,” which sounded like it was pulled straight from a 60s jazz record, if the recording studio was sitting on the moon.

“New Star in the Sky” was next, and had possibly my favorite visuals of the night. The background was journeying through the stars, which changed color and brightness, from sparkling rainbow colors to more shiny blues, reds, and pinks. The song used acoustic guitar and synth to create the feeling of flying, which felt even more real when coupled with the star visuals. 

They ended the “Moon Safari” portion of the concert with “Le Voyage de Pénélope.” The song had a familiar funky-synth feel and punctuated the first set with a slow build that inflated the room. The background displayed the all caps AIR logo, then the band took a bow, thanked the audience with a loving “merci,” and walked off the stage. 

Luckily, that was only the halfway point. They appeared back on stage just a moment later, as the visual of a sunrise rose up behind. They started with “Radian” from their 2001 album “10 000 Hz Legend,” They transitioned to “Venus” from the 2004 album “Talkie Walkie,” the background like a spaceship, almost Star Tours-like visuals. 

“Cherry Blossom Girl” from “The Virgin Suicides” motion picture score was next. The light was of course cherry blossom colored. The audience swayed along with the song as Delorme and Dunckel sang angelically. Next was another “Talkie Walkie” song, “Run,” which was airy and electronic. 

After that was another “The Virgin Suicides” song, “High School Lover,” which took the audience on a foggy, pink, piano led journey. Right after was another song from the album, “Dirty Trip.” It seems that all three songs from “The Virgin Suicides” used pink lighting, clearly a reference to the soundtrack’s album cover. 

They ended the second set with “Don’t Be Light” from “10 000 Hz Legend,” which goes from a more traditional synth Air song to a fast-paced, rocking, drum and bass inspired whirlwind. The lights flashed red and blue with the song, then transitioned to lipstick covered lips reciting the lyrics of the song. After another bow and “merci,” the band left the stage. The audience cheered for an encore, and Air happily obliged. 

The two songs played in the encore were “Alone in Kyoto” from “Talkie Walkie” and “Electronic Performer” from “10 000 Hz Legend.” The former had a gorgeous build up and set the stage for the last song. “Electronic Performer” was a thumping, beeping electronic song. 

It seems that the lyrics were speaking for Air at that moment, “We are electronic performers. We are electronics. We need to use envelope filters… to say how we feel. Riding on magnetic waves… we search new programs for your pleasure. I want to patch my soul on your brain… BPM, supposed to control your heartbeats.” The song explains how Air wants to communicate with their listeners through electronic music, not with lyrics, but with sound, with feeling. If that is their goal, then they have more than succeeded. 

The performance was polished and well thought out, yet still felt fresh and genuine. Some songs were melodic and gave the feeling of floating, while others were brash and loud, yet transformative. It’s amazing how an album released over 27 years ago can still transport the listener to a whole new world. 

What’s even more impressive is just how good the band still sounds. They created a concert that is not just about music, nor just visuals. “Air plays Moon Safari” takes the audience on a journey through space and time using a combination of visuals and sound. I was reminded of an immersive theme park ride during some moments. Air doesn’t just play “Moon Safari,” they embody the moon safari. It’s one of those rare performances that takes you completely out of the space you’re in, and the audience is more than happy to come along for the ride.