Seeing Air perform live is a reasonable thing to do on a Wednesday night. The intensity level of an Air concert is similar to that of a relaxing night of meditation or an evening at the spa. After all, Air’s trademark sound is the stuff dreams are made of…literally. So gather a few friends, see Air, and be in bed before midnight with neigh a scratch nor sweat stain on your collar. With two dates falling midweek at San Francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 club, a good amount of the city convinced itself that such would be a pleasant way to break up the week. Those who arrived when the doors opened treated themselves to cocktails at the venue’s sit-down lounge, while the die-hards began congregating around the perimeter of the stage to admire a collection of synthesizers and keyboards that could rival that of Guitar Center. Lerche, a renowned indie-folk singer/songwriter, appreciatively and meekly introduced himself to the crowd, thanking them for their patience until the main act. His humility alone would have won over the crowd, and his pleasant pop-folk set made for a perfect appetizer to prepare the palette for Air’s arrival.

After an enjoyable hour of Lerche’s musings, anecdotes, and their accompanying songs, the stage was reshuffled and Air appeared donning pristine, tailored, white suits apropos to only an accomplished Parisian performance duo. Contrary to my expectations, the group known for soothing away daily stress with angelic, ethereal soundscapes proved within the first few songs that they could provide a balanced show which, at more than a few times, simply rocked. The joy of seeing musically mellow-mannered Air play live lies in how starkly powerful those distorted Rhodes keyboards sound in contrast to the whispy textures that have built them a downtempo empire.

Perhaps as a self-aware act of defiance, Air used this stigma to their advantage and utterly blew away the notion of being a reserved and dynamically limited act. This, however, did not occur at the expense of the seminal classics that spawned the “chill out” genre while saving its credibility from being gentrified dinner party music. “Le Femme d’Argent” and “Talisman” had the crowd humming melodies like pop lyrics, and their live execution of “Run” captured and expanded upon the sublime wonder of the studio version. In contrast, the bass line of “Don’t Be Light” was felt as much as it was heard, and “Sexy Boy” rocked the club with the visceral impact of a punk show.

Air’s brief but sweet visit made for one of the most welcome performances of the year, particularly to a devout fan who threw high school cocktail socials at his parents’ house to Moon Safari. A few more songs from Pocket Symphony and 10,000 Hz Legend would have been appreciated. However, when the group bowed before the crowd at the curtain’s closing, neither a die-hard nor a newbie was left unfulfilled. Not bad at all for a work night.