There were two lines formed at the front of the Mayan entrance for Monday night’s sold-out Justice show: those who were 21 and over and those who were not. The majority of the audience, for lack of a better word, were kids. Piled like sardines in the front of the stage on the floor, the night belonged to them. I can only imagine that many came out of it thinking that it was the best show they’d ever seen. For that matter, I imagine that many of the adults upstairs felt the same as they quite emphatically dropped it like it was hot.
The party was set in full force once Philadelphia producer/DJ extraordinaire Diplo came on stage. The crowd first had to be subjected to the show’s opener: the cheesy, T-Rex-inspired Fancy. All that glammy mess was obliterated under the weight of Todd Rundgren. Yes, spinning the Rundgren sounds of the studio sample via Hot Chip’s “Shake a Fist,” Diplo jumpstarted the night’s festivities. The man is undoubtedly a pro—hearty portions of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” M.I.A.’s “Bamboo Banga,” and Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up,” were weaved ever so skillfully. Capping his set with the sublime, “Paper Planes,” which he produced, Diplo told the crowd to put their guns (fingers in this case) in the air. Hundreds popped as the infectious chorus cashed in. Diplo proved to be the perfect set-up man for the night’s closers.
And oh what a closing! How can I put this mildly…Justice killed it. It’s been a remarkable year or so for Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. Often compared to their fellow countrymen Daft Punk, it's now safe to say that the duo have now hit their stride and can stand atop that mantle that was held by the French bots for the last decade and a half. Who really needs a giant glowing LCD pyramid when you got 18 Marshall amps (nine stacked to the left and to the right), seizure inducing lights and the piece de resistance: a glowing white cross. It also helps to have a new mega mix of all of your proverbial staples.
The new mixes were tremendous and Justice was served. Punishing one moment, euphoric the other, it was 100% electric. Jams like ‘Genesis,” “Phantom,” and “Waters of Nazareth” were given the royal treatment. Even weaker songs on their debut record, most notably “The Party,” was given a much cleaner polish and proved to be a big hit amongst young and old.
It goes without saying that one shouldn’t miss a Justice show if one happens to stroll by your town. The communal vibe at a Justice party is immense. You couldn’t beat the shared experience of everyone singing at the top of their lungs to the chorus of "D.A.N.C.E.," the joy of it all dripping down each and every larynx. It's safe to say that cabin pressure breeched under the colossal remix of “We Are Your Friends.” Using the air sirens from Klaxons' “Atlantis to Interzone” as its guide, the song was the night’s highlight of highlights. The lyric, “Because we are your friends / You'll never be alone again,” carried amongst all of the fist pumps that came along with it.
It’s amazing really that after a good hour or so of make-you-sweat music that would leave any audience to tremble at their knees, L.A. still wanted more. Justice were happy to oblige. It seems that for Justice (and the Ed Banger crew included) L.A. is their new home away from home. So it goes without saying that Justice wanted to give their new hometown crowd a nice farewell treat. After reprising “We Are Your Friends,” much to the crowd's delight, the group laid down some electro metal if you will, launching into a remix of the Metallica classic “Master of Puppets.” By show’s end de Rosnay jumped into the crowd and did a bit of crowd surfing while Augé parted with his precious silver cross medallion. It would appear that Justice was for all.
More on Justice here: myspace.com/etjusticepourtous
More on Diplo here: myspace.com/diplo
