justice concert review

Top 5 thoughts on the Justice show:

1. Justice are freaking rock stars.

The spine crushing barrage of dirty-sick distorted synths and military grade beats are one thing. The giant stack of Marshall amps flanking their set-up are another. The fact that Xavier de Rosnay had a cigarette dangling out of his mouth for the duration of the show? TRUE rock star status. Up yours, Denver county anti-smoking ordinance.

2. Gaspard Augé isn’t light

This is an educated guess judging from the straining faces of fans near the front and faceplant waiting to happen that was Auge’s attempt at ‘crowd walking’ at the end of the show. It reminded me of a Fischerspooner show where I was actually involved in trying to keep Warren Fischer afloat. Hello hernia!

3. Justice are no Daft Punk - yet

Visually, Justice is so-so at this point. The huge glowing cross that fades in and out may be mesmerizing, and the smoke and lights cracking through the speaker stacks are pretty cool. Still, in this day and age I fully expect more in the way of neon-strobe-mind-fucking visuals to accompany the madness. An extensive Pommegranate vodka infused post-show discussion (that lasted into the early hours) concluded that with the right budget Justice’s show could be as sweet as their songs. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

4. Girls should be locked up at concerts

I kid, I kid. Sort of. At my first Bjork show, (her gooooorgeous “Post” tour) my girlfriend and I arrived at the venue hours early to insure we were right up front. We spent the night against the barricade (aka front row!) where I wound up enduring a constant assault of pink Doc Martin kicks to the back. The attacks came from a teenage girl who insisted her Bjork tattoo should give her special privileges.

Maybe if mommy dropped you off earlier than 15 minutes before it started you’d have been closer?
At Justice, another crazy chica attempting to usurp my spot ended up starting a two person mosh pit consisting of her and I. Bitch almost got clocked in the face. At 300 pounds and with a wild look in her eye, she could have probably killed me. Still, BRING IT.

5. God’s subliminal advertising vs. kick ass iconic imagery

Justice have long said that their use of the Cross has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with brand recognition and the iconic nature of it. Fair enough. Still, during the show I started thinking; if God ever did decide he needed to reach out to the hipster minions, he wouldn’t do it through some Death Cab For Cutie themed Young Life meeting. He’d do it with a 10 foot tall cross glowing on stage at one of the sweetest shows I’m sure I’ll see all year.

One final note; the show got violent towards the end. Yes, it seems mad at an electro concert. Still, be forewarned if you’re going and want to be up front. Steel toed shoes and a crash helmet might not be a bad idea.