Live: Justice

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DARREN ZIMMET

MARCH 31 | LOS ANGELES—Since it was Spring Break, I decided to head out to both Las Vegas and Los Angeles to catch the last two Justice shows on their MySpace Music Tour. Being a big fan of Justice, I had been looking forward to this since their Fall 2007 tour. If only MySpace could have gotten the Midnight Juggernauts to open again!

Upon arrival to the House of Blues in Las Vegas, I was surprised to find out that there were so many tickets left after seeing the demand for the Vegas show on MySpace and various message boards. In Los Angeles at The Mayan, there seemed to be about 50 kids wandering the streets looking for tickets.

The first band to go on was Fancy. Previously having trouble with their U.S. visas, they managed to pull through and make it to the last few stops of the tour. And with great performances from them on both nights, they made it known that they were happy to be playing on U.S. soil. Decked out in ’80s arena rock attire including spandex pants and feather boas, they were really fun to watch. When I heard they were on the tour, I checked out their CD beforehand to get to know their music. It seems that if you haven’t listened to their music prior to the show, you might think they were just a crappy duplicate of the one-hit-wonder band The Darkness. L.A. gave them a lot more love than Vegas did. I even spotted a few people in the audience singing along.

Diplo came out both nights and did a stellar set. He got everyone on their feet and out on the dance floor. Remixing Daft Punk, M.I.A. and Nirvana, to name just a few, this guy knows how to get a crowd going. It seemed as if he was a bit hungover in L.A. but still managed to pull off a near perfect set.

Finally, the curtains opened, and there was the magical set with nine Marshall amplifiers on either side of a digital glowing cross. Justice came out, and everyone went nuts. Set opener “Genesis” gets the chills going down my spine every time. My only complaints from both shows were in Vegas. I was second row center, and it seemed as if the volume was on 2 instead of 10 for the first few songs. I could have easily had a conversation with my buddy next to me and not have to struggle to hear him. Second, the crowd in Vegas seemed to have been filled with kids who didn’t know anything but Justice’s singles. I found it odd that no one even bumped into me until they played “D.A.N.C.E.” Despite the weak Vegas crowd, Justice still managed to give it 110% and played a near perfect set in spite of the low sound volume.

In Los Angeles, the crowd went insane. It was one of the loudest crowds I’ve seen or heard in a long time. The beats started flowing, and the crowd was dancing, jumping, singing, even moshing at times. This was definitely the Justice I remembered from the Fonda shows last year. They played a stellar set with zero mistakes and had the crowd on their feet during their whole 90-minute set. Since this was the last show on the MySpace Music Tour, Justice seemed extra energetic toward the end. I noticed Xavier taking photos of the crowd, and Gaspard even threw out his cross necklace. Wow is all I can say to whoever got that!

Despite the slight downfalls in Las Vegas, both shows were outstanding. Justice is unlikely to disappoint. And with that, another MySpace Music Tour has ended. And what better way to do so, with such a mix of great music and in one of the craziest cities on the planet, Los Angeles.

There is still time to get your Coachella tickets and check out both Justice and Diplo. This might be their last show in the States for a while, and you know you’ll kick yourself for missing it.

Comments

[paulag]

awesome! wohoo heard it was a hot show.

[mychelle]

Man, I should have seen them in Chicago. Drat!