And Justice For All...

On Thursday, February 14th... VALENTINE'S DAY, whilst couples all over the world were tucking into romantic edible underwear, me, my girlfriend, and some mates from work were watching JUSTICE grind the London Astoria venue down into a pile of bricks and rubble.

Working for Warner Music, JUSTICE (aka Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay) are the jewel in our collective crown, in my opinion. They are an electro-duo; an inspirational partnership that are determined to make their own indelible form of dance music, popular. With such an ambitious undertaking, it makes you think that they are either incredibly arrogant or stupidly naive to believe it is possible, especially when you take into account their debut album - CROSS.

Excluding D.A.N.C.E. (which is a pop fan's oasis), CROSS is a totally creatively unique album that breathes fresh life into this musical genre. It is the best dance / electro album of last year, without a doubt, and stands proud against other notable efforts from Digitalism and Simian Mobile Disco.

It is better than either of those pretenders because it plays almost as if it is a continuous mix. And it is on this selling point (much in the same way as Soulwax present their Nite Version nights) that JUSTICE entertain the audience in their live show.

At 8.45, on February 14th, the Astoria crowd were transported back to a biblical beginning in Genesis and then dragged through an audible assualt of album highlights such as Phantom I and II, Stress and finishing with the monstrous Waters Of Nazareth.

Their gig showcased snippits of their other efforts, their remixes, including Britney and of course Simian's We Are Your Friends. And twice the crowd managed to coax Gaspard and Xavier back from the wings and strike up an encore, including an incredible thrash metal finale. As if proof was needed, JUSTICE can make anything cool, and are keen to show that their influences vary from Michael Jackson to Pantera.

Two more points struck me as I walked around the corner into a bar to collect my thoughts:

1. How did this gig sit next to the infamous DAFT PUNK shows? Are there any parallels? Is it possible to say that one is an evolution of the other. I think, YES. Though there is no comparison as DAFT PUNK's pyramid show is the greatest live display I have ever seen irregardless of musical genre. But they are both a visual as well as an audio performance, albeit on different scales. And this brings me to my next thought...
2. How amazing is it that a couple of DJs can be headlining a tour organised by Britain's premier rock magazine, NME. JUSTICE stood top of the bill above LATE OF THE PIER and THE TEENAGERS, who are two acts that are themselves, blurring the lines even further between rock and rave. JUSTICE are doing exactly the same, but coming from the other side of the road, and it is my belief that that middle ground will continue to thrill listeners of both genres.