16 year old me died and went to heaven this past Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl of an overdose of nostalgia. When I was younger I used to watch A LOT of music videos on TV. There used to be multiple channels that were great at showing what was new and one night at my grandma’s house while I was watching, this played. The radio tuning sounds automatically grabbed my attention and the beautiful vibrant animation done by French artist So Me held it.

The music was this combination of 80s electro and disco that spoke to my soul. I was obsessed immediately. Who is this Justice? I torrented the song “D.A.N.C.E.” as soon as I was able and showed it to anyone who would listen to me. A couple months later in early June 2007 Justice dropped their debut album † (pronounced cross) and if you wanted to be the coolest indie kid in your area you became obsessed with it. The French touch of disco’s popularity ebbed after the release of Daft Punk’s still mostly disappointing release “Human After All” in March of 2005 after being one of the world’s most popular subgenres of music for several years after Daft Punk’s debut. Justice had been fine tuning and personalizing their take on disco and house music for four years before their debut was released out into the world. Like the first Santa Ana Winds of the year their warm breezy yet chaotic vibes got into everyone's lives and drove them a lil crazy.

Almost twenty years later Justice, made up of producers Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, are still some of the biggest musical artists going today. At the beginning of 2024 Justice announced their first album of original material in eight years, Hyperdrama to be released on Ed Banger Records, with a double A-side single of "One Night/All Night" (Featuring Tame Impala) and "Generator" plus a massive international tour starting with a subheadlining set at Coachella (where I have been lucky enough to see them the three time they performed they have been at the festival before this) and ending early next year in London (check out dates and get tickets HERE!) So when my publisher asked if I would want to cover Justice headlining the Hollywood Bowl. I don't think I have ever said yes faster to a gig.

The evening's show started out with your friendly neighbor and special guest opener, Compton’s very own, Thundercat! One of the greatest musicians and artists working today. Seriously if you somehow haven't become a fan yet start with this song. In this special set Thundercat and his trio, made up of longtime members keyboardist Dennis Hamm and drummer Justin Brown (formally of OFF! Read my review of their final show here) tested out several new songs, played some classics, played some covers and brought out some friends. Their cover of Selena’s “Dreaming of You” brought a smile to everyone around me including myself. Detroit’s own Rapper Big Sean and singer Eryn Allen Kane came out to help perform an enthralling performance of their recent collaboration with Thundercat, “Black Void”. After melting the audience down to slime after the numerous glorious extended bass, drum and keyboard solos the band thanked the crowd and told us to be fucking ready to have our mind’s blown.

Thirty minutes later The Bowl went dark and when the lights came on several seconds later the crowd was screaming like The Beatles were about to come onstage and one of the greatest light shows I have ever seen in my life started. Justice kicked things off with “Genesis” off their debut album and soon mixed in other classics from that era “Phantom/Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix)”. The whole crowd at this point fully gave themselves over to the moment and I saw everyone dancing as if their lives depended on it. The lightshow was dynamic in movement but simple when it came to colors. Lighting rigs moving up and down side to side curling up on themselves and straightening out again as songs evolve and are blended together to make new musical moments.

Every part of the show is as dynamic and dramatic as they can be. Building to creshendows that leaves the audience screaming when they cut the music for a second or throw a new sample out there to build upon. Live electronic shows like this have been around for a while at this point but Justice have taken everything to a new level that I hope challenges other artists to evolve and invest in the future of live music as much as Justice did on that foggy night last Friday. Almost two hours later I sweated through my Vampire Weekend shirt and it was time to D.A.N.C.E. home. Merci beaucoup, dudes. For everything. Even better, the duo closed out the show by bringing out their opener Thundercat to perform their collaboration single, “The End”. What a night!

Review by: Ben LaCross, Photos by: Courtesy of the LA Phil, credit Brandon Densley

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