What would louche French producers do?Photo: Kate Glicksberg
Justice Brutally Attack Concertgoers … With Music!
At one point during Justice’s outstandingly ferocious show at the WaMu Theater last night, the French electro-metal duo triggered an intriguingly skeletal sample: “We!†… long pause … “You’ll!†… long pause. The crowd was likely just disoriented by this point — blame the epilepsy-inducing light show — but it took a few plays before the crowd started answering back: “We! Are! Your friends! You’ll! Never be alone again!†The call-and-response revamp of the band’s first international hit (“We Are Your Friendsâ€) made for a rare moment of spiritual uplift during a concert that mostly focused on bodies, specifically the smashing thereof. Their deconstructed version of “D.A.N.C.E.,†for instance, simply discarded the strings to better highlight the walloping beat. (This stop on the MySpace Music Tour was originally booked for the Garden; if Justice can ever credibly fill that place, they’ll pulverize it.) The hordes of French people and teens in attendance apparently loved it. Overheard as we left the venue: “That was the most insane thing I have ever fucking done!†—Dave Hughes