Justice @ Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX

Words by Scott, pictures by Duane Clawson.

With so many things going on in my life, namely getting married, I have had no time for any extra curricular activities, especially going to shows.  So when I caught a break on Halloween to catch Justice, the Parisian electro duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, I jumped on that like a cat on a laser point.  Plus, having family travel into Dallas for said wedding, I also brought Duane along for the ride to take photos for me.  With having little knowledge of Justice, I knew he would be in for a surprise.

I had been kicking myself for years not catching Justice the last time they came through Dallas during the Myspace Tour (yeah, remember Myspace?).  But I remember I had traveled to Dallas the week before for another show and couldn't make it back for the Justice performance since it was midweek and I was still living in Norman, roughly two and a half hours away.  I also tried catching a DJ set of theirs at Webster Hall while I was in NYC, but alas, that failed as well.  So, it was a no-brainer to catch this show.  I had high expectations for their performance and to put it plainly, they did not disappoint.

Dallas's own, DJ Sober, warmed up the eclectic and largely dressed up crowd at the Palladium with a nice mix of remixes and dance music.  Having caught Sober at the Gorilla vs. Bear festival a few months prior, I knew he would provide a great atmosphere for the growing crowd.  At first, I was a bit shocked by how sparse the crowd was when Sober took the stage, but that worry quickly vanished as the set time for Justice grew near.  The crowd was swelling and quickly surged toward the stage as the house lights went black.

Standing in the spotlight as an analog version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was played, the crowd roared in unison as the Parisian duo, adorning matching "Justice World Tour" jackets, finally emerged from the darkness.  As an obscure mix of sounds fluttered over the crowd, it all drew to a feverish pitch as the opening notes of "Genesis", the intro song of the duo's acclaimed debut Cross, hit the PA's and their iconic cross lit the venue.  From there on, it was simply a dance marathon with a crowd wearing their Halloween best.  Though this tour was in response to Justice's latest effort, Audio, Video, Disco, it was quickly obvious that the crowd came here for the hits.  When bits and pieces of tracks from Cross were interlaced into other tracks, the crowd responded with cheers and impulsive singing.  Tracks such as "D.A.N.C.E." and "DVNO" created mass singalongs and frantic dancing while the always aggressive "Phantom Part 2" provided fist pumping and unison jumping.  Perched atop a mass of electronics and wedged between Marshall stacks, the light show was creative and was as much part of the show as the music.  Personally, my favorite tracks played were the duo's remix of Scenario Rock's "Skitzo Dancer" and the encore of "Audio, Video, Disco".  

When the dust settled, the crowd was left in a sweaty mess, wanting more.  But none left unfulfilled.  Forget dubstep, you don't need the excess bass to have an excellent electronic show.  It was simply awesome and as I stated earlier, despite my lofty expectations, this show far exceeded them and I would definitely recommend catching them whenever possible.  You don't want to kick yourself for years like I did.  Pictures of the show are below:

enjoy.