Live: Justice

I can’t remember when I first heard about Justice. I think a buddy of mine told me who they were after hearing ‘We are your Friends’ for the first time somewhere back in 2007/2008. By now that hit single has been remixed and played so many times that it isn’t that special anymore but when I heard it the first couple of times, I was screaming out the words at the top of my lungs and just couldn’t imagine that there was anybody in the world who didn’t like that song.

I then downloaded the live album, A Cross the Universe and I don’t know how often I’ve listened to it but for sure it’s in my top5 on ITunes. It’s non-stop fast paced electro and reminded me of Daft Punk, only the pace is way faster. I bought tickets for a dance-event in the Heineken Music Hall (still talking about 2008), one of the biggest music podia in the Netherlands. The event was at a Saturday evening during summer, I wasn’t playing professional poker back then and had a different reason to be excited that Saturday since I could play one of my first Supernova freerolls on PokerStars! That was something that in 2007 still looked like an impossible achievement and a freeroll like that was something I didn’t want to miss for sure. Around 23:30 my friends left to go to the show, I was still playing in the freeroll and decided to keep playing. Around 01:00-01:30 I busted for $100 maybe $200. I was happy to win the money, especially back then but really disappointed that I had to miss Justice. I always felt that I had missed the show of a lifetime, everybody who went to see them somewhere in 2008 came back with stories about how unique and awesome Justice was live at stage. There were two other performances planned in the Netherlands in 2008 but both shows were sold out and it was impossible to get tickets. From 2008 till 2011 they didn’t release any new albums and didn’t perform in the Netherlands at all.

I kept looking if they planned any new shows or albums and finally in 2011 they released a new album, Audio, Video, Disco. It’s not a live album so you can’t really compare it to A cross the Universe but it has some good songs but as long as they are not mixed into a live performance they aren’t that special. I didn’t listen to it that often but when they planned a show in Paradiso – Amsterdam I was sure to go there, it was sold out in 10 minutes! They played Tuesday evening, not a perfect day to go nuts but I was really excited. The doors opened at 20:00 and there was already a long line of people waiting outside. The crowd was pretty young, I had expected people like me who were a fan of Justice for 3+ years but most people were probably between 19 and 24. DVNO started the warm-up which till about 21:00. The young crowd seemed to be ready for a party, I was just happy to be there.

Lights out, spots on and Justice walked to the DJ booth. They started with the intro of A cross the Universe and from there it was just one big rush. The crowd was really there to party, everybody was jumping up and down and going completely nuts. I started somewhere in the middle of the dance floor and at the end of the evening I was all the way in the back. It was extremely hot inside, everybody was soaked myself included, even my jeans were wet! Nobody seemed to care, party, party, party! The music had so much energy and everybody used that to go berserk. An incredible party, really hard to describe but unforgettable. It’s live just so much better, those “okay” songs become gems when mixed in with other awesome songs. 1,5 hour, non-stop dancing, non-stop screaming, just crazy. I tried to shoot some movies but when the whole dance floor started to bounce I had to quit filming because I didn’t want to lose my phone. Still I’ve made some good shots, check them out below. If you like this kind of music and ever have the chance to go and see them, make sure you do (and let me know so I’ll come with you)!