LIVE: Justice Make Hipsters D.A.N.C.E.
Tuesday March 18, 2008 @ 03:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Justice Photo by Jess Baumung

March 17, 2008
The Sound Academy
Toronto, Ontario
By Kate Harper

It seemed like anyone who wasn't all for getting their St. Patrick's Day drunk on at a pub while wearing too much green was at the Sound Academy to see Justice. In truth, there were few little green clothing items to be seen at this show — any green was found in the form of florescent glow sticks or neon American Apparel getup. Attendees were much more keen on getting their drunk on while partaking in French techno than Irish ale. On a particularly frigid mid-March evening, the kids stormed the Sound Academy's cavernous interior as soon as the doors opened, ironically finding warmth in a genre of music that's been described as cold and austere because of its computer-generated instrumentation. Those kids got their groove on for several hours, sweated up a storm and pretty soon everyone seemed to forget it was freezing cold outside.

Fancy seemed to have some trouble getting the crowd dancing at first, but by the middle of his set they were jumping, swaying and grooving up a storm under a light show that surprisingly didn't induce any seizures. Although there was still a lot of place to roam out on the floor during the middle of his set, the Sound Academy already seemed pretty packed and it was hard to find any space by the time he was finished.

By the time Ed Banger manager/owner Busy P (real name Pedro Winter) hit the stage, the claustrophobia was in full effect. People had begun retreating into corners and were looking for any leftover space they could find. "Hey Toronto! Do I look like Funkmaster Flex?!" he yelled, decked in a red flannel shirt. The crowd responded enthusiastically and he replied, "Wow, you do not know Funkmaster Flex." About 45 minutes of Daft Punk-inspired grooves (one of his songs even samples "Digital Love") got the entire crowd moving. About halfway through the set, Busy P decided to take things up a notch. He announced a DVD was being shot at the show and encouraged all the women to remove their shirts. I didn't see anyone comply, but there was a whole lot of yelling and much more dancing nonetheless. Thereafter, he declared his mastery over his turntables meant he really was Funkmaster Flex. But regardless how many hipsters swayed to his beats, the deafening roar he received when he finished and announced, "Are you guys ready for Justice or what?" left no question who everyone was there to see.

The sets were interspersed with a classic rock medley featuring the sounds of Yes, Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin and others, which convinced me Justice truly are all about "feeding off the rock energy." By the time Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay hit the stage with their gigantic Marshall stacks and glowing cross stage show just past 11 p.m., the Sound Academy was packed like sardines to the back wall. It was nearly impossible to move, but somehow everyone seemed to be able to find the room to dance. It didn't matter if they bumped into each other; all they cared about was getting their groove on.

The duo opened with the thundering, rising-from-the-muck sounds of "Genesis," during which a very happy person in front of me proceeded to throw his coat in the air. It unfortunately landed very far in front of him which, given the crowd, meant he couldn't retrieve it. Along with everyone else in the crowd, he didn't seem to care and kept dancing. The set then moved into "Let There Be Light" and after segueing into massive hit "D.A.N.C.E.," I found myself wondering if the set list was going to — uncreatively — be a carbon copy of that for †. This wasn't the case. Justice mixed things up, heading into "DVNO" thereafter, which segued nicely into "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy," during which everyone chanted Uffie's vocals at top volume. By the time fan favourites "Phantom Pt. II" and "Waters Of Nazareth" reared their heads, it was clear Justice had owned the crowd and caused a dance storm beyond comparison. When the set finally ended, I really don't think anyone noticed how cold it still was outside.

—Kate Harper