AXIS|OF|LIVE

There was singing, swaying, and records playing, and yes dancing at Stubb’s Wallercreek Amphitheater.  The burly winds and  near freezing temperature came nowhere near hindering the massive turnout for the first date of the Myspace.com Tour.  The entire city of  Austin came out to be apart of the electro  experience that was Justice.  The venue was filled to capacity with teenagers taking advantage of being out on a school night, Pat Benetar look alikes, and an Easter Bunny yielding a cross (you come up with your own idea on that one, I’m not touching it!). 

Due to a cancellation, which inevitably lead to a line-up change,  DJ Mehdi warmed up the crowd for a solid  hour.  Body pumps and dancing, he came from around his table to hype up the crowd with taunts and moves.

Once the house lights went down the ceiling illuminated to reveal a fortress wall of Marshall amps.  The crowd went ballistic as French duo Justice, clad in their signature tight black motorcycle jackets and oh so skinny jeans, tramped onto the stage. They took their places behind their electronic altar which bore a single cross.  Once situated the speakers  burst out with the “imperialistic” Genesis.  The audience broke into a massive wave of  jerks and jumps.  If dancing is your Achilles Heel, then Stubb’s was nowhere for you to be that night.  Locked in a trance, the crowd obeyed every beat Justice put out.  Words weren’t needed as everyone in the audience knew what to do.  I couldn’t help but look at the crowd, when I wasn’t dancing, and notice the swarm of glow sticks…and that one creepy bunny head.

Egging the crowd on with the occasional fist pump,  Gaspard  Auge and Xavier de Rosnay (better known as Justice)  worked side by side controlling the crowd with a stellar performance.  Occasionally they grabbed each others arm to converse, which usually resulted in a bigger boost of bass.  Beat after beat they concocted a recipe that made the ground shake and the crowd sweat.   There was no time for rest as the songs blended and transitioned into each other.  D.A.N.C.E, their first hit off their album Cross , stirred the crowd into a bigger frenzy. The child-laden chorus  had the venue doing just that.  Thirty minutes into the set and the 40 degree temperature was just a memory. Almost non existent. 

Amass their switches, knobs, and Mac laptop, the two hovered over their electronic altar mixing song after song.  With their cross pulsating vigorously to the beats Uffie’s voice came out on the track “Party” reminding the cadre of sweaty dancers what Justice had come to do.  The harder the throb the harder everyone danced. 

Then it went dark, but not silent.  After an hour the two exited the stage to a deafening roar that soon turned into a chant. More, more, more, turned in to Justice, Justice, Justice.  And just as soon as they had left, they returned. Obviously the crowds sweat didn’t meet their thirst.  For an encore, a remake of Simian’s  “We Are Your Friends”, a hit from 2003 that put them on the map ,was obviously still a hit tonight.  Fans of the tune, the perspiring horde chanted the anthem.  Following was a track that contained guitar riffs of  Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and Three 6 Mafia’s “Stay Fly Till I Die”.  With the beats coming to an end, the cross’s pulsating light dimmed and the concert was over.  Due to this awesome concert, I’m going to ignore the odd friend requests via Myspace and give this “virtual” relationship another go.