Review: Justice electrify the Hollywood Bowl with relentless onslaught of electronic music

If the nearby Hollywood Cross wasn’t a sign that Justice—whose crucifix logo has remained the same from their astronomical self-titled debut to this year’s Hyperdrama—was always meant to play the Hollywood Bowl, then miracles don’t exist. Indeed, the first few minutes of Justice’s show on Oct. 4 proved the amphitheater was made for an act like the French electronic duo, where the light show was more like a science fiction space battle, and the music was primed for Europe’s most sprawling clubs. Less than an hour after the opener and collaborator Thundercat graced the stage with an eclectic set, the two’s impressive stage design took shape, offering a suitable home for a catalog that has electrified audiences from Coachella to the Olympics closing ceremony.

Thundercat performed at 7:30pm, running until about 8:50pm before the crew quickly prepared the stage with revolving strobes, lasers, and any source of light you could imagine for Justice’s set, which began about 9:20pm and lasted for over an hour. Although their song “The End” might seem like the only common denominator between Thundercat and Justice, both captured lightning in a bottle in their way, whether it be through transcendent bass-playing skills or dance music that still feels as alive as when Justice burst onto the scene 17 years ago.

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Thundercat, walking up to the stage wearing a kilt, an important distinction that he made sure everyone in the audience would not confuse for a skirt, quickly asked how everyone was feeling before jumping straight into a bass-led instrumental track. Although unreleased, the song embodied the cosmic jazz that pioneers like Sun Ra established decades prior. However, similar to his career, he made sure to avoid being pigeonholed. He went through multiple tracks ranging from fan favorites such as “Dragonball Durag,” wonderfully stretched far longer than the studio version, to a cover of Selena’s “Dreaming of You.”

Both highlights exemplified the thrill of hearing him play the bass live, with the added contribution of the thrashing drums and keys tying each song together. Later, he brought out Big Sean and Eryn Allen Kane for “Black Void,” a song that brought out his best rapping in years. Hip-hop collaborations might be a frequent occurrence for Thundercat, but the unexpected nature of him and Big Sean working together to create magic goes to show how everything pairs well when added over a Thundercat bassline.

Rightfully, Big Sean called him the “Greatest bass player in the world” when signing off, giving him room to end his time with the back-to-back flurry of “Funny Thing” and “Them Changes.” Both trademark Thundercat tracks were able to stir the audience to dance almost at the rate at which they would dance for nearly the entire runtime of Justice’s set.

Before the familiar Justice cross lit up like the searchlights above the Bowl, little flickers of light à la “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” signaled the incoming electronic onslaught the duo was about to unleash. Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, the two minds behind Justice, quietly took the stage and were only ever seen as silhouettes for the remainder of their time. Not long after, the first notes of “Genesis” boomed through the speakers, launching the set at breakneck speeds that made whoever was still sitting in their seats stand up like the song was the national anthem.

In the spirit of most of the tracks on their self-titled, the hard-hitting energy of “Genesis” is still unparalleled in relation to just about every other electronic and techno act over the years—which is what made the transition from “Genesis” to “Generator” off Hyperdrama the perfect start to a nonstop show. More than any subsequent release after Justice’s debut, Hyperdrama bridged the gap between the early promise of the group and the now expansive electronic realm that seems to harken back to the 2000s continually.

Later during the show, their second Tame Impala collaboration, “Neverender,” after “One Night/All Night,” effectively put the entire audience in a trance as Kevin Parker’s vocals guided through the frenzied synths and samples galore. By then, the show’s now colorful presentation was more comparable to the psychedelic ending of “2001: A Space Odyssey” than the serene ending to “Close Encounters.”

Similar to the transition between “Genesis” and “Generator,” the switch from “Incognito” to “Stress” sent shockwaves across the Bowl, making for one of the most exciting moments of the night. The dreadful buildup on “Stress,” complete with red flickering lights, is enough to induce, well, stress in a good way, but especially since the song comes out of nowhere after a relatively mellow string of songs that still got everyone dancing in place. “Stress” was also one of the few tracks to be played in its entirety, a rightful devotion of time to an early achievement in Justice’s career.

Even when tracks were being mixed into one another, such as the glimmers of “TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY” or “We Are Your Friends,” there was never a moment when it seemed as though Augé and de Rosnay brought the energy down in the slightest. If anything, the careful song selection and spread of hits across their time ensured no one in the many crowds would take a seat. For all intents and purposes, Justice had everyone under their spell.

Despite carrying over the same set design as previous dates on their tour, the sprawling castle of strobes and lights equivalent to space rays made the Bowl the perfect place for their presentation. Aside from the fact that the constant backlighting of the two silhouettes made for a striking image, especially at the beginning of the set, the multitude of ways in which light was used to energize the crowd is a fitting example of when less is more. The lights and amplified assault of synths and samples, coupled with the venue’s superior sound design, there’s no denying the Bowl was made for an act like Justice.

Words & Photography: David Sosa