GALLERY + Review - Justice
Justice @ Viejas Arena San Diego, CA 10-28-25
At the Viejas Arena in San Diego the lights drop low, and two silhouettes emerge behind a wall of glowing machinery. Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé aka Justice take their place not as DJs, but as architects of controlled chaos. What unfolds feels less like a concert and more like a ritual. Waves of sound erupt, twist, and crash in perfect synchrony, as if electricity itself were following their command. Their golden Celine jackets shimmer briefly in the strobes, a flash of glamour amid the industrial hum of synths and bass.
For twenty years, Justice has turned dance music into an art form making it grand, unpredictable, and cinematic. Now, in 2025 they stand at the center of a movement they helped create, bridging underground grit with global acclaim. As the lights pulse and the crowd dissolves into motion, it’s clear this is more than nostalgia, it’s a live reinvention of the past and future colliding in a single and thunderous moment.
Justice stay loyal to their trademark approach of transforming their catalog into living, breathing collage of songs stitched together, reshaped, and reborn. In San Diego, they kick off with a mashup of “Genesis” and “Phantom” a throwback to the electrified pulse of their 2007 debut Cross. The moment “Genesis” begins its grand, slow-motion orchestral flare feels as commanding as ever. Setting the stage for an hour and a half of relentless energy and unmistakably French swagger.
The slow build of anticipation is quickly shattered as “Generator” erupts. Unleashing a wave of ferocious sound while Justice charges into a set dominated by Hyperdrama (their latest album). Their performance hits full throttle with a flurry of reimagined tracks that embody their arena-sized bravado equal parts rock show and rave. The highlight comes when “Neverender” featuring Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, morphs from its hazy studio version into a fierce, armored hybrid with “Canon” reshaped into something meant for the battlefield not the beach.
The spectacle only intensified as Justice stitched together “Alakazam!” “Mannequin Love” “We Are Your Friends” and “TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY” into a seamless, era-spanning mashup. When the chorus of “Mannequin Love” hit, the stage erupted white outlines from the lights and projectors silhouetted a sea of raised arms and glowing phones. Uffie’s voice floated in as a playful bridge before “One Night/All Night” dropped, sending the crowd into chaos. Kevin Parker’s vocals paired with Justice’s production felt like destiny fulfilled, their chemistry undeniable. The segue into “D.A.N.C.E.” flooded the stage with color, turning it into a kaleidoscopic cathedral of light and sound. As always, Justice crowned their show with one signature reinvention. In 2012 it was “New Lands”, in 2017 “Safe and Sound”, and now “One Night/All Night” stands as the centerpiece of their new live era.
The encore erupted into a sprawling mashup that tore through their entire catalog “Planisphère” into “Phantom”, “Alakazam!”, “Helix”, “Civilization”, “Heavy Metal”, “Pleasure”, “Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix)”, “We Are Your Friends” and finally “Mannequin Love”. It was a chaotic masterstroke, each transition throwing the crowd off balance in the best way. Opening with “Planisphère” was a total shock. For the deep-divers, that track actually exists as a four-part suite and it’s every bit as genius as it sounds.
As the final song “The End” played. It echoed through the venue, the energy softened into something almost intimate. Instead of disappearing backstage like a typical concert, the amazing duo stepped down from the stage to greet fans along the barricade. They took their time signing posters, vinyls, and shirts. It was such a rare and human moment after such a massive production, a genuine closing gesture that made the night feel less like a concert and more like a shared celebration.
These are the shows I love covering most. It’s not just a performance but a full-blown experience that creates its own world. Although the amazing photos taken by Jose Escobar look beautiful, experiencing the concert live is an incredible memory I’ll never relive.
