I just returned from the Justice concert.

First, this concert has been a series of ups and downs for me. I got my tickets in August and have been excited for the show since then… then about a month or so ago I found out that Midnight Juggernauts were added to the show. I was super excited because I love Midnight Juggernauts (the song “Tombstone” is absolutely amazing!) and have actually been hoping they would tour the U.S.

Ever since I found out that Midnight Juggernauts were gonna be there, I have been on a campaign to convince my friends to go. Then once I finally get someone to want to go, I find out that the show had been sold out for a week! I had been trying to get tickets all week, but the competition was too tough. (For example, one person from Spokane, Wash. was willing to pay like $200 for a ticket!!) So tonight comes and I don’t have a ticket and I’m resigned to going alone (which is fine — I go to concerts alone frequently).

But then when I went to Neumos earlier today to check the set times, I noticed that Midnight Juggernauts weren’t on there!!! I asked the woman at the box office what happened to Midnight Juggernauts and she was like, “I don’t know what that is.”

I got home and did some research and it turns out that Midnight Juggernaughts were invited to London and Paris to join the Institubes tour (the DJs who blew me away when they wore animal masks a while back). I guess if I were in their situation I would do the same thing. Surkin is fuckin’ hot and an awesome DJ.

I must admit — I was actually more excited to see the Midnight Juggernauts than Justice. I knew that everyone would be super excited for Justice since they were the headliners and all… but musically, I love Midnight Juggernauts more and it’s always more fun to be super into a band when not everyone is as into it…

To make up for removing Midnight Juggernauts (I think?) they added DJ Mehdi to the lineup… I’ll admit, despite DJ Mehdi’s awesome cred, I haven’t been a huge fan of his work. But at the show he was amazing.

Rather than performing his own work, he did a DJ set. It started off a bit slow (which was fine since I wanted to go get a drink anyway…), but then it really picked up. I cannot remember everything he played, but I know it included “Bump” by Spank Rock, “A Bit Patchy” by Switch, “& Down” by Boys Noize, “Get Innocuous” by LCD Soundsystem, and best of all, he closed the show with an extended (by his own doing) version of the Boys Noize remix of “My Moon My Man” by Feist. (I wish I had the Oi Oi Oi shirt I ordered recently!!!) He also threw in some Justice to get people psyched (including the Erol Alkan remix of “Waters of Nazareth” which was especially perfect for me since I was wearing my Erol Alkan t-shirt).

Justice took the stage immediately after DJ Mehdhi, which was great since we didn’t wait around. Justice is obviously taking after Daft Punk — the stage was arranged so that they were behind a large structure with a cross (their logo) in the middle. Checkout photos of them playing live on Pitchfork (and weep with me at how awesome Midnight Juggernauts could have been…).

Also like Daft Punk, their show consisted of them weaving in and out of various songs on their album. “Phantom,” for example, made numerous appearances. Unlike Daft Punk, they included a few remixes in the set as well (includng “Skitzo Dancer” by Scenerio Rock, which I thought was a strange choice considering how many more awesome remix they have).

There were two hits of the night: First was “D.A.N.C.E.” which started out slow and ballad-like then progressed into the “D.A.N.C.E.”-friendly song we all know and love. It wasn’t quite as energetic as I hoped, unfortunately. Then at the end before the encore they did “We Are Your Friends,” the song that arguably put Justice on the map (I first heard the song in May, 2006).

Speaking of encore, it started with a Justice-y remix of Soulwax’s “NY Excuse” and merged into other Justice songs, including one that I totally recognized but couldn’t name.

Downsides: 1. This was the first concert/going out where I actually got tired and needed to take a break for water and stuff! (usually I like to think of myself as the one who keeps on going); 2. There wasn’t any merchandise for sale after the show!; 3. The aforementioned lack of Midnight Juggernauts.

All in all, it was a fun show. My expectations were certainly too high, however. This was my fourth show of the week. I would rate then: 1. Datarock, 2. Justice, 3. Crystal Castles/Metric, 4. Trentemoller.

UPDATE (October 17th, 2007)
I got this e-mail from Midnight Juggernauts (via MySpace):

finally getting through our myspace messages. yeah we missed seattle unfortunately because the stage wasn’t big enough for us to set up on. we’ll be back early next year though. all the best

Also, I’ve remembered more songs that DJ Mehdi played: “Radio Fireworks” by Surkin, “Standing in the Way of Control” by the Gossip, and “Inner City Life” by Goldie.

Also: maybe I like seeing DJs better than bands???