A letter from February 3rd, 2025 - JUSTICE LIVE IN LYON!!!!!!

Dear future Fidan,
So I've decided to write this letter to help me remember one of the best moments of my life. Today is Feb 3, 2025, just merely 2 days after the Justice gig in Lyon. Right now, I'm barely holding myself from crying, because finally the stars aligned for me, finally i managed to have an incredible time considering everything that has been going on for the past few months (the stress at work, the physical pain and psychological tensions etc). I was so afraid that something would go wrong and I wouldn't be able to go, that I'd catch a flu, or my back/leg would hurt too much, or something wrong with the flight but THANK GOD, you prepared well, darling <3 I'm supposed to work right now, but I don't have much to do currently anyway, and I realise that the memories of that night are slipping away, so it's best that I write them down. Think of it as my first diary entry in many years.
IT WAS SURREAL. That running joke of understanding why Justice use the cross as their symbol is on point. It truly felt like a religious experience. The sense of community, hearing so many other fans singing to the same songs, screaming the same words at the same time, being just as excited as you, it's indescribable. I really wish I made a smarter decision and bought the ticket on the second level, but still my view was INCREDIBLE, I could enjoy the entirety of the light show and it was spectacular. Currently, it feels like I wasn't even there, like I actually watched it all on super big TV, it was so crisp, so HQ, I was that excited. I have these memorable chunks flashing up in my head, but I was dancing and vibing the whole time, didn't feel tired for even a moment, my leg and back weren't hurting!! My right shoulder did a little, made it difficult to clap sometimes, but it didn't ruin much for me. 
I remember jumping up immediately when the lights suddenly turned off, and when the first flash of light started blinking with the intro kicking in. I took out my earplugs, because I wanted all of the sound get absorbed in. And then Genesis started with the cross lighing up. My heart was pumping! I already knew the setlist and which mix in to expect where, so I was responding like on a cue, e.g. with Phantom, when the woman starts speaking the words. I remember having an absolute blast during Generator, and because, if you recall the set-up is such that the lights at the bottom of the stage start moving around the arena, the lights weren't getting to the top at first, and I was thinking, "ahhh all those ppl getting blasted by the light, I want it to touch me too!!!". And then they moved even further and hit me as well!!! and I was smiling wide and closing my eyes, and dancing the entire time. Then the siren and vocals from Love SOS joined it. It's such a great mix, whenever I listen to Generator now, I immediately start singing Love SOS with it. I was waving smoothly with my arms during the SOS part, singing, it was so heartwarming. Mannequin Love in this set is one of my favourites, it looked so beautiful, like gold pouring over the whole arena. This song has such a dreamy feeling, I kept singing it the next day all the time! It's mixed with We Are Your Friends and this is the part I was waiting for! To hear around 16,000 people scream "WE! ARE! YOUR FRIENDS! YOU'LL! NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN!" is such an incredible experience, I didn't hold myself back in any way, and neither did most ppl around me. 
(I'm watching the Accor Arena live now to help me navigate through memories)
Now that I remember, One Night/All Night visuals are also awesome. And then DANCE kicked in, and I was yelling the words with others as well. Safe and Sound mix is also incredible, I don't remember if I took a video of it, I was dancing and singing to it for sure. The guys sitting to each side of me weren't as animated, especially the ones on the left, but the guy with dreadlocks on my right got up somewhere in the middle of the show and started moving as well. That part in Safe and Sound in the middle, where the screechy guitar drops is so cool, I can't remember which song the rock-style guitars are from though. And now that I've been watching the Accor Live, I remembered that the electronic notification-style bings are here, and that's my fave little thing!!! I for sure was moving my fingers to it. Neverender was so magical, the sparkles, the spread-out lights, it was wonderful. I remember singing to it, while Gaspard was playing the synths for it.
Of course, I was waiting for Incognito, my favourite Justice meme song lmao, especially considering that Stress comes somewhere after it. It's so clubby, I was yelling "E" to it for sure. Now I realise that it's mixed in with Canon, I actually thought those parts were from Incognito. I tried my best to record it, because it's one of my favourites too, but couldn't miss some drops in person, so often my videos are without the culmination points ahahah xD DVNO part is so cool, I sang to it too, and I felt like a badass cool DJ guy, as I always do when I listen to it. There is a quiet part in between Incognito and Stress, (IT'S MOONLIGHT RENDEZ-VOUZ, I WAS SURE I HEARD IT!!!) like a preparation for the latter, and oooof my guy, Stress slaps so hard. The red lights going left and right, then swirling around, then the big red screen blasts, AHHHHHHH! I think this was the first time I started jumping during the gig, it's so violent, raw, screechy, angry-feeling. I remember I was "woooohooo"-ing during Stress and generally the gig, and I was usually one of the first, and people in my sector were picking it up. There was an older man with his daughter (???) in the row in front of me, and that guy also vibed like hell, moved his whole body, clapped and wooo-ed like me, his claps were so strong, dang, i was continuously amazed at him, he was motivating me to clap as well even through the pain. 
Sometimes I was thinking and realising that HOLD ON, GASPARD AND XAVIER ARE ACTUALLY THERE ON THE STAGE, IT'S ACTUALLY REAL PEOPLE RIGHT THERE IN THE SAME VENUE AS ME!!! I really couldn't believe it. I was now checking my videos and there is a lovely shot where you can clearly see both of them even from my distance thanks to the light arrangement, it brings tears to my eyes even now!
I remember jumping a lot during Chorus, such an intense mix!!! AVD x Stop was especially wonderful because it's a calmer moment closer to the end, and the whole arena was lighted up with flashlights, such a fandom experience, it was magical :') I remember also later, either it was during the short intermission before the encore, there was someone in the second level section on the left who was waving their phone with the flashlight on, while no one else there did, so I also joined in as a response and i think that person recognised that I was in there with them, we started circling with our flashlights, it was so wholesome!!!! I think during DANCE reprise in the end i was holding my hands crossed at the heart and thinking I might cry, but I guess I was so overwhelmed with joy and excitement that I couldn't even cry from happiness. We were singing all together, especially "do the dance!" :') I was headbanging during some songs, it was closer to the end (gotta check the setlist now, to remember which one it was) scratch that, it was Chorus and later the Encore!!! 
During the intermission before the encore, all of us were clapping, yelling, cheering, waving with our flashlights, not stopping for even a second before they came back!!! and then they started it with Planisphere, which was very emotional for me because it's such a special creation of theirs for me. The Encore mix was something else, so many songs mashed up into 1-2 tracks, it was awesome. And then they closed it with We Are Your Friends again and once more all of us in unison were singing to it, I was jumping again, it was incredible.
Now to the before/aftershow, I'm sure you remember this and probably told this story many times to many people by now. So basically, I arrived at the arena at around 7 pm. At first you pass through a quick security check, and they didn't let me take my powerbank in, directed me to the cloakroom facility in the back to leave it there. So I left the powerbank and also my outwear there, because I originally wanted to do that so that i carried as little stuff as i could, all in my little camera bag. Then I go back to security again and now they tell me to also leave my camera, so ****** hell, i go back again to give the storage guy my camera. Then I finally passed through, my target was to get to the merch booth to get the "I survived Justice Live in Lyon" shirt, but to my HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT, there wasn't a custom tour t-shirt for us. I commented about this on the subreddit and another user replied to me saying that they were also told that there was none. He also said that he and his friend were seated in matching silver jackets, and to feel free to say hi if I spot them! During the intermission after the supports i looked for them in the crowd, but couldn't find them because they were on the second level somewhere below me, so I wouldn't be able to see them anyway. And then the concert suddenly started, so I focused completely on that. After the gig, I was going out to grab my coat and powerbank and camera, hoping they didn't mistakenly give my camera to someone, and I noticed two guys standing outside by themselves in matching silver glittery disco jackets. I realised that it's likely the guys from reddit and they were!!! They came all the way from the US because they wanted a more intimate show, and man the dedication (and money) to do that!! I loved chatting with them, finally I was talking to someone who liked the same stuff as I did and was as excited as I was!!!!! Jack was the shorter one with sunglasses and a NYC accent, a lawyer of criminal defense (!!!!) from New Jersey, and he was THE Justice fan among the two of them. The other one was Henry, tall with long blond hair (he looked like Jesus i swear) he's from Maine and works in IT, but studied psychology first. He wasn't a FAN fan, but just a casual enjoyer tagging along with his friend. It was their first Justice concert too, they were as impressed and excited as I was, we had a general chat about how amazing it was. I told them that I was from Azerbaijan but currently lived in Italy and that I as well came to Lyon exactly for the gig. Also, late addition here, Jack was the one who bumped into Xavier in Lyon before the concert!!! I TOLD TO HIS FACE "WHAT A LUCKY GUY!!"!! Other people passing by saw and heard us, a lot of them were drunk and some even mistook them for the Justice themselves, approached and said stuff to them in French, and they were playing along, Henry was replying with "oui oui, absolument, merci" it was hilarious!!! I didn't want to ruin the moment for those fans, so i tried to contain my laughter, and while they were taking pictures, i was folding up laughing somewhere to the side. When they left, we laughed about this misunderstanding and I suggested we took a picture too. Henry was the one to do a selfie, they graciously accommodated to my height, we all crouched and took a snap! People passing by were singing "We Are Your Friends" and that was so wholesome. Then another french guy approached and started again talking to them in French, but this time jokingly "mistaking" them for Gaspard and Xavier, later we all introduced ourselves. The French guy's name was Roman, he was a lil drunk, started joking in a stereotypical American way to the guys, then he started talking about Prince85 and Kavinsky, who opened that night, and Ed Banger Records generally, it was clear that the guy is a superfan and appreciator. I also mentioned that I knew what he was talking about, and he kinda insisted that I knew French, but i tried to make it clear that I wasn't French ahahahah. He also attended the Accor Arena gig, saying that it was amazing, but different and that our gig was awesome as well. During all that, I was still just in my Cross T-shirt and sweater on top, and it was really cold outside, maybe 2-3 degrees only, and my coat was still in the cloakroom. I decided that I gotta avoid getting sick (which currently I feel like i still didn't but i think i rather caught something on Sunday), so I said that I'd be back shortly and ran to take my stuff. After I successfully retrieved everything, I started running back to the guys, who were still inside the arena area, but the security guy just didn't let me pass ffs! Apparently once I crossed the Arena threshold, I couldn't return. I tried to persuade him that I was with those guys, but he was adamant on not letting me back in. So ok, i stayed outside, tried to yell "bye guys" to them, but they didn't hear me. So I started heading towards the tram station, which was thankfully really close. But then I saw how large the queue was (and well, what do you expect from a 16k capacity venue?), and I decided to write to Jack on reddit telling him what happened, and hoped he would reply soon and come out so that I'd be able to continue hanging out with them. I was rearranging stuff in my bag in the meantime, and around 5-7 mins later Jack responded that they were somewhere outside now. I was rejoiced and went back searching for them, found them and they were still chatting with Roman and his pals, talking about SebastiAn this time, he asked whether I knew him. I said yes, I knew OF him but hadn't listened to him yet, and Roman kinda threw shade at me, saying that I knew Ed Banger but didn't listen to anyone, but I tried to defend myself saying that I know he's good, and still have time to discover him too. Roman hugged me, saying it's not a big deal and that he was joking. They invited the american guys and by extension eventually me as well to some club/bar called Groom, but I would never risk it going somewhere considering I was there on my own and that Turan and Maryam were waiting for me at their place (they graciously invited me to stay). Roman asked whether I'd be coming, I said I dunno, i'll try, maybe. He was like "noooo, what do you mean maybe, you WILL, COME ON!!!" and extended his hand to shake mine in agreement. When he said "come on" i replied singing in the WAYF manner "well, come oooon!!" and we all laughed and started singing that part. When we were finished, some drunk guys nearby started it again, and then when they finished, other group behind us picked it up as well! It was sooooo funny, such a wonderful community moment! It was clear we all enjoyed it. I chatted with Jack about which part of the gig he enjoyed the most, and he said that WAYF was special to him because his kids (his son in particular) loved that song and at one point were singing it all the time... Hearing it live took him to that memory of his son, it was sooooo sweet. I said that I really really enjoyed Stress and Generator and how awesome they were live. We also discussed Explorer and how great that song is, and how it's not talked about more. Jack mentioned that Henry fed the spoken narration part of Explorer to ChatGPT or something to have AI visualise that scene, and that it didn't turn out good at all haha. We both agreed that even if the song sounds eerie and slightly disturbing, "it feels warm, feels ok", that there was some goodness in it, it wasn't evil. When the French guys were about to leave, once again Roman was shaking hands with everyone, when my turn came he shook it and kissed it, it was super cute. Another french guy in their company who had the SebastiAn t-shirt also hugged me and kissed on the cheek in the french way as a goodbye, that was cute too. I continued hanging out with the american guys, while they were waiting for their taxi, we chatted more, i don't exactly remember what about.... ahhh scratch that, I remember I asked what kind of music did Henry listen to usually, if he's not into electronica much, and as i expected he is more of indie rock, folk rock guy. And I told him that, first, he looks exactly like a Henry, and second, he looks like an indie/folk rock guy, and that I meant it as a compliment!! they laughed a lot at that. Jack asked him whether he liked / appreciated their live from production point of view, and I joined in saying that I am more of rock girl too, that Daft Punk and Justice were the only electronic bands i really listened to, but discovering them made me realise how actually complex the house genre is and how interesting the job of a DJ is, which helped me appreciate their art more... It was getting kinda awkward to stay more so I decided it's time to go, we all hugged, it was sooooooo wholesome!!!! I reached out to Jack on reddit today, apparently they didn't manage to get to Groom (that club the French fans invited us to) because of time constraints and how challenging it was for them to get an Uber, and the whole lot of unfortunate events they got in ahahha. In any case, what an amazing and wholesome night, to be surrounded by so many people "worshipping" the same thing. Wonderful, magical, absolutely phenomenal!
P.S.: also if you recall, Prince85 (who's being speculated to be either Rico the Wizard or even Guy-Man!!!) played ******* The Brainwasher during his set, I DID NOT EXPECT TO HEAR DAFT PUNK LIVE!! I thought Interstella 5555 "remaster" at the cinema was my only shot, but man my flabbers were ghasted, I actually audibly gasped when I heard "I AAAAMMMMM THE BRAINWASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA", and started dancing and fist pumping in the air immediately, **** what a NIGHT!
P.P.S.: there was a guy in the row below mine at the edge who i think kinda was checking me out, he turned towards me a couple of times, especially when i was talking to mum in Russian at the very beginning. Kinda wanted to lock eyes with him and salut, but I'm shy in those matters, so I didn't interact.
I hope you still remember a lot of it, all the feelings you experienced.... in case I remember something more, I'll send more messages to the future!!! Love ya, I hope you are strong and pain-free and happy! To many more gigs to come and hopefully you'll still be in Italy in the summer, you could attend a festival where Justice will be playing!!!