The Prodigy

It is freezing cold up in Glasgow just now and not much can persuade me to leave either the warmth of my house or the pub (apart from during working hours of course!) But I was out to see one band I could not equate with either a quiet Monday night, or indeed ever picture missing – The Prodigy!

I could probably sum up this gig in less than five words... it was absolutely frickin awesome. However, if I were to do that I am pretty sure I wouldn’t write for this page again! It is all I need to say though, and I am sure every other member of that audience would agree.

The queue outside the Carling Academy, even as it approached 9.15pm, was massive. It felt about minus 5 and I heard the queue had been pretty constant for around 2 hours, masses of fans desperate to get in, appearing steadily over the course of the night. Thankfully it didn’t take long to get in and I made my way up to the balcony level. It is packed to the rafters up here and nowhere near the minus 5 temp I felt outside! The lure of seeing this band in a nice small venue is too much for anyone to resist.

It is clear to see that there are many who are unfortunately under far more than the influence of alcohol and it does not sit well with some. But as the lights dim and Maxim, Keith Flint and Liam Howlett run onstage everyone’s attention turns to them. ‘Worlds On Fire’ kicks us off and as it the runs into one of my all time favourites ‘Breathe’ I actually struggle to keep my composure. ‘Breathe’ and ‘Firestarter’ were always my songs. Every single high school party we had would have these songs on at one point, and I must admit my Keith style dancing would put even him to shame. Even now I find myself head banging along and it is only the realisation that folk either side of me have moved slightly that stops me going all out with my reminiscent dance moves.

Luckily I am not the only one that Keith and co affect in such a way. I can’t see downstairs as I am stood in the back row of the balcony, but I can only imagine the madness. Up here we see the stage perfectly, we hear the music perfectly and we feel the bouncing perfectly (quite scarily at some points!).

‘Spitfire’ hits us like exactly that, a spitfire. Right between the ears. It has everyone chanting in unison. Arms in the air. We barely catch our breath when my other song, ‘Firestarter’ hits us. This leads to an encore on my part of my Keithy dancing moves! But what the hell, who cares, this is not about being self conscious, this is a gig about letting go and having fun and when ‘Poison’ starts drifting towards us everyone lets go.

The place is a hive of energy. The sweat drips from the ceiling. And no one cares.

‘Voodoo People’ was raucous and enthralling. Energetic and pulsating. Sweaty and yet dream like. Maxim is such a powerful figure on stage, even from this distance and he keeps our eyes focused on them. Keith is still Keith, and another admission, I have always had a strange crush on him so he too can keep our attention. With the dance moves he can do no wrong.

I feel like they’ve hardly been on before they disappear off stage. I can’t believe the time, I know it goes fast when you are having fun but this was ridiculous. It is a testament to how good a live show The Prodigy put on that even on a Monday night, hungover from a gig on the Sunday and suffering from exhaustion at work, I still don’t want to leave. I want this party to last all night. I can only dream about how awesome this would have been if it wasn’t on a school night!

Liam appears again, like a vision, walking onstage to a deafening roar. And so the rest follow. And our night gets that little bit closer to the end. ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ goes down an absolute storm. ‘Out Of Space’ takes us back in time, again, but still feels so great to our ears. The Prodigy are indeed one of the few great bands, that no matter how long they play together, no matter what happens throughout the years, they will always manage to pull a crowd, will always manage to please a crowd and will always leave us wanting more.

I am greedy by this point. I want a whole list of other songs to come on, least of all ‘No Good’ but they chose to end the night with ‘Comanche’. The throngs of ecstatic gig goers all praying that the lights won’t come on. That perhaps they will appear for one more tune. But I guess even the lads need to call it a night at some point.

I was exhausted by the end of the gig. Slept like a baby, woke up with sore legs and arms from dancing the next day. But I would do it all again in a second. They are back next year to play the SECC in Glasgow. I am not a fan of that venue at all. But when you enjoy a live act so much, get to dance like an eejit and still fit in, well, how can I say no?

FUTURE GIGS