The Prodigy

The Prodigy made a welcome return to Motorpoint Arena (Nottingham) to support the release of their seventh studio album “No Tourists”. In terms of albums, it is fair to say that over the years The Prodigy have released a mixture of critically acclaimed (The Fat of the Land) and critically slated albums (Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned). To the point that the latter album resulted in such poor sales that The Prodigy were dropped from their Record deal.

Their latest album “No Tourists” is probably not going to win them any new fans, but for current fans it is a tour de force with teeth rattling beats that  ricochet deep into the chest cavity with the force of a knock out punch from Anthony Joshua.

However, despite their albums being a mixed bag of wide-ranging criticism, when it comes to performing live, they are still light years ahead of most other bands.

Band members Liam, Maxim and Keith bounced on stage as soon as the stage curtain dropped. From that point on it was just one epic adrenaline fuelled dance and sing along, with Keith and Maxim bouncing  around the stage like a possessed billiard ball.

Opening number “Breathe” turned the crowd into one massive ball of energy with fans bouncing, dancing, jumping, swaying, swinging, and singing along to this chest crushing ear bursting attack on the senses.

To be fair it was a brave move to play one of their biggest hits as the set opener.

From there on in, it was high octane pace as the band ploughed through their setlist which catered for both old and new fans. There was something for everyone. For the old fans who remember “The Fat of the Land” they were treated to the big hits such as “Firestarter” and “Smack My Bitch Up”, the setlist even included “Everybody in the Place” for the old school fans.

With their new album “No Tourists” being the reason they were touring, then it goes without saying that they included material from the latest release. “Resonate”, “Champions of London”, “Light Up the Sky”, “Need Some1”, and “We Live Forever” were all squeezed into a setlist that spanned throughout their career of almost thirty years.

The lighting display throughout the show was nothing short of phenomenal, The Prodigy always try to set the standard high when it comes  to performing live, and this show was no exception.

From start to finish, it was a high octane fast paced sensory overload, which after 90 minutes made you feel like that you had been repeatedly pummelled with a sledgehammer but in a good way.