The Prodigy are back and now not afraid to lose that chip on their shoulder by going deeply experimental. Yes Invaders Must Die is an album which is not scared to sample classic tracks from the breakbeat hardcore era, cut up dirty synths, use ravey sounds, use gilted sounds, even fat of the land got a looking and the best bits from their previous album were taken to the next level. With all this in mind, I haven’t felt this excited about The Prodigy album since Gilted, and had to get tickets for the gig.
Firstly 40quid each was verging on insane, I felt the sting but it had to be done, particularly in Brixton.
On the night itself, Dizzee was meant to be supporting, but unfortunately he was ill. So Kissy Sellout and South Central took hold. Kiss Sellout was pretty intense on the decks, not entirely sure what he was using to mix, but he was tight as. South Central however were excellent, going forward using Ableton Live and their controllers like one has not seen before. It was inspiration to myself and George as it took forward the idea of using Ableton in our current production set up to a new level.
However time was getting on and it was hitting towards midnight. The crowd was a mixture of old ravers, your download festival metal heads and everyone else in between. The vibe was pretty electric and people were getting into it. Hearing poor electro rehashes of Shades of Rhythm, Manix and whatever else did hurt the soul one must say.
So the Prodigy get on stage and with an expensive light show and set up you could see why the tickets cost that much (carbon offsetting or some tax loophole I’m sure). The soundsystem was set up to give an intense bass boom. With a drummer and guitarist accompanying the show of Keith and Maxim on MC duties I thought it was going to be an intense live/electronic show. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Put it simply, with an entire rig of equipment either everything sounded just like the album. The drummer who was playing was pretty much playing with no microphone so was being drowned out (on breakdowns you could hear them rip the shit out of the beats though), and the guitarist was just a prop it felt. Maxim and Keith are pretty awful at the best of times so it was a bit of a press play on the backing track scenario.
However… it didn’t matter, because the vibe and atmosphere was out of this world. It was combining people moshing and raving at the same time, which was an experience. beer being thrown and poured over my head, people getting knocked around in a jumping frenzy whilst people were throwing their arms around like they were at Amensia House in 1991. It was so intense it brought the biggest smile to my face and a state of euphoria that I have only really felt at my first rave at the Son of Dance at Camden Palace. The Prodigy got me into music, and subsequently into the rave scene when I was about 13/4. The album changed my whole ideas on music and put things into perspective. My musical background of power ballads, motown, jim reeves, elvis also came into play later on, but this made sense to me at the time. It was such an intense experience, and with all the annoyances that would get my back up at other gigs, I just didn’t care. Being in a crazy environment/atmosphere, dancing your troubles away, it felt like the spirit of the early 90s. With deep recession, all you need to worry about is nothing but dancing, grooving, bopping your head and having the time of your life with a room full of strangers.
This is what a gig should be about. Zoning out into your own world, not caring about anyone else, about how much drink you’ve had or even how much fun the person you’ve come with is having.
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