Party, drink, rave, sweat, rave, breathe, drink, sweat,
drink, rave, rave, rave… That’s the definitive running order of what to do at
Prodigy gig. Tonight was of no exception.
The veteran rave dominators brought their show for
three dates at the legendary Warehouse Project in Manchester. Throughout the
past three months the famed Manchester dance venue has shown off the talents of
some of the biggest names in dance, rave, techno and electronica; Axwell, Steve
Angello, Knife Party, Major Laser, Nero, Disclosure, Jaguar Skills and The
Chemical Brothers have all played the Victorian warehouse this season.
Tonight’s show was supported by DJ Caspa, Jaguar
Skills and a host of other rising stars in electronic music. With all this set
on a cold Manchester Thursday night the set erupted at the stroke of midnight. The
crowd filled with students looking for a good night out, solid dance fans and a
few dozen ‘middle aged’ people eager to remember the 90’s rave culture that
cemented Manchester in the dance scene.
The threesome, all of them over 40 years old now,
came out to images of angry tribal skulls with bright red eyes emblazoned on
the background of the stage, and of course to a capacity 3000 strong crowd of buzzing
party-goers. Forming in 1990 they have
effectively seen it all and everything that dance music has to offer. Hailed as
the ‘creators of rave’ the group have amassed 4 multi-platinum albums with 25
million copies sold and they have gained dozens of awards including two Brits,
three VMAs and two Grammy nominations.
The hour and a half set that followed was a
trail-blaze to their glittering career. Classic’s like “Breathe” and “Omen” are
played back to back to intense results. Newer tracks like “AWOL” and “Dogbite”
were smashed in to keep the crowd moving like a riot in a volcano. The
temperature sored but the anthems just kept coming and coming, there was no
stopping this rave train!
Keith Flint roars over the crowd “You are my
Prodigy people, you know what to f*cking do!” Maxim Reality then screams and
the set blasts into “Invaders Must Die” a wave of astonishment passes over the
crowd and carnage ensued as walls of noise, lights and lasers filled the room
sending everybody mental.
“Firestarter”, “Breathe”, “Smack My Bitch Up”, “Spitfire”,
“Omen” and a host more of classic tracks instated that the group are showing no
signs of stopping when most people their age are slowing down, these guys want
to stay speeding it up and turning life up to 11!
The set finished with adrenaline running high, Flint’s
horned hair are the only thing you can see on stage through a thick fog of
smoke and sweat.
I have never been to a gig where the overall
experience was so relentless and intense. Waking up in the middle of the
afternoon, late to just about everything, feeling physically damaged and with
ringing still in my ears it was a sign that this show was definitely one to
remember.
The Prodigy have a host of massive shows in 2014 including a headline slot at Sonisphere
and are planning a release of a new album.
Words by Will Whitby
