An air raid siren sounds and bass begins hammering by way of the subwoofers with convulsive energy. The Prodigy arrive on stage and vocalist Maxim clambers atop a speaker stack the place he stands statuesque, bathed in strobes. The opening riff of Breathe begins as reside guitarist Rob Holliday, in sleeveless leather-based, begins slinging his instrument round like an out-of-control chainsaw. Pandemonium is instantaneous.
This run of exhibits is the band’s first since the demise of their vocalist and dancer Keith Flint in 2019, a person whose devil-horned hair turned a extra recognisable emblem for the Prodigy than their precise ant brand. Such was his stage presence that within the aftermath of his demise some questioned whether or not the band might proceed with out him – however the showmanship is so highly effective right here that the viewers are clearly not frightened.
Throughout Firestarter an overview of Flint (immediately recognisable due to the horns) is beamed on to centre stage with lasers, and it dances together with jerky depth. “He’s nonetheless fucking right here!” repeats Maxim afterwards, movingly. There may be additionally an impromptu second when Liam Howlett takes a flag that includes Flint’s silhouette from the viewers and holds it aloft as they return for his or her encore. These are the one nods to their late bandmate however their efficiency looks like a tribute in itself.
The breadth of bangers on the band’s disposal actually helps, they usually carry out them magnificently. Smack My Bitch Up is amped as much as unhinged proportions as drummer Leo Crabtree furiously lets free, and newer tracks similar to 2018’s We Reside Eternally (whose chorus takes on unavoidable new significance with out Flint) are delivered with related vitality. By the point they shut with the Chase the Satan-sampling Out of Area, dizzy grins adorn the faces of an viewers left completely spent.
Maxim has all the time been a magnetic frontman in his personal proper and stays so tonight, spry on his toes like a sparring boxer as he bounds across the stage. The minute the vitality begins to sag in any part of the gang, he factors it out and calls for they increase it. There’s an urgency to the Prodigy’s taking part in that appears to return from someplace deeper than earlier than: the euphoria and launch they supply is overwhelming, and compounded by the enduring presence of a person whose profession was spent embodying these qualities.
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