There's a distinctly English thread to the Brisbane audience pouring through the gates tonight; less tea-and-muffins and more aggro bulldog in heavy face make-up and Union Jack waistcoat topped off with Keith Flint circa-'Firestarter' hairstyle.
Throw these ingredients into a thick soup of humidity, sweat, and weed smoke and The Riverstage cauldron is bubbling (16 February).The anticipation for The Prodigy is palpable as the stage goes dark before swirling lights, lasers, and noise build up the tension. When the band arrives onstage and launches into 'Breathe', it feels like an explosion.
When Maxim sings: "Come play my game, I'll test ya," we don't need convincing of his sincerity. "Are all my party people here? Are all my f...ing party people here?" he demands. Brisbane gives him the response he wants.
Image © Simone Gorman-Clark
'Voodoo People' is next, and while at first it feels conspicuously risky to toss off a couple of absolute bangers this early in the game, the rest of the show never suffers as a result.
The thing about The Prodigy is they not only have an extensive, 35-year discography to pull from, but this gig feels like it could go in a hundred different directions at any moment and either one would be just as entertaining. Is this a dance party? A rave? A rock show? A psychedelic wig-out? It's not at all clear; and it also doesn't matter one single bit.
Talking of absolute bangers, by the time 'Firestarter', alongside a visual tribute to Keith Flint, comes around a couple of tracks later, the crowd is eating out of Maxim's hand. For a dude approaching his seventh decade on Earth, he's making this all look ludicrously easy and doing it with bags of style to boot.
Image © Simone Gorman-Clark
'No Good (Start The Dance)' evokes the early '90s for those old enough to remember those hazy and halcyon days, and the intensity doesn't let up through 'Invaders Must Die' and 'Diesel Power'.
After a brief stage exit, Maxim, Liam Howlett and the boys stroll back on, and we all know what's coming next. 'Smack My Bitch Up' has often been simultaneously hailed as one of the greatest dance compositions and one of the most lyrically dubious tracks of all time. The simple truth is, 28 years after its release, it still slaps hard. No pun intended.
As the gig finishes and The Riverstage cauldron spills over into the streets and parklands all around, there's a feeling of having witnessed a performance by a band that continue to write the rule book exactly how they want it.
Image © Simone Gorman-Clark
The Prodigy have earned the right to do whatever they like, and long may that continue.
More photos from the concert.
