We’ve reached the end! My 73rd and final gig of the year, going out with a bang with The Prodigy! We’re in Mayfield Depot, a space that is quite frankly nailed on perfection for these big beat electro punk pioneers. It is an arse to get into though. I’ve been through airport security faster. Jaguar Skills are warming up with a DJ set. I’ve nothing against DJs, but I like a bit of performance in the live setting and the biggest crowd reactions come for snippets of Underworld, Faithless, SL2, The Specials and… Motorhead, before the disappointed wave rushes over the crowd realising they’re only getting 10 seconds before some generic beats follow. Occasionally a support act upstages the main attraction. There’s zero chance of that here as The Prodigy come on and… disappear in a sea of phones. It’s ridiculous. I can see fuck all as they bounce through ‘Voodoo People’. Luckily this is the sort of gig where visuals are often superfluous. ‘Omen’ proves that as the place detonates in an explosion of lights and bass. Maxim asks “Where are my party people?”, it’s notable that the scream comes from the front but nothing from the middle of the room to the back. The girl behind me says “I can’t see a fucking thing” and perhaps that detachment does matter after all. The bass from ‘Fight’ makes my mohawk vibrate, but is that enough. It sort of limps to a close too, before they fuse ‘Climbatize’ with ‘Warriors Dance’. The most positive thing I can say about Mayfield Depot is the lighting set up. It’s not a gig venue is it, it’s geared up for club nights so the whole place is wired and goes off suitably for ‘Light Up the Sky’. The mood around me is dropping though, some look thoroughly lost, disappointed and bored at not being able to see, but the lights help pull the room together, a bit. A shit ton of lasers and ‘Firestarter’ works too. Although it is thrown away a little. Understandable without Keith, but still nowhere near as good as they were last time out at Victoria Warehouse. I get a bit of a glimpse of the stage as things calm for ‘Roadblox’. It’s packed with Marshalls and Maxim prowling as Liam orchestrates from behind a desk in the centre. I could be wrong but there might be a drum kit up there too. It’s a weird set, everything feels cut short as they try to pack in as much as possible. ‘Poison’ starts well, but again takes a turn that loses most of the room. There are moments ‘No Good (Start the Dance)’ feels like one. The room singing the breakdown before it kicks off. It’s here I decide to ditch my central but shit vantage and head to the wings. The bass is less deadly out here, but I can see Maxim and comfirm there are indeed live drums on ‘Get Your Fight On’… and a guitar. I’m not sure what it’s doing, but it sounds great on ‘Their Law’. Who does this better, The Prodigy or PWEI? It’s close and Poppies seldom have access to this kind of audio power, but they do still shade it. It’s out here at the side of the room that I realise they sound better. The bass is a touch less intense which allows room for everything else and I can appreciate ‘Invaders Must Die’ as Maxim urges everyone not “to fade”. I’m guessing it’s taking its toll down the front. There’s more air out here, I can ‘Breathe’, which is apt as they play it to take us into the break. Half this crowd look like they weren’t born when it was released but they sing like it’s theirs and who’s to say it’s not, The Prodigy have faced ridicule and celebration throughout their career, but they’re clearly standing the test of time. Even with lyrics like ‘Smack My Bitch Up’. Honestly though,I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many phones all at once. Insane. ‘Take Me to the Hospiral’ steals the set. It’s the perfect Prodigy song, every ingredient is there. The old school rave, the monolithic beats, it’s an untamed monster and easily wipes the floor with the rest of the 90 minutes. I’d forgotten all about ‘Diesel Power’. Its dystopian breakbeat sounds huge, but once again it limps to its conclusion slightly unsatisfactorily, before they end back at the beginning with ‘Out of Space’. I swear it feels like half the songs last no more than 2 minutes and this once again feels oddly clipped. I feel like people will tell you this was a great gig, but it was just really good. That’s fine and I’ll admit I’ve been spoilt this year. A few weeks rest now, I’ll be back next year. Thanks for reading.
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