It's normal for a gig to end leaving people wanting more, in fact that's probably a sign that things have gone according to plan. But still, when the Prodigy left the stage after just an hour and a half last night...I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It didn't feel finished somehow. With the end time on the ticket saying 3am and our cab booked for quarter past - when the lights went down and came back up again on decks and a DJ at half past 1 there were definite mutterings of 'what now? is that it? No, they'll come back out again...surely' about the place.
Although until that point, it had been absolutely heavy. A sold out crowd with tickets outside the venue going for anything up to £300, everyone was up for it. I went in immaculately groomed and came out a sweaty, scruffy mess having been dragged to the front of the stage for five minutes so a girl I'd met in there could get some good photos. It's pretty easy for two small girls to worm their way to the front of a dancing mass, but unfortunately for my bones, we arrived in the centre of the heaving, hot, surging crowd just in time for the drop of Breathe, which was more than a little bit mental. No amount of pushing, shoving and absolute carnage could wipe the smile off my face as I threw my hands in the air and leapt around with hundreds of sweaty Prodigy crazed men and a bassline that absolutely tore up the venue.
After a warm up set from Does It Offend You, Yeah? and BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, the main act came one with a mix of old, very old, and new - playing everything you'd expect - but I don't think they played 'No Good For Me'. I could be wrong, because after several vodkas, jagermeister shots and at least 5 strongbows I think they could have slipped Ba Ba Black Sheep in the set and I would have forgotten, but still.
And the good thing about Brixton Academy is the sloping floor, so if you're 5ft 4 and don't fancy wearing stilts, you can still see the stage. In other news, I'm pretty sure I saw Lucy Beale from Eastenders a couple of times in the toilets. I pretty much hit the big time with that celeb spot...
If you go to any gig and the only complaint at the end is that they weren't on for long enough - you know you'd do it all over again. See you at Brixton in another few years, lads...
FYI - Brixton, 1997
14 comments:
What!? Only :90 minutes! What a gyp! What nerve. I saw Bruce Springsteen once and he played for over 3 hours. I was bloody sick of him at then end, so perhaps that's what The Prodigy was trying to avoid.
I know. Especially as we'd got to the venue at about half 9, they weren't due on til 12 - so there was a fair bit of hanging around. Even though there were DJs before and after. I expected a bit more from them. They just finished the last tune, dropped the lights and left the stage. That was that!
Blimey I didn't realise The Prodigy were still touring. I've seen them twice, once in my local city, and once in Glastonbury in 1999. That was the year they had massive sound problems and went off stage mid song after all their kit blew. Had to wait something like 40mins for them to come back on.
I think I'm a bit old for all that loud noise and jumping around now though...
I think they're bit old two for that.....
*too
I was one of those sweaty blokes at the front mate! The Prodigy were bloody amazaing!
I actually found this page looking for the name of that supporting band ("Does It Offend You, Yeah?", for anyone that missed it the first time - Check them out!). They were bloody brilliant aswell, really lit up the crowd before The Prodigy came on. Those (Far too expensive) bars at the back helped too!
Glad you had a good night mate
James, you're never too old for a bit of Voodoo People. Never. Neither was the 60 yr old woman dressed in fishnets, hot pants and a string top and bra who was there on Saturday either. Yeah, you betcha.
psylo - I dunno, they can still leap around a fair bit...they must be what...in their 40s now?
Green - Thanks for stopping by. It seems that a fair few other people were impressed by the support act too, given the amount of google searches landing here today. They were good. A hint of Daft Punk about them, I thought...and I can't remember bar prices. I think I managed not to visit one all night somehow ;) Magic drunkness!
Thanks for your blog, I keep coming back to it and always find you funny and informative. Having grown up in Kew back in the 60s. I enjoy hearing stories from the old country. I have lived in Melbourne Australia, for the last 30 years.
So thanks again and Keep it up.
Merry Christmas. x
I should really go to more gigs. It would make me feel more alive. Having said that, I spent Saturday at a dinner party near Ipswich where I had to keep a five year old boy from climbing up my head.
I was there too. I'd seen the line up before and knew they wouldn't be on until 3 but didn't expect them to anyway. And they didn't just turn the lights on and leave the stage, they did an encore and came back to play about 4 more songs then they walked around clapping the crowd before leaving. An hour and a half is a pretty average time for bands to play for. It was so hot in there anyway I couldn't take much more lol.
I was there...fantastic gig, hadnt seen them live for over 3 yrs...and if anybody thinks these guys are too old for touring, just check em out, still the best live act on the planet!!
Grump - Oh thank you for that. What a nice message to see. I know Kew, well, I remember the massive lilly pads in the gardens anyway.
Fwenge - My Saturday night wasn't dissimilar. Except the people trying to climb up my head, back and neck were sweaty men in time to the music. Nice.
Anon - Like I said, I was pretty hammered so I wrote as I remembered. To be fair though they encored after about 45mins ...they were never going to finish before playing the encore songs! I didn't expect them on until 3, but I thought they'd do 2 hours...it was hot in there though!
Niall - I definitely agree with you there...100% can't wait to see them next time.
i went to the gig and tbh i was a little dissapointed.... i thought they had kinda messed the music up a bit too much....i couldnt HEAR what song it was and theyd put loadsa drum and bassline in music that personally i think sounds better without....
but then again i LOVE LOVE LOVE prodigy but im not a music connoisseur or anything. maybe im just had a bit too many high expectations?
:S
Anon - nah I kind of know what you mean, but then I like my basslines loud! I had really high expectations having seen them in Budapest once before, they were amazing then and the set seemed a bit longer. Still a great gig though.
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