The Prodigy, Victoria Warehouse. 19th July 2022

What better way to embrace a heatwave, than burying yourself in an old warehouse with The Prodigy! The old essex ravepunks are back on tour for the first time without Keith Flint, it’s an emotional celebration and one helluva party. His memory looms large and defines what it is to be a fan of this band. Not to get overly sentimental, but it’s about a sense of unity, a sense of support and big beats, really fucking huge monolithic ear torturing beats. My point is that, sure the rave scene that bore The Prodigy was full of mad bastards off their collective trolleys, but it’s the music that bonded people together. The Prodigy are still about that bond. The music just got a little more brutal is all. We might be witnessing the band move into Mk4 as they navigate their new future, but all the previous incarnations are here tonight. The early dance classics, the mega hits of Fat of the Land and the more recent stuff where they’ve blended industrial sounds with catchy breakbeats and an infectious sense of mayhem. There are those in here that are clearly just up for the hits. The deafening roar that meets opener ‘Breathe’ is breathtaking… ironically, but I’m much more blown away with ‘Omen’ that follows. Holy fucking shit! I’ve been in some hot and mental gigs, but this is a whole other level. The room detonates in an explosion of sweat, I’m sure there’s more limbs than the crowd can technically account for. There’s no respite, ‘Climbatize’ rolls into ‘Everybody in the Place’, with the sort of drop that drawers an audible gasp across the room, before ‘Voodoo People’ unleashes at a ferocious click. I’ve no words to explain just how great they are. Sure anyone can crank the volume and set the bmp to epileptic, but these tunes are solid. ‘Firestarter’ with Keith’s silhouette outlined in lasers is beautifully brutal. “I like to see chaos” declares Maxim as ‘Their Law’ obliges. The buzz saw guitars, sending the pit into a frenzy. The live drums that sound particularly awesome on ‘Poison’, prove its not just Liam up there pressing buttons, although it feels a bit thrown away compared to the rest of the set, such is the intensity. Things lift again for ‘Get Your Fight On’ that riff sounding monstrous. There’s nothing quite like ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ though. I’ve no idea who’s playing here next, but they’re gonna need to bring some new speakers. In fact I’m guessing there’ll be a structural engineer visiting in the morning to check the foundations. ‘Take Me to the Hospital’ opens the encore. I’m utterly shattered. It’s a full on workout and I might need a hospital after this. ‘Invaders Must Die’ gets a bit lost in the mix, but I’m here for the newer stuff, it all sounds awesome, the later songs pack more punch. It’s one of the oldest that closes us out though as the mad bastards go mental for what’s only really a brief snippet of ‘Out of Space’. It’s enough though. We’re all done in. I’ve been to a lot of crazy gigs, but not many where I’ve walked out with just a pair of shorts and a smile.