The Prodigy bring the heat to Newcastle’s City Hall with a scorcher of a show.
With the City Hall packed out the anticipation it was obvious and with Breathe the crowd erupted into a frenzy. With the temperature so high it was as if the crowd simply forgot they were hot and they were ready for a gig of a lifetime.
Accompanied by a mesmerising light show and colossal bass, the group plunged straight into Omen and Wild Frontier.
With its instantly recognisable synth and guitar riff, everyone knows what was coming… Voodoo People. The crowd roars its approval before launching into what can only be described as total chaos. The added bonus came with the outro of the Pendulum remix.
As the set progresses, the venue is illuminated in green and vocalist Maxim thunders “He’s still fucking here! He never fucking left us!”. Delivering an instrumental version of Firestarter, and within the thick of the smoke, green lasers pick out the silhouette of their late front man Keith Flint, allowing him to take to the stage once again. The crowd bellows out Keith’s lyrics as loud as they can and emotions are raw and genuine.
The evening carries on with banger after banger reminding the crowd that The Prodigy have always been at the forefront of the dance rock scene for over three decades. Highlights include Need Some1 from their 2018 album ‘No Tourists’ as well as classics like Smack My Bitch Up and Invaders Must Die.
After the loss of Keith I don’t think anyone expected to see The Prodigy in concert again and while it’s incredibly sad not to see the band with their legendary and charismatic frontman, it was reassuring to see the band continuing while still acknowledging the huge loss of their departed friend.
This was undoubtedly the hottest, loudest and best show that I have ever attended.
Words and pictures: Will Gorman @willgormanphoto