Do you remember the Vine with a bunch of emos dancing under the bridge? That is exactly how The Mic’s Aleksa Stirane felt at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham when The Prodigy visited on their Army of the Ants Tour. Joined by Izzy Morris, the pair share their experience of the night, supported by Soft Play and Jack Saunders.
Izzy:
Heading into the gig, I could not have been more excited for the stellar lineup that would await me inside the Utilita Arena (plus getting inside would save us from the pelting rain that I had NOT
even remotely dressed for.) Soft Play, Jack Saunders, The Prodigy. Any one of those acts individually would have been a pull factor for me.
I sometimes find with arena gigs especially, that there isn’t the same excitement for the support, and thus the room sometimes can end up feeling a bit hollow. As excited as I was for Soft Play, I did sort of expect this to be the case on this occasion, given that Soft Play don’t have the same electronic properties as The Prodigy, despite sharing the heavier and punkier sensibilities. I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent crowd forming for the fierce duo. Opening up with their latest track, that helped to ring in their name change, Punk’s Dead, they proved that it’s anything but. I was ready and I was raring, with Issac’s unrelentingly powerful vocals, and Laurie’s incredible energy to match.
All of this momentum, though, was somewhat diminished by a failed circle pit ahead of F*** the Hi-Hat. It’s not going to surprise you that the drug sniffing dogs on the way in were considerably more
active at this gig than other ones I’d been at, and thus it probably won’t come as a surprise that quite a few of the audience members were… affected. We weren’t near enough to pit to see what the problem was, but it appeared that somebody wasn’t holding a guitar lead tight enough, and the rest of them just couldn’t coordinate to pull together a circle. That’s fine, that happens. However, Issac and Laurie, who were down in the pit at the time, really kept working to make this happen. I kind of wish, being nowhere near the pit, that they’d sort of just given up? I wonder if we missed out on any tracks
because of this conundrum. Aleksa will agree with me that it took us out of it a bit.
"Jack was his own hypeman on stage, bouncing around, pumping his love for music into the crowd."
Nevertheless, Soft Play still managed to impress, with their no-bulls**t personalities and boisterous tracks, that even with that break in the set, did manage to warm up the crowd. And Jack Saunders only kept that energy going. The Radio 1 DJ demonstrated his versatility with a set that combined EDM, Techno, DnB and Emo, in a way that perfectly set us up for the main event. I particularly loved his mix of Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, which gave the iconic track an EDM spin, as well as his incredible remix of Linkin Park’s Numb, in which he got everyone with their hands in the air singing along. Jack was his own hypeman on stage, bouncing around, pumping his love for music into the crowd. Get Jack in Brickworks NOW!
Aleksa:
I’m so glad to have had the amazing opportunity to see The Prodigy at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham and it may have been one of my favourite concerts I’ve ever attended. The Prodigy, a techno, punk, breakbeat, and electronic band coming from the 90’s has yet to lose their light and the current tour shows that their foot in rave and techno culture is still very much present.
The set list order was amazing. Opening with the songs Breathe, Omen, Light Up the Sky and Voodoo People, The Prodigy instantly and simultaneously enticed casual listeners and die-hard fans. Opening a concert with a few fan favourites is always a good idea and with a heavy, die-hard crowd that night it did not go a miss. The concert took a slower pace with the tracks Climbatize and Warrior’s Dance to allow the audience to have a moment of calm after a mighty techno storm which had everybody electrified into movement. And if you went as a hard as I did, slowing down was really appreciated, and maybe even necessary. The pacing did pick up again and the dancing, jumping and flailing of arms quickly resumed.
"Referring to the fans as 'warriors', 'the ant army' and 'fighters' constantly which bridged the distance between artist and fan."
What stands out is mine and the crowd reaction to Smack My Bitch Up. Like most of The Prodigy's songs, this track is quite aggressive and the crowd followed suit. I’m not trying to imply that everyone started fighting each other, but the atmosphere seemed to have shifted and people were jumping a little higher and dancing a little harder and bumping into each other more frequently.
The Prodigy kept engaging with the audience, asking how each section was feeling and if we were present. Referring to the fans as 'warriors', 'the ant army' and 'fighters' constantly which bridged the
distance between artist and fan.
During Firestarter, a tribute to the late member Keith Flint was made in a way that screams The Prodigy. A large statue, which stood in the audience all night, was illuminated and started beaming lazers onto the stage. These lasers formed a silhouette of Flint, with his iconic devil horn hairstyle, dancing around in his signature style. A beautiful tribute, one which made him feel present and brought the venue to life. This heavy emphasis on great visuals also opened up the venue even more.
Overall, the experience was great. My expectations were met. The venue was easy to navigate, the staff were super helpful and the music and visuals were amazing. The Prodigy are known for their
energetic live performances and ground-breaking sound, and they delivered, making them not only one of the most influential acts of the nineties, but of all time.
Izzy Morris and Aleksa Stirane
Edited by Tabitha Smith
Featured Images courtesy of The Prodigy via Facebook
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