I’ve loved The Prodigy since 1993 when my sister lent me a cassette with Out of Space on one side and Ruff In The Jungle on the other. I sat on the beach on holiday listening to those two tracks continuously and I never tired of them. I’ve followed them ever since; through Music for the Jilted Generation, to The Fat of The Land, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, right up to their tracks Invaders Must Die and Omen from their forthcoming album. I was therefore ecstatic to find out I’d been given the opportunity to catch Liam, Keith and Maxim at their Big Day Out sideshow, this was going to be massive!

The temperature outside was still in the 30s (it hit 43 earlier in the day), so it was hot inside when we arrived around 9pm and caught DJ Heavy G winding down his first set of warm-up breaks. Next up Quan his way onstage, joined by a second member, both wearing massive trainers over their heads – odd. They began a half hour show of incomprehensible rap driven lyrics, thumping drums and funky guitar riffs. I don’t think they were overly popular with the crowd due to their lack of stage presence (highlight being a fat man joining them for a track to dance with one of those trainers on his head), but I quite liked some of their more pacey tunes like OMG and Year of The Jerk. I reckon their album The Amateur could be a fun listen, however The Prodigy beckoned, and people weren’t really very interested… cue hecklers.

9.50pm and Heavy G was back for a second set, and by this time the place was getting packed. The main floor was rammed and the overlooking balconies were filling out as people jostled for the best view. He played some classics, like DJ Supreme’s Wildstyle and more recent stuff like The End by Dirty South. He finally finished off at 10.30pm with Public Enemy’s Don’t Believe the Hype, and soon enough the lighting dropped low and the music went quiet, as all eyes stayed trained on the stage for a sign of what was to come. Then, in a rush of green, the stage lit up and the backround appeared. Large industrial fans, broken signs, evil glowing eyes. There were squeals of delight as the boys made their way onstage, Liam in black t-shirt and jeans, Maxim decked out in a black singlet, silver face and body paint and black pants, and always-crazy Keith with his white singlet and heavy metal belt, adorned with tattoos and piercings.

There was no messing around as they launched straight into one of their trademark killer basslines, heavy with electro sounds and no holds barred lyrics. Maxim took to the mic, yelling obscenities at the crowd and throwing water over himself and the revellers as he set it off with Their Law. He ran backwards across the stage, dreadlocks flying, falling into Keith and sending the crowd nuts as they announced Breathe. Hands were in the air and people screamed the lyrics out loud. Awesome! Keith leaped about like his shoes were on fire and Liam smoothly moved the band on to their latest offering Omen (check the video and you’ll get some idea what the concert was like). The energy was insane and people began crowd surfing, shouting and thrashing about. There were calls for Poison and they kindly obliged by bringing down the pace and hitting us with the classic.

More new tracks followed, then Maxim cleared off and left Keith centre stage. You knew what was coming…Firestarter. True to form, complete insanity followed. As if that wasn’t enough, they followed it up with Voodoo People and the crowd was sent into a hysterical frenzy. They headed off stage for 5 minutes and left the crowd screaming for more. The heat inside was intense and everybody was soaked through their clothes. It was like a sauna, and when the air conditioning came on it gave little relief. Soon enough the crew came back on stage, having quickly changed clothes, and the massive alien eyes at the back of the set lit up as they started with Invaders Must Die and segued into Diesel Power. Then, the moment that many had been waiting for, the opening break of Smack My Bitch Up rang through the speakers as Maxim and Keith flung themselves about. The crowd joined in chanting the chorus; “Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up”. They polished the night off with their rave classic Out of Space, and with that they were done.

It was a mad, brilliant, testosterone ride of a concert which covered many of their classics, however it left large holes and I heard many people grumbling they would have liked to hear Charley and more of their stuff from The Experience album. I wouldn’t have minded hearing Spitfire or something off Always Outnumbered as well, but who’s going to argue? I’d be far too scared. Great venue, great concert, great crowd and a real Prodigy Experience. It was nothing short of classic.