On a balmy March evening, smack bang in the middle of the working week, things were about to get a whole lot steamier. Brit rockers Prodigy were in town, and with expectations high after a Sydney sideshow just over a year ago that had left some still gasping, this Prodigy virgin descended on the Hordern Pavilion to have his proverbial cherry popped. And with that, see whether the show in fact lived up to the hype.

On warm up duties was the UK outfit, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, and while it was fair to say that few punters had parted with their hard earned specifically for them, they managed to generate enough atmosphere amongst the crowd. I likened it to them answering a question: “so you think you can yeah?”; clearly, they could. The crowd were amped, hyped, pumped and ready to go.

Enter a DJ slot that unfortunately went too long, crossed a few too many genres, and with the boys that all had come to see long past their due time, the natives began to get restless. And boy did we make it known. Eventually, our wishes were granted, and we finally got what we came for.

To thunderous applause, roars, screeches, wolf-whistles and god knows what else, the lads arrived, and did it with a bang: an almighty one. Smashing into World’s On Fire to open up proceedings then launching into the epic Breathe, it was fair to say that they had the crowd’s attention. Completely. The boys did what they know best – thrusting themselves from one track to another – and had a bouncing Hordern eating out of the palm of its proverbial hand. It was a mixture of tunes, Omen and Warriors Dance intertwined among the likes of Diesel Power and Firestarter; it was like a ‘tale’ of the history of Prodigy. Each track got the its own raw response from the heaving mob below, the biggest in this writer’s opinion coming from Voodoo People: it came smack bang in the middle of the set, and given it’s notoriety of being a tune that is rarely delivered live, it made it all the more euphoric. The crowd roared, and like a wild sea, it rose as one, then wildly crashed about with little decorum.

Some in the crowd thought it would be amusing to throw random items of footwear at the band; why is beyond me, but despite that, the boys persevered and towards the end threw in Smack My Bitch Up which drew a roar that would have impressed even the most avid soccer hooligan. They disappeared briefly, then returned for an encore that included Take Me To The Hospital before ending it all with Their Law, and once again, the boys had clearly delivered. As we left, smiles on our faces, this Prodigy cherry popped – yep, I can see what the fuss is about. Prodigy: while it may not be for the faint hearted, it is – if nothing else – a hell of an experience.