9th August 2013 Dreambeach Festival, Villaricos, Spain

Review by Phoenix:
My Dreambeach review is going to be a review with a twist, more like a story of events leading up to the festival, during and after. So read on and I hope you enjoy!

The day was Friday 9th August, 9.30am to be precise and I´d just opened up the bar at work, When the phone rang. I answered….Keith Flint was on the other end and there wasn’t any need for introductions because I knew straight away from the sound of his voice. We spoke. He ordered coffee…I obliged by taking it up to his room. He continued to greet me as if he had known me for years, So down to earth and easy going. We ended up, standing and talking for a further 5 minutes.

Just as I was about to leave, I turned back and said `I hope you have a good show tonight.´ He followed by asking `Are you going?´ I replied. `Yes, to see you!´ He then invited me along and said that he would arrange some passes for me. He asked for my number and said that he would get Steve to call me in the next couple of hours.

A few hours past…..

Steve gave me the tickets and by this point, I was happy and excited at the prospect of knowing that I was FINALLY going to be seeing The Prodigy live!!

The day passed by slowly but surely when Keith called to make sure that I have the now said passes and he continued by telling me that he told Steve to give me ACCESS ALL AREAS, So that I can chill out and enjoy the experience etc. What can I say…I´m at a loss for words, I didn’t expect any of this when I walked into work that morning, but I was feeling very grateful for this opportunity. I ended up looking after the band and crew all day by serving them lunch and Keith told everyone that he had known me for 6 years and that we go way back haha.

The atmosphere was electric, around 30,000 people had shown up for the festivities and you could feel the anticipation in the air. Everybody was buzzing and enjoying the build up to The Prodigy with the likes of Dub Elements, Cyperpunkers, Waka Flocka Flame on the Barcelo stage and on the surrounding stages, the festival was graced with Loco Dice, Chris Liebing, Gomad & Monster, The Zombie Kids…To name but a few. There was quite literally something for everyone. No shortage of music here!

The time passed quickly from all the shapes being thrown and It was upon us before we knew it… We were on the side of the stage, waiting for The Prodigy´s set to commence, looking out to the crowd, It was a sea of bodies as far as the eye could see. You could feel the excitement building in the air as each second passed. Everybody was ready to be taken back to the 90´s where it all began, to relive their youth or to experience this world famous band who had made their way back to this area after 7 years. Most people in the crowd, to be fair were too young to remember them the first time around, But all the same…they were excited! You knew this was going to be all kinds of EPIC from start to finish.

Then on walks…Keith, Maxim, Liam, Rob and Leo (touring guitarist and drummer) The crowd roars as they burst into Voodoo people, From that point on-wards, the atmosphere was pumping. They worked their way through an amazing dreamlike set consisting of Invaders Must Die, Firestarter, Breathe, Out Of Space, Smack My Bitch Up and Omen, Just to name a few from their one and half hour set. I admit that through their whole set, I just lost myself completely and surrendered to the music. I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend that if you ever get the chance to see them live, then don’t hesitate…its not to be missed.

From Leo´s heavy powerful drumming, Rob´s skillful guitar, Deep base lines to Keith and Maxim´s stand out vocals, They most definitely still have it and you can see that they still enjoy every single moment of it. During their set, It was an added bonus to interact with them. We had Rob keep coming over to us and messing about, playing peek a boo with the curtain. I also had Keith look over to stage right ( your left) and scream and point at me because he was happy that I had made it. For me, It was the best set of the night by far and that’s not me being biased. It was the whole package from start to finish and it will stick in my mind for a long time to come.