7th March 2013 Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia

Review by Chris Singh:
The Prodigy is one of the few live dance acts that can give you an unbridled amount of adrenaline, absolutely demanding you give 110% at every one of their concerts and leave drenched in a pungent combination of sweat and alcohol. The English veterans, now in their 40’s, are still re-inventing their live shows and outlasting the many mosh pits they inspire; they really are a live act not to be missed.

With their headline appearance at this year’s monster Future Music Festival, The Prodigy hammered the Hordern Pavilion into shape with the help of popular Israeli dubstep producer Borgore; but the night just wasn’t consistent enough.

Borgore was boring for the most part. His dubstep productions are enjoyable to listen to at home – with nice drum patterns and simple “trap music” mixed in now and then – but when taken into a live setting, his material is just standard ‘brostep’. Unlike the comparable Skrillex, Borgore fails to put much energy behind his ‘drops,’ and seems to really love using the kind of cheesy pop-vocal samples you would hear at a hardstyle gig. A strange, gimmicky choice towards the end was ‘Macarena’ by Los Del Rio, poorly remixed with dubstep, which had more people scratching their heads than losing their minds. For those looking to prepare themselves for The Prodigy, the support really disappointed.

After his popular, and strangely addictive, ‘Nympho’ brought things to a close, Borgore made way for the set-up crew who took a very long time to get things ready for The Prodigy.

With their previous ‘Invaders Must Die’ set-list done and dusted, the lads have a new line-up of both new and very old tracks, doing well to tailor their show for prodigy loyalists while getting out their new stuff. One thing to love about The Prodigy is that they never disappoint with their new material; they are constantly taking from current dance trends and refining things to match their style, completely blowing everyone away and showing other pioneers how to do their job.

A much larger light show than last time they were here is more apparent, the strobes, the lasers, and even some neon lights outlining the on-stage equipment all come together as a spectacle; but this all takes a backseat to the music, and Maxim’s commanding screams.

Keith and Maxim are both batshit insane, they are both impossibly energetic, and they both put on a persona you’ll never want to meet alone. This was obvious from the get-go as they opened with one of their biggest songs ‘Voodoo People.’ Up front was often too intense for many fans; with people darting all over the venue throughout the gig, switching from the seating area to the floor. But as the Hordern had curtained off the two side, seated areas, tired punters were forced to retreat to the very back of the venue to catch their breath. The unfortunate thing about including all their newer material is the omission of some of the best parts of their previous live show: the dubstep mix of ‘Breathe’ was taken out; ‘World’s On Fire’ wasn’t built up and hence came in awkwardly towards the end; and the chaotic ‘Warrior’s Song’ was sorely missed. This was atoned for by the inclusion of classic Prodigy like ‘Hyperspeed’ during the encore and a monster mix of ‘Spitfire’ during the main [aptly titled ‘Spitfast’].

Highlights were a very bass-heavy ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ and the always-welcome ‘Their Law.’ The Prodigy closed things with the rave anthem ‘Out of Space,’ not content on lowering the energy – which was kept constant throughout the entire set.

Creating that much energy, and hyping the crowd up to unbelievable levels, is an art; The Prodigy have proven this time and time again with an unparalleled live show, providing an unforgettable experience that is guaranteed to blow music-loving minds.