Prodigy in Athens, Greece 1999

• 1999
• John Stamos

BEFORE THE GIG
I had been waiting for the Prodigy gig since February when it was announced. I had bought my ticket since May. I couldn't wait anymore. Finally it was 15 of July! I was going to see the Prodigy, the best band in the world live in Athens! I went to the place of the gig at 4pm. The doors opened at about 5pm and I ran to the stage to get the best view possible! I was lucky enough to get view from the front row in the middle! I knew I wouldn't move from there until the Prodigy gig would finish at night. It was raining which was quite strange for the weather(usually very hot) here in Greece. After some minutes it stopped raining and the first band was doing its soundcheck.

THE FIRST BANDS
I knew that the first two bands, Sigmatropic and Earthbound(both greek) would be a little boring. But it was a great chance to see the stage and the soundsystems on it. When Queens of the Stone Age came, the crowd started to jump around and the atmosphere was getting hotter! Then the Bloodhound Gang came and they set up a great show but they stayed too much and people wanted them to go away. The same for the Afghan Whigs. They were ok but noone wanted them to stay longer. Then it was time for the opening act that had been chosen by the Prodigy to appear before them. It was a greek hip-hop band called Terror X Crew. They did their best and people enjoyed them very much. When they finished, it was time for the soundcheck before the Prodigy!

THE PRODIGY!!!!!
The soundcheck for the Prodigy finished after 45(!) minutes. Huge soundsystems were set up and now we could see Liam's keyboard! There was a poster of Mr.Oizo near it which was kinda strange. At about 0.45pm the man who was doing the soundcheck announced: "Who wants it? From the UK, it's the Prodigy!!!" And we went crazy jumping and screaming for the Prodigy! Liam came and started working with his keyboards and there was massive hysteria! Kieron went behind his drums while we couldn't see Gizz! Then it was time for Maxim's powerful appearance! Liam checked some samples and he put Rock n' Roll! After it Maxim said to us:"Where the fuck is Athens? It's been a fucking long time!" and we all remembered their gig in 1995 which was stopped due to some violent events. It was time for Smack My Bitch Up and Keith came! The crowd went crazy when Keith started doing his mad moves! Energy!! Next was Funky Shit and Leeroy came to start his show! He was very funny during it and people enjoyed his fast moves. Then Liam looked like he put an unusual tune but it was Lose your Mind. It was a very interesting live track. Next was Breathe! All funs were already addicted to it! It is such a powerful and agressive song already, imagine it live! Maxim and Keith were so funny, you could see they were enjoying it!

After a while Maxim said: "This is a new tune!" I couldn't believe it! Finally, after so long time, we would hear a new prodigy tune! The new track was amazing! It had very hard beat! Then Voodoo People started and people hyped it a lot! We were all feeling the power and the darkness of this track inside our bodies! Then Liam played the Chemical Brothers' Remix of Voodoo People which was also great live! After that we could hear Maxim screaming: "I can't hear ya! I said I can't hear ya!" and we thought it was time for Poison but Liam started Their Law! "What we're dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the law!" Who would play the guitar? But ofcourse...Kieron!!!He left his drums and started playing the guitar!! Maxim said:"I want everybody to jump here! JUMP!" and we were jumping like crazy with so much energy!! Their Law was great and proved that even today it remains one of the best live tracks. "Its my own secret technique" and ofcourse next was Firestarter! Then Liam put the frightening horns of Climbatize as the intro to Mindfields. Then it was time for one of the best live tracks, Poison! Maxim was screaming and we were trying to satisfy him singing with all our power the lyrics! And when we thought Liam would put Fuel My Fire and end the gig, he put Rhythm of Life!! I couldn't believe it! It's one of my favorites and I thought there was no way I would ever hear it live! But I did and I enjoyed Leeroy's wild dancing too!! We knew it wasn't the end. After a while the Prodigy came back and after Maxim asked "Are ya still here?" we heard Fuel My Fire, the last song of this incredible gig! Liam was the last member to leave the stage after he moved his hand to us saying buy to Athens!