The Prodigy, OVO Hydro, Glasgow (gig review)

The Prodigy began their UK/Ireland tour at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Wednesday, 15^th April. The gig opened with Carl Cox who got the vibe going with the big club tunes. The image of his decks in loud, distorted RGB appeared on four massive LED screens. By the end of his set, the Hydro was ready for The Prodigy.

Liam Howlett, Rob Holliday, and Maxim walked onto a dark stage. The crowd was already going wild when ‘Omen’ dropped like a sledgehammer to start the set. Mosh pits opened up everywhere. Maxim loved the energy of the crowd, calling Glasgow ‘The real party people.’

The Prodigy never took their foot off the gas, following up ‘Omen’ with ‘Voodoo People’ and ‘Poison’. Holliday stood with his foot on an amp brandishing his guitar like an axe. Lasers shot everywhere through the stadium. When ‘Firestarter’ played, Maxim stood back in reverent silence as throngs of people screamed the lyrics for him.

Down in the crowd, the chaos built to a point where Maxim had to wrangle it in.

The call went out, ‘All my warriors to the middle!’ and I was carried along a train of rushing fans, most of them shirtless, running towards the center of the crowd. Suddenly, I was trapped in a circle pit. I was running just to stay standing, my own energy feeding the swirling tempest of human havoc.

The beat dropped on ‘Warrior’s Dance’ and the storm collapsed into a furious torrent of flesh and fists. In the turmoil, a stranger’s forehead collided with my eye. For a moment, we stopped to see each other, then laughed as we were both hurled back into the pit. I left the gig with a black eye as a badge of honor.

The Prodigy proved that night that they haven’t lost a step. They showed respect for Keith Flint not just by remaining silent during ‘Firestarter’, but by inspiring that fire to grow in the spirit of everyone who attended.

Image credit: Adam Lievesley