The Prodigy

Review by Kimberly Middleton

My first sight of Keith Flint on Top of the Pops as a child left me intrigued. The pierced, tattooed man with crazy hair screaming Firestarter at me from the screen was like nothing I’d seen before. And to be frank, in my innocent years, I didn’t quite get it.

Now I can’t avoid the feeling of excitement which bubbles inside when I hear any of the band’s songs.

The floor-trembling bass lines instantly put a smile on my face and, led by the unmatchable energy of Keith Flint and Maxim Reality aka Keith Palmer, I can’t help but jump around like a madwoman.

I almost forgot we were in Plymouth Pavilions when the smoke-filled room crammed with sweating, beaming fans was lit with flashing red and white lights.

The silhouette of the crazed drummer against the red lights throwing every ounce of life into making a noise was almost artistic.

Maxim’s onstage presence is always staggering. The 42-year-old father-of-three who still fails to stop expletives tumbling from his mouth, littering every sentence, stood tall like a god staring out to the crowd expecting people to be having the time of their lives.

And everyone was keen to live up to his expectations, the revellers squashed at the front winning his upmost respect, throwing their hands in the air when he screamed “where are my f***ing people” through the gig.

The crowd's roar of appreciation when people instantly recognised the bassline came at the start of every song through the whirlwind set of the best of 20 years of music.

Even the band's weaker fans would have recognised most of the songs in their set which included Firestarter, Omen, Voodoo People and Smack My Bitch Up.

Out of Space, still my all time favourite, was met with extra enthusiasm from the crowd. The music was taken away and people were left hollering the words along to the beats of the drummer, watched closely by Flint and Palmer.

People sat on the balcony, who were forced to stand by Palmer, had a fantastic view of the energy-filled performance with Flint kicking the speakers, star-jumping and bouncing to every available beat and most spent the evening on their feet despite initial protests from staff.

The band's high-energy performance never fails to impress. My only complaint is two hours of entertainment is not nearly enough.