The last time I saw The Prodigy live was in 1993 when they played the Goldsmiths “ball” – it cost 40 quid a head to get in and so, as a poor student and a legit member of bar staff, I put myself down to work it. I even met Liam Howlett before the gig but was too dim to realise it until he walked off…probably fortunate because otherwise I’d have almost certianly started acting like a nervous, fawning, cretin. The gig was mind-blowingly good.
Anyway, 16 years and 3000 miles later, last night I went to see them play at The Electric Factory with Mike (brother of bat) and it got me tingling all over again! It also made me realise how old and straight I must be…and how preferable it is. The rest of the crowd, including the “young”, were really into it too which was pretty life-affirming. The place was full of people with an average age of around 22 (including the outliers), mainly from Philadelphia and yet they liked this bunch of Essex blokes who are my age! My age! Why weren’t they as tired as me ? Fortunately we made it to the geriatric section of the venue; very high up, with a good view of the stage, and waitress service for drinks. Yeah!
Hearing Keith and Max shouting in their manicured estuary accents and getting a massively positive response from a Philly crowd invoked a generous injection of pride.
Good night.
