ShareThe Prodigy performing their No Tourist Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday 3rd November 2018.
Review by Kevin Cooper
It has been 28 years since keyboardist, songwriter and band mastermind Liam Howlett joined up with MC Maxim Reality and Keith Flint to form one of the most successful electronic acts of all time, The Prodigy, and last night they hit a Nottingham crowd at the Motorpoint Arena as they tore through a relentless and rampant set list of nineteen depth charged tunes.
Opening with Breathe from their 1997 album, The Fat Of The Land, Flint roamed around the stage like a man possessed, and even on the seductive new track Light Up The Sky, he never kept still. Nasty and the electrifying Omen saw a revved up crowd switch into full on punk rave mode and stay there. With the distorted screech that indicates the start of Firestarter, a hole was metaphorically ripped through the Arena roof.
There was no let up from the start to the finish as they showcased new songs from their latest album, No Tourists. Champions Of London was very well received as was their first single off the album, Need Some 1. Voodoo People kept the energy level incredibly high as Maxim whipped the crowd into a frenzy, whilst Howlett quietly created the sonic synth punk and left his partners to it.
Roadblox with its mass of build ups and breakdowns was followed by Wild Frontier which stood alone amongst the chaos as having a modicum of shape and coherence, before they finished their main set with the absolute stand out song, the controversial Smack My Bitch Up with its cacophony of strobes and bass.
Returning for a three set encore which included Their Law, a song written in response to the Criminal Justice Act’s anti-rave legislation was a thrilling blend of punk and dance before finishing with Take Me To The Hospital, and with all the pogoing and pint throwing, the crowd had loved every bit of it.