Cologne & Amsterdam Cologne, Friday, 19th November '04 by neko: Germany, Cologne show, definitely good. Shite support act (some 'rock chick' band with a front woman with the most annoying voice I have ever heard). Prodigy play the following set: Wake Up Intro Pictures:www.einslive.de/dersektor/die_events_-_das_war/das_waren_..._the_ prodigy_in_koeln.phtml Amsterdam, Saturday, 20th November '04 by neko: So Germany was good, but the one we were really looking for was of course Amsterdam. Had a pretty cool day in Amsterdam already, a few drinks in the evening and got to the Heinecken Music Hall shortly after 10pm. Very cool place, 2 different rooms with DJs on, all kinds of little bars and generally very nice atmosphere. I was having such a great time there it almost felt like a bit too much that now Prodigy would play as well. We watched 'Chicks on Speed' (not too bad at all) had a couple of cocktails and then just before midnight we went a bit towards the front of the stage where Prodigy would be on. Everyone's so relaxed and chilled here, we just find a nice little spot at the front. Now, ready for The Prodigy! Wake Up Intro &
Wake Up Call, oooooh, brilliant to get the crowd going. Atmosphere here is just great, everyone's dancing and having a good time. Next on are Their Law and Warning, probably still my two favourite tracks in the set, but it's getting harder and harder to decide. And I don't know what's happened to Keith. He's always been an amazing performer, but these two shows in Cologne and Amsterdam he is actually better than ever. One look at him and you could tell he's having the best time ever, he loves what he's doing and that makes him even better - So much energy, enthusiasm and audience contact as never before. Now after this has finished the totally unexpected, yet ANOTHER NEW TRACK! Makes you think, how many more treats has Mr Howlett got in store for us inside his apple mac? The track appears to get played mostly through the mac directly, heavy beats, vocals by Maxim, Keith performing to it as well, very very nice. It's one of those great moments, being there at a show, hearing a great new track for the first time, live there and then. That's what makes it all so worth it. The track gets a very good reception, but even more reaction now for Breathe. And Girls & More Girls. I know I can't stop praising Keith at this show, but Maxim's pretty good as well. You all know what he's like, staring at random people in the audience with a look that would scare the shit out of every little kid and then shouting the roof off the building. Now Keith and Maxim are leaving the stage and it's back to Liam behind the keyboards with support from Kieron on drums and it's Medusas Path. As I said before, I'm usually all for the full-on energy tracks, but this one is different, and I like it. Not just because it is a breather in the set, I really like the track for what it is, and I love the studio version since they've been playing it live. After this is finished, Keith and Jim come back on stage and the slow fill from yesterday is cut very short tonight and they start right into Firestarter. It's a good performance of the track tonight, but generally I think I am a bit less keen on Firestarter live than I used to. Not sure what happened to that 'transition to a new version' [see interview] Liam said we would hear during the shows preceeding the UK tour. He'd have to make it a very quick transition with just two shows left until Birmingham! But with the amount of (good!) new stuff he's been spitting out lately I think we can forgive him really. Next on then Hotride. I actually like how they've got Firestarter a bit earlier in the set now, i'ts a good way to get the crowd going again after Medusas Path, with Hotride this was usually a bit more difficult. The start of Hotride is always quite good, but before it can go further now suddenly some amazingly stupid asshole throws at glass bottle on stage and it hits Keith's forehead directly. Keith now dissapears behind the stage, but they continue to play Hotride and what we get to hear as a result is of course a much clamer version of Hotride with the Juliette Lewis voice samples only. Where's Keith? After about 2 minutes Keith runs back on stage and finishes the rest of the track. He's got 3 scars on his forehead and there's actually blood running down his face, but he doesn't seem to care, just continues being as good as he's been all weekend. Gotta say it, huge RESPECT for that! Now of course the Back to School track. Maxim is back on stage doing his vocals, Keith doing his old skool dance to it and then the beats in this track... soooo good! Like at each show I've seen this track played people 'get' it immediatly and go crazy to these massive beats. Now The way it is, usaually a Maxim-only track, but Keith, despite still having blood running down his face stays on as well. Still probably my least favourite track in the set now, but tonight nothing's any less than brilliant. Now Mindfields, and even here Keith stays on for a while, then leaving Maxim to deliver a very strong performance of this. The sound at this show is good, but sometimes a bit weird, as if someone turned down the volume or turned off half of the speakers, just in the middle of a track. It's not all that bad, but a bit weird sometimes. As last night after Mindfields now, the band are leaving for people to cheer for more, then of course they return. Liam now starts with some intro beats, leading into Poison. Maxim of course leading this track, but Keith is already back as well, it's like he doesn't want to leave that stage tonight for a single minute (and that's definitely a good thing)! Finally then the always amazing Smack My Bitch Up. Nobody wants this to end, but we all know it has to at some point. At the end, everyone's leaving, but Liam remains on stage on his own, playing wome pretty cool outro beats again extending the show just one last minute now. Now that's it, gig over, European tour over. Yes guys, that's the end of my little 2 months stint to shows almost every weekend. I have to say I knew it was going to be good and already Istanbul blew me away. But I would have never ever thought they would manage to get back into such great form with Liam bringing us so much great new stuff, not just the new tracks, but also various little fills that keep changing at every show. I wish I'd remember all these little things that make each show so different and special and great. The rest of the band as well though, performance-wise they're definitely all on a high and it's getting better and better. As you can probably guess my little reviews are always slightly subjective and depend a lot on my personal experience, but as an overall judgement I'd definitely say Amsterdam, Barcelona and Zurich were the best ones for me - best shows, best venues, best setlist and as it happens also the nicest cities on the tour. The band are also playing Japan next week, and then it's the start of the UK tour, which I'll hopefully be able to follow in full. Watch this space ... back to prodigy live [go home] (If you copy this, please link back to this URL) www.nekosite.co.uk - copyright © 1998-2004 by neko - all rights reserved |
