THE PRODIGY - 5/19/09

An explosion is a sudden increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. - Wikipedia

Iconic industrial house music act The Prodigy stormed into Washington, DC on Monday night to kick off their "Invaders Must Die" tour, the first live concert tour for the act in over five years. 9:30 Club, packed to sardine capacity for the event, had a notable buzz in the air, as the crowd, for the most part clearly fans of The Prodigy from their mid-90s heyday, wanted to engage in some "Back to the Future" styled histrionics if only for one night, and be transported to their less responsible teenage years, where easily accessible samples turned to hooks calling the youth to be firestarters, or to smack a bitch up, or to run one's life with diesel power seemed to be more than adequate ways to conduct one's adult years. At the end of this event, it was patently obvious that of the many accomplishments The Prodigy has as a group, it's certain that foremost on the list is providing license for pure vitriolic insanity, and there's nothing really wrong with that at all.

In their 75 minute set, the Prodigy played all of their big hits, including "Breathe," which beforehand, Maxim Reality stated to the rabid throng gathered, "It's been a long, time, we know," and then launched into the first of their signature tunes, the Fat of the Land banger immediately causing the happy, cramped rave to become a jumping, shoving, pushing, yet somehow just as joyful mosh pit, as the frenetic energy of the track jumped off the stage and attacked the crowd, and the crowd responded in kind. Maxim Energy really shone on Monday, as the uber charismatic frontman seemed like he had never skipped a beat, scaling a bar and rocking the crowd from there, and generally rasing a ruckus wherever he stepped during the set. As a group, The Prodigy is a lot more fun to hear now than in the 90s, as it's clear and obvious that life has matured the group, and that they're stronger as musicians for it. The musicality, especially with the involvement of live instrumentation on Invaders Must Die shows sonic development, and a richer and deeper sound for them, something that in the future can create some really exciting explorations, along the lines of their work in the last ten years prior to the latest album. While maybe not giant commercial successes, it's often important for bands, if they have the financial security and inclination, to engage in broadening their sound. It's a staple of someone like Madonna, and has perpetually turned dividends for her creatively and financially.

The only issue, as with any legendary group, is that you come generally to see their hits, and nothing more. It's rare in a genre without the expansive history of say, rock and roll to have a band like The Prodigy that has reached legend status, so, without the enormous library of say, Aerosmith or The Rolling Stones, much of the set was filled with tracks from the new album, which I personally enjoy, but, for the person coming for nostalgia, it may have been a downer, while the pure dance music afficionados in the crowd, just happy to hear Prodigy live in a venue with a tremendous soundsystem, got down just the same. Of course, the group ended their time on stage with "Smack my Bitch Up," the 1997 song whose controversial nature catapaulted the band to a status where they could fill the 9:30 club to overcapacity, and in watching rave kids mixing with legal clerks, stay at home moms shaking it hard next to tattoo artists, it was clear that it's true what they say, that music, can, conquer all. The invaders that Prodigy is killing with this latest album may not be within music, but rather the type of forces that, once the music dies down and people go back to their lives without four manic Brits whipping them into hysterics, tear apart the bonds they work so hard to put together in a 75 minute performance in Washington, DC.