2009.01.30 – Big Day Out Festival, Adelaide, Australia

Date: 30th January 2009
Event: Big Day Out Festival
Venue: Royal Adelaide Showgrounds
City: Adelaide
Country: Australia
Support: see timetable

Tracklist:
1. Invaders Must Die Intro
2. World’s On Fire
3. Their Law
4. Breathe
5. Breathe (Dubstep)
6. Omen
7. Poison
8. Warrior’s Dance
9. Firestarter
10. Action Radar Link
11. Run With The Wolves
12. Voodoo People
Encore:
13. Invaders Must Die
14. Diesel Power Beats
15. Smack My Bitch Up
16. Take Me To The Hospital
17. Your Love Link
18. Out Of Space
Encore 2:
19. Comanche

Extra info:
Bolier Room timetable:
21:45 – 23:00 The Prodigy
20:45 – 21:45 Peewee Ferris
19:45 – 20:45 Hot Chip
18:45 – 19:45 Holy Ghost!
17:45 – 18:45 Simian Mobile Disco
17:00 – 17:45 Ajax
16:00 – 17:00 Lupe Fiasco
15:15 – 16:00 Dialect
14:15 – 15:15 Infusion
13:30 – 14:15 Andee Frost
12:45 – 13:30 TZU 12:00 – 12:45 Denorthwode
11:30 – 12:00 Terra Firma
11:00 – 11:30 Loot & Plunder

Review by MACCA:
Adelaide is in the middle of a record heatwave at the moment. Last year we had 15 consecutive days above 35 degrees which was an Australian record. This Tuesday just gone we had the 3rd hottest day ever at 45.7 degrees and that kind of heat carried through to BDO day yesterday. It was 43.1 degrees, the 4th consecutive day above 40 degrees (and for those who care, today and tomorrow are also over 40…making the record). So yeah…lost about 4kg of sweat despite the fact I drank about 5 litres of water as well.
I wont go on too much about other bands but Aussie bands Birds of Tokyo, Cog and Pendulum were very good on the main stage, Cut Copy were good whilst fellow Boiler Roomers Hot Chip (2nd best act of the day), Sibian Mobile Disco and Infusion all put in good sets.
Onto The Prodigy. All I can say is wow. It was the 7th time ive seen them including the 4th at a BDO and last nights was the pick of the bunch. Previously, the January 98 gig at Thebby Theatre, Adelaide was the best gig ive seen of them (my fave gig of any band also) but this one bettered it again. Whilst I agree with the other BDO thread that there was plenty of those that were only there for Breathe etc, the entire crowd went nuts all night. Whilst 99% of people there probably wouldnt heard of any of the new songs, they certainly have now and I have no doubt they would have been pleased with what they heard.
The last few times I saw them was twice on the BDO tour in 02 and they were nothing but dissapointing. They were arrogant, looked tired and bored and the performances matched that. At Two Tribes in 05 they were better with a small crowd of 3-4000, but last nights took the cake. Ive never seen a band get that sort of reaction in the Boiler Room before. Ever. Theres been some great acts headlining the BR over the years – Chemical Brothers twice, Carl Cox, Basement Jaxx straight after Wheres Your Head At hit the big time and the Prodigy in the past, but the reaction they recieved was phenomenal. I know every band does the ‘this is fantastic, best gig ever etc’ stuff but they genuinely looked so so happy on stage and were happy that the crowd was giving it back that much. People were climbing the pillars and scaffolding, hanging on by one hand and dancing around. Would have been 12000+ crammed into the tent and spilling out the sides and every single one was jumping and dancing like the last day on earth.
For me, a long time Prodigy fanatic who loves the older school stuff, the new tracks are awesome. To me they seem built for the live show and they go off. Worlds on Fire, Omen, Warriors Dance (my fave), TMTTH, IMD, all great. Its a throwback to the old school but still sounding modern as hell. Breakbeats, off pitch keys, female vocals…its enough to make any Prodigy fan from the Experience or Jilted eras
PeeWee Ferris, one of Australias best DJs for god knows how long played before and go the crowd well worked up…they actually cut most of the sound to his set and one of the roadies went over and told him to shut down, so he quickly faded out the track and the Prodigy were raring to go.
Ill try and get the set list as correct as I can remember. They started with Worlds on Fire as expected. Crowd was worked into a frenzy very early…’Big Day out People…..Adelaide people….here we go’. Great opening track. I always thought SMBU was a great opening track, but this one betters that in my opinion. My two Prodigy loving mates who hadnt heard this song…their brain nearly exploded at the old school synthy/key breakdown in the middle of the song.
That let into Their Law…a Prodigy crowd favourite. ‘you know what to do’ shouted Maxim as the whole crowd jumped up and down in unison. Whilst it would have been about 60 degrees in the middle of it all, all clothes sweat soaked, you couldnt help but go bananas.
This led to Omen. Some of the crowd new it…my mate and I were whistling the opening melody all day so loved when it came up so early. Crowd reception was excellent. Great live song. Love the break n enter style beat and the pandemonium style melodies throughout.
Breathe came on next. Predictably, the boiler room tent nearly blew away with the noise when the opening started. Everyone with hands in the air jumping up and down. Even though ive heard it a million times, its still a bloody great track. They had a nice little add on at the end which I see is refered to as Breathe Dub. They had little fills/add ons for all the established songs.
Warriors Dance was next. Im gonna have those horns in my head for a lifetime I reckon. Fantastic track. Im too young to have experienced the whole Experience era (I was 16 at that Thebby Theatre gig i mentioned) and my mate said ‘that sounds straight out of Experience’ and its meant in a good way. After the rock/electro stuff from AONO etc. its great to hear some older influences getting back in (as ive mentioned a few times now Tongue ). Super super super track. The crowd arguably went more nuts for this track than any other.
Poison was next. After hearing that it wasnt played at a couple of the other gigs, I was resigned to missing out on hearing it live again. Liam played the opening single drum every 5 seconds or so…I said ‘that sounds like Poison’ then woopwapwoopwoopwap…head explosion. Great crowd reception as expected. Nothing beats the breakdown and chapter 2.
Firestarter was next and again, the crowd went ballistic as predicted. Maxim went completely off stage until after their mid set ‘break’. Like Breathe a nice addon/fill at the end.
That went straight into Run with the Wolves which I liked. They flowed together nicely. A good mosh song that one.
They had a mid break set. A lot of people thought it was the end. The crowd cheered and clapped and screamed for more and they came out.
Invaders Must Die was the first song after the break. Thought it was only ok before hearing it live…but it really works well live. Its one that will grow on me.
That worked straight into Voodoo People. With WMD, this was the track where the crowd went right off. Always a favourite with the crowd and the guys on stage.
Diesel Power was next which was a surprise to most. Its got such a prime beat for the live show but its only the 2nd time ive heard it live. I think its a good addition to the live show. It gives people a bit of a break as its a touch slower and its one of the grooviest tracks the lads have created.
Smack My Bitch Up followed. Another cranker. Not much more needs to be said on that i reckon. We all know it, love it. Everyone had their hands in the air singing the female vocal.
Take Me To The Hospital was next up and again an insane crowd reaction. The old school starting synths had my mates and I in a frenzy. Straight outta 91 again before it hits its straps with some super beats. Probably 2nd favourite of the new tracks for mine. Will without a doubt be a strong crowd favourite of the new tracks in my opinion.
Then they went to the Your Love intro/Out of Space. Was great to hear the intro to Your Love. My mates loved it. They finished with OOS last time I saw them in 05 and its the perfect way to end the show. For one whole chorus they shut the sound off and just had the crowd singing it…’louder…..louder’.
The boys finished….clapped…the crowd went nuts for more for another couple of minutes with the guys on stage. ‘Do you want more?’ ….yyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss…..absolutely defeaning. They played for another 2-3 minutes of a track I hadnt heard…Maxim said ‘this is new….big day out people…you are the first to hear this’. Whether he meant that literally or not im not sure. Was a fairly drummy track and having listened to comanche today, it sounded fairly similar to that. Cant recall Maxim yelling ‘comanche’ all the way through it though.
All in all, it has shot #1 in my faovurite gigs list, in front of their Thebby gig and Faithless.
As I mentioned, ive never seen a crowd reaction like that to a boiler room act before, in fact ive rarely seen that sort of reaction anywhere. The crowd certainly gave it back tenfold. The They are on their own in terms of the power and energy they create and their ability to work a crowd into a complete frenzy. They are, in my opinion, the best live act in the world.
The best thing about the gig was that they looked like they were having real fun on stage again, which was missing the last BDO performance. The attitude was back in a better way and they seemed to know they were on top of their game. Great to see.

Review from www.graffitigamer.com:
With only thirty minutes before the main event, we peeled out of the Fantomas pit of insanity to drain the main vein, rehydrate, refuel and force our way to the centre of The Boiler Room floor, right in front of the techies abode, where we were sure the sound would be superb. The British trio were loud and aggressive and everything I could have ever wanted and more. They commanded the stage, they took full advantage of the cameras and the big screens to project their screaming, tortured, psychosomatic faces throughout the crowd. As the MCs paced across the stage and took turns addressing us, four giant red-eyes blared red and blue through the smoke and mirrors. It was intense and it was mean. Everyone crushed beneath the tent took to the air, jumping to the chorus of Firestarter, Breathe and Smack My Bitch Up, while the throngs screamed at the encore which pulled the classics Experience and Take Me To Out Of Space from an era everyone seemed to adore. We also got a taste of the upcoming album “Invaders Must Die” with a rendition of the title track, in addition to Take Me To The Hospital, though without any knowledge of the beats, however consesus from my small group was that it didn’t sound like The Prodigy we’re used to, with Sarah’s comment “they sound like they’re aiming for Pendulum” not far off the mark. All in all, it was hot, it was sticky, the lights strobed white, the crowd flickered up and down like a television that lost horizontal hold and the bass was so loud that even fifty metres from stage the displaced air was keeping us cool; It was amazing. Running twenty minutes over their allotted time, they absolutely blew Adelaide away.
When the house lights came on, the rising damp from the danced-out masses gave the tent a nice fog-like feel. It was time to go and as usual, busting out of the Showgrounds was the toughest event of the day. Sore feet from walking and standing, tight calves from hours of jumping and dancing, coarse throats from screaming and a muddiness in hearing that only comes from losing access to numerous higher frequencies, we trudged nearly a kilometre back to the car.
I went home, ate three pieces of toast with peanut butter, had a shower, drank a litre of water, then crashed out, satisfied.

Poster: