2019.02.02 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia

Date: 2nd February 2019
Event: The Prodigy Concert – No Tourists Tour
Venue: Qudos Bank Arena
City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Support: Enschway, Shockone

Tracklist:
1. Breathe
2. Resonate
3. Nasty
4. Omen
5. Champions Of London
6. Voodoo People
7. Run With The Wolves
8. Need Some1
9. The Day Is My Enemy
10. The Day Is My Enemy (Bad Company UK Remix)
11. Everybody In The Place
12. Firestarter
13. Roadblox
14. Light Up The Sky
15. No Good (Start The Dance)
16. Take Me To The Hospital
Encore:
17. We Live Forever
18. Timebomb Zone
19. Smack My Bitch Up
20. Out Of Space Outro

Extra info:

Review by Chris Singh, theaureview.com:
The classic “if it ain’t broke” phrase will always apply to The Prodigy and their exemplary live experience. The genre-bending rave that the UK trio have been tweaking and perfecting for decades makes for one of the most explosive, frenetic and intense live music experiences one can have.
That’s always been the case. And it’s why The Prodigy remain one of the few bands in the world that offer something any fan would want to experience again, and again, and again. I doubt I’m alone on the list of people who have vowed to never miss one of their sets, wherever possible. I made that decision years ago, and this current tour marked the seventh time I’ve given myself over to the religious experience of being shouted at by Maxim and Keith while Liam tinkers in the background, creating mammoth walls of sound that are so big it’s hard to believe there are just three people on stage.
If you’ve seen them before, you know what to expect. And that’s the highest praise possible. While there will always be minor tweaks, and set additions (and omissions) based on which album they are touring, The Prodigy is by and large a reliable musical entity that will never change the way they do things. The experience they offer is still that gut-punching hypnotic rave and crunchy rock, folded into each other in dense layers of big, stadium-worthy productions that grab, shake and slap the shit out of whatever venue they so happen to be in. Even a grossly undersold Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney’s largest arena – proved no match for the blunt force reverberating through the space, fuelled mostly by Maxim’s prominent commands.
Though rigidity defines The Prodigy’s live experience across generations, there’s no mistaking Liam’s willingness to reshape and redefine some of their biggest hits to squeeze them in amongst newer material. Their latest album, No Tourists, is very much a return to the spasmodic rave the band became known for in their earlier years, contrasting with the polished pop structures of 2009’s Invaders Must Die. As such, the set as a whole was much more biased towards the sound of No Tourists, sacrificing fan favourites like sonic-cocaine anthem “Their Law” and the bouncy “Spitfire”, and favouring oldies like “No Good (Start the Dance)” that fit in with newbies like “Need Some1” and “Light Up the Sky”.
Though it wasn’t all candy-coloured rave. Set opener “Breathe” was still very much the sinister beast it has always been; “Firestarter” was mostly kept in-line with previous performances (even if Keith seemed a little tired to fully commit), and “Smack My Bitch Up” was as it always is. The rest, including classics “Voodoo People”, finale “Out of Space”, and the aforementioned “No Good (Start the Dance)” had noticeable embellishments that brightened the soundscapes. It kept things flowing nicely, grabbing onto rhythms and milking the power out of them before moving onto the next with blistering precision.
Though the same type of success and anticipation The Prodigy once enjoyed seems to be behind them, there’s little that can stop the band when they are in their element. This is still one of the best shows offered by any live music act in history, period. No one else can do what these guys do, and like a favourite high-speed roller coast, it’s always one hell of a ride. It wasn’t the best show I’ve seen for them – mainly due to the set list, leaving out songs which play to their strengths and show their versatility – but my “see them live every chance I get” commitment is still very much in-tact.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

Review by Britt Andrews, ww.avhub.com.au:
Following the release of their seventh studio album, No Tourists, The Prodigy have hit Australian shores ready to show us that, nearly 30 years since they first stormed the music scene, the British genre-bending act (who have been touted as “turning metal kids onto ravers, and ravers into metalheads”) still have it.
Opening up the show, ShockOne and Enschway mixed house music with contemporary rock and metal, with both of them throwing in some sneaky remixes. ShockOne threw in a remix of Pendulum’s 2010 classic “The Island”, while Enschway riffed through a veritable jukebox of rock staples – “Killing In The Name” mid-set, and remixes of “All The Small Things” and “Ride The Lightning” capping off a wild opening set.
Armed with just a small deck set up on a fold up table, the two openers looked somewhat out of place on the massive stage – a giant black curtain separating us from the grandiose production that our headliners were eager to unveil – but alas, they had enough energy to rouse the crowd regardless.
It’s been so long between drinks that The Prodigy indeed feel somewhat like tourists. Their last scheduled visit was the ill-fated 2016 Soundwave festival, leaving it feeling like a lifetime since we last saw these music revolutionaries in 2015. But as soon as they took to the stage, it felt like we were merely catching up with old friends. The Prodigy had finally come home – later is better than never, right?
They’ve been playing to packed arenas all around Australia on their No Tourists tour, and Sydney – the last stop on the run – was no different. While some of the seats remained empty, the floor was packed wall to wall with rave-junkies stoked for an excuse to pull their dancefloor-ready cargo pants out from the back of the closet. Tonight, Qudos Bank Arena was louder, hotter and sweatier than any other club in Sydney.
While the vocals were sometimes lost in a loud and muddy mix, the energy given off by the band was incredibly intense. While not part of the official Prodigy line up, the touring guitarist and drummer played like men possessed, while Liam Howlett played keys almost trancelike, seemingly unaware of the packed arena he stood before. As the entire room belted out the impossibly catchy “Omen” refrain, it became as clear as the writings on the wall – Australia still loves The Prodigy.

Poster: