Two for the price of one!

Bloody hell, I'm actually keeping my word and updating something for a change. The end is surely nigh. :P *Ahem* Yes, moving on...

Being as I've been to two gigs within the past week, I figured I'd review them both in one blog post. What a great way to celebrate the start of my blogging, eh? The first gig I present to you is The Prodigy...

The Prodigy - Birmingham NIA 09.04.2009

My mate and I only had seating tickets for this gig, being as it sold out phenominally fast, but I have to admit, it was still a fantastic view! A DJ, who's name unfortunately wasn't mentioned, did a pretty good job of mashing up tracks between acts, and certianly kept everyone entertained. Drum and bass mixes, 80's music and even a (quite bizzare) remix of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the name" were just part of the mix. I also notcied the mixture of different cultures (if that's the right word) hanging around. Rockers, Trendys, Goths, etc were all there, getting along and not fighting for a change. The experience was quite surreal, but great.

First up, for support, was Dizzee Rascal. Now, I don't usually like the majority of rap/hip hop music because most of it involves the "bling bling", "hoes", "gonna shoot ya down" gangster rubbish. However, I was pleasantly suprised. There was none of that to be found in this set, it was actually quite vibarant, fun and, dare I say, enjoyable. Mr Rascal opened with his version of the Ting Ting's "That's Not My Name", which deffinitely improved a bland song, as well as being far greater than anything the talentless Ting Tings could ever do. He also pumped out hit tracks such as "Fix up Look Sharpe", "Flex", "Dance Wiv me", all with a thundering catchy bassline, as well as previewing new material from his upcoming album. The new tracks "Road Rage" and "Dirty Cash"sound fantastic, and certaunly flow well alongside Rascal's other songs. He got the crowd going with a shouting match (see which side could shout the loudest), and even freestyled, proving his talent to the masses. His set ended with his new single "Bonkers", which I'm sure will take the charts by storm once it's released. The bar was deffinitely raised quite high.

After an agonising wait, it was time for The Prodigy's set to start. Now, we all know The Prodigy have been going for a long while, so some might worry that they've simply lost thier edge. Those of you who think that can safely put those thoughts to rest, because The Prodigy absolutely dominated! Starting with "World's on fire" from thier latest album, Invaders Must die, The Prodigy rolled out hit after hit effortlessly inlcuding, "Breathe", "Firestarter" "Poison" and "Voodoo People", to name a few! These fit in prefectly with tracks from the new album, such as "Omen" and "Run With the Wolves", proving that bands can still keep thier old sound, whilst still pushing themselves forward to new heights. Keith Flint and MC Maxim Reality's vocals complimented the set prefectly, and sent the crowd on a mental raving rampage, urging thier "warriors to dance" throughout the set. The Encore was prefect, starting with "Invaders Must Die" and ending on "Out of Space". By the end of the gig, there wasn't a single person seating or not singing along. The atmosphere was simply astounding, and the raving intense. The Prodigy then left the stage for a final time, leaving nothing but the ruins of where the NIA once stood. There could have been a few more tracks played, and the set could have been a little longer (it only lasted around 1 hour 20mins), but that feels like nitpicking in what was a legendary night.

Setlist

Worlds on Fire
Their law
Breathe
Breathe (dub step)
No Good (Start the Dance)
Omen
Poison
Warriors Dance
Firestarter
Run with the Wolves
Voodoo People
Comanche
- - -
Omen Reprise
Invaders Must Die
Diesel Power
Smack My Bitch Up
Take Me to the Hospital
Out of Space

Deathstars - Birmingham Academy 2 14.04.2009

This'll be a much shorter review (promise!) I must say, I had high expectations for this gig. Even though I don't know Deathstars that well, I'm still a big fan of Industrial music. However, it was slightly dissapointing.

To start with, they couldn't have picked a worse type of support act if they tried. The two supporting bands, The Defiled and Marionette, simply did nothing for me. Appart from causing the scene/emo kids, who were blatnantly there just to see those two bands, creating a mosh pit. Big mistake. Especially at a more goth gig. My friends and I ended up having to evacuate to a safer place, further from the stage. We didn't hang around too long for these emo metal-wannabe bands, and just decided to stay outside in the enterance hall till Deathstars came on. We managed to run into some old friends though, which was cool.

Two shit support acts later, and Deathstars finally came on to the title track off thier new album "Night Electric Night". And, yes, they did certianly make up for the tripe that was on earlier. They got the crowd headbanging and throwing thier fists into the air, it was deffinitely a lot of fun, and the atmosphere changed dramatically for the better. They blasted out newer songs like "Death Dies Hard" and "Mark of the Gun" alongside classics such as "Trinity Fields", "Tounges" and "Cyanide". Lead singer Andreas "Whiplasher Bernadotte" Bergh kept the crowd going with chatter on thier time in the country, or as they called it "small island", which led to song intros. The band also pumped up the crowd with the usual hand clapping, getting the crowd to sing along, etc. They performed well, and set a dark, yet fantastic tone, but it felt like there was something missing. Again, (and this'll probably come up a lot, as my opinion on gig lengths quite is baised) the set was a tad short. They deffintely should have played more tracks off thier first album Synthetic Generation too. However, thier performance was still great, and I'd still recommend them live. They just need to add a few more classics to get to the stage of excellence.