The Prodigy Entertainment Art Congress Theater Chicago, IL May 23, 2009

Needless to say watching The Prodigy play is a unique experience. Unlike other bands they really aren’t the center of attention during most of the show. Given that their music is more of an electro-punk fusion the audience spent most of the concert focused on the music itself rather than the musicians. That set-up makes it both good and bad. On the one hand, it really doesn’t matter where you are at the venue, so long as you’re close enough to hear the music you’re involved. The downside is that since it’s really the beats you’re zooming in on the music isn’t all that different live than in studio.

What it boils down to is atmosphere. Before the actual band got on the Congress was converted into a massive club where a series of DJs brought the beats and moved the crowd in ways opening acts rarely accomplish. The audience last night lived for the beats and was literally moved by them. Since it’s next to impossible to tell when one track ends and another begins it’s about how the music makes you feel. Watching the audience dance was almost primal. They danced separately, most without partners, and yet they somehow moved like a single entity. The start of a new beat was a cause of communal celebration.

At this point you’re probably wondering why I haven’t talked all that much about The Prodigy. That’s because after nearly four hours of dancing they seemed like more of an appetizer than the main course. Doors opened at 7 p.m. and a steady stream of DJs played the main stage and lobby all night. By the time The Prodigy took the stage at 11:30 p.m. a good portion of the night was already finished.

Most of the audience was probably pretty worn out from the rave. That didn’t stop them from playing the loudest, most intense one-hour set I’ve heard in a long time. Every song they played was meant to pump up the audience’s adrenaline and get them moving. To their credit, the audience never stopped dancing.

The band played surprisingly few songs from their new album. Instead, they stuck to dependable classics like “Breathe” and “Firestarter” to get the crowd amped up. At the end of the night they only really played a total of seven songs, very minimal for a live concert.

A venue like the Congress is the perfect place for The Prodigy. Any other location in Chicago wouldn’t have given the audience the room to move and gyrate peacefully. There is something about the cavernous space of the Congress that made the night feel even more primal. You might be dripping in sweat, but The Prodigy makes it worth every drop.

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