As if it weren’t hot enough outside the Riviera Monday night, the members of English techno band Prodigy had to go and create their own sweltering inferno inside the packed club. With a dynamic outpouring of pulsating light and sound, the group created a 75-minute heart-stopping bass fest that fused elements of electronica, industrial, rap, funk and hip-hop; in doing so, they demonstrated an energy level above that of the hyperkinetic crowd and raised the temperature in the club well above the level of the mercury outside.
Early on, the more more imposing of Prodigy’s two frontmen, the braid-sporting, kilt-clad Maxim Reality, shook things up with the infectious “Funky (Expletive),” taken from the band’s last release, “The Fat of the Land.” Pacing back and forth at the edge of the stage, he growled and catcalled into the microphone before executing a few karate kicks.
Co-vocalist Keith Flint — he of the green hair and black-rimmed eyes, facial piercings and animated expressions — joined the bare-chested Maxim Reality for a tag-team rendition of what is arguably the group’s best song, “Breathe”; together, Maxim Reality, Flint, spiky-haired guitarist Gizz Butt and spastic keyboardist Liam Howlett wove the nearly chaotic nest of instrumentation and vocals that drove the dense, urgent song.
Not content to limit himself to the confines of the stage, Flint abandoned his microphone to wander through the venue, approaching fans both in the front rows and the very back of the theater with a wild-eyed stare and screaming vocals, throwing his body around in synchrony with the relentless beat. Interaction with the dancing throng and with each other, it would seem, was the key to the almost palpable energy field crafted by the members of Prodigy.
Flint found his way back to center stage for “Firestarter”; unlike the majority of the material in Prodigy’s set, which had a sonic depth that’s sometimes missing from the band’s studio offerings, the band’s breakthrough single benefited little from the live-wire atmosphere. The track did, at the very least, boast enough volume to shake the building’s foundations, and it provided Flint with the perfect opportunity to display his eccentric dancing and bizarre snarls.In one last frenzied burst, Flint and partner Maxim Reality chanted and jumped across the stage for an explosive rendition of the controversial “Smack My (Expletive) Up,” leaving the exhausted crowd chanting for more.
The suffocating warmth might have finally taken its toll on the band, which returned for only one song, a cover of L7’s guitar-pounding “Fuel My Fire.” Despite the concert’s remarkable intensity, Prodigy sported no trace of fatigue even in the concluding minutes of the performance. Maxim Reality and Flint continued to urge the audience to move to the music until the musicians made their final exit stage right, likely in search of air conditioning.
