The Prodigy Bring The Vibes To Utilita Arena Newcastle
- May 4
- 4 min read
What do you get when you mix over nine thousand Geordies and two of the biggest names in dance music from the last few decades? Great question. You get one of the best nights of live music I’ve ever experienced with The Prodigy and Carl Cox taking over the Utilita Arena in Newcastle for an evening of face melting dance music for the last show on their tour run of UK Arenas.
Opening the show was the absolute dance music titan and hailed as one of the godfathers of house and techno music, the one and ONLY Carl Cox. This was no run of the mill DJ set, it was a 2 hour, 3 deck VINYL set and it set the tone flawlessly. The venue was filled from early with people getting down onto the floor and up to their seats ready for what was to be an absolutely beautiful night of dance music.
I got in just in time to catch the last hour and a bit of Carl Cox’s 3 deck vinyl masterclass and it was nothing short of mind-blowing. The venue was filled with bouncing house beats seamlessly mixed and transitioned with ease. The large screens positioned side stage showing close ups of the technical mastery happening right before our eyes, watching this absolute legend of the scene (and music in general!) switching out vinyl records showing that there is still entirely a place for older formats in music and that the medium still holds up to this day!
The mood was set; the room was buzzing with excitement through every person there and I have to say it was one of the most ranging crowds I think ive ever seen in terms of age – with both young and old all uniting for the same reason. The Prodigy.
It’s safe to say there’s very few bands or artists that have transcended generations like The Prodigy have and that was so clearly obvious in the Utilita Arena as everyone geared up ready for the show to start. Taking the stage The Prodigy started the dance with ‘Omen’ which from the start got everybody moving. This was accompanied by one of the most phenomenal stage builds I’ve ever experienced with an assortment of screens, lasers, strobes, you name it and The Prodigy had it; and they used it.
It might have been the last show of the tour, but there was no slowing down for The Prodigy – they gave Newcastle 110% and it was given straight back by the crowd with circle pits and jumping all night, and I mean ALL night. There was absolutely no slowing down whatsoever. It almost seemed like the energy just kept getting bigger and bigger with every song! A highlight for me was during ‘Smack my bitch up’ where the over animated and very charismatic (and a bit intimidating!) frontman Maxim got everyone to get down low and then jump up when the last chorus kicked in! A lot of artists try this to varying success, but I will say, The Prodigy had EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. On the floor down low and then jumping up and it was an absolutely beautiful sight to behold!
This energy and movement was not just from the crowd at all, the band were feeling the vibe equally as much, flying around the stage putting on an absolute performance. The only time during the set that the band were stood still was during their 1996 hit single ‘Firestarter’ which was definitely a song that a lot of the crowd wanted to hear as the cheers erupted as it started. Instead of the high energy performance we’d seen up to this point, the band stood still and let the song play out in honour of their late friend, bandmate and hero to many, Keith Flint.
The arena screens were adorned with visuals of an outline of Keith, depicted by his iconic hairstyle. This didn’t stop the party in any respect, it was a lovely tribute and dedication to one of the greats, if not the greatest, of dance music.
The show drew to a close with The Prodigy closing on their absolute hit ‘Out of Space’ which was a nice slower end to what was a long, energetic (and very very hot) night of non-stop dancing. There is absolutely no doubt that The Prodigy are one of the very best to ever grace a stage and they proved it once again here in Newcastle with nothing but class and style.
Whilst this tour may be over and if you didn’t get a chance to go and have FOMO (or did go and want to relive the mayhem again) – it’s not over. The Prodigy are gearing up to head on their ‘WARRIORS DANCE’ UK and Ireland tour in August later in the year taking on cities such as Dublin, Milton Keynes, Edinburgh and Manchester in open air shows ready to set the sky on fire! This tour they are unsurprisingly not alone, once again with the legendary Carl Cox and the KING of drum and bass, Andy C, joining the ranks to bring the dance.
Tickets Available Via www.theprodigy.com
Article & Photography by Stephen Cobb
By slowing down my decision-making in Geometry Dash, I gained much better control over difficult timings. That patience eventually helped me complete levels more consistently.