The Prodigy Electrify The Paleo Festival
Keith Flint
Switzerland. A civilized country. I've been to quite a few concerts here, and that one something that they all have in common? (Relatively) Calm crowds.
When you see any other festival, for instance the German Rock Am Ring or the English Download festival, the crowd goes nuts, totally crazy!
But this doesn't mean that concerts in Switzerland are dull - the crowds are just a bit more reserved.
The Paleo festival is held in Nyon, half an hour away from Geneva, in a big field near the mountains, with a view on the Lake Geneva (or as the locals call it, Lac Léman).
It has a great reputation for being green, clean and very well organised. It's called the European Woodstock and it goes on for a week in July every year and attracts roughly 30 000 people a day.
The line-up is quite eclectic. It is mainly composed of rock-pop, garage rock, country, ska, and invites numerous international bands. Raging from Muse to small local bands.
This Wednesday, the 23rd of July, I am here for one band in particular: The Prodigy.
The Prodigy recently released their fifth album, Invaders Must Die, and it received global success. Their fan base has grown, there are people who have been there since the start, people, like me, who heard of them whilst growing up, or there are new fans who have just discovered them - a wide range of followers.
The time is 11:30 PM. Franz Ferdinand came off the main stage an hour ago. Now I am leaning against the barrier, watching the roadies put up the Prodigy's impressive stage set.
At 11:40 PM the lights have dimmed and the crowd are getting excited. People are already dancing and circle pits are already forming. The Prodigy must be the only band that can generate this sort of craziness here.
At last, the lights go out. The intro resonates and five people walk out. Liam gets behind his computers, and "World's On Fire" blasts out.
The concert is incredible. They play a mix of old and new songs, including "Breathe", "Take Me To The Hospital", "Omen", "Firestarter", "Voodoo People", "Poison" and of course "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Out Of Space".
I have never been so crushed in my life. The Prodigy have got 30 000 normally calm people jumping up and down in unison like their feet are on fire.
It was phenomenal, and I'd recommend anyone to go and see them live.
For more info, visit 2009.paleo.ch.
