At the ultimate evening of All Together Now, two contrasting worlds of the 1990s collide, with the notable shoegaze band Slowdive occupying the grand Something Kind of Wonderful tent, while the techno giants, The Prodigy, conclude the main stage performance.
Slowdive impresses with their eloquent and powerful performance, with their fresh compositions being as well embraced as their older classics. Conversely, The Prodigy seems to be trapped in a routine; like a beast of a truck stuck in the doldrums, reminiscent of the era when The Fat of the Land dominated mid-90s pop culture. Their performance is relentless, featuring an electric light show akin to an extraterrestrial arrival and their master of ceremonies, Maxim, energising the crowd with his charismatic dialogues.
Despite the captivating performance, The Prodigy are somewhat broken titans, with the unexpected demise of their most recognised member, Keith Flint, five years ago. His absence is marked during Firestarter via a shadowy outline of his iconic spiked image projected on the screen. After this homage, the routine resumes its course with a potent, albeit unoriginal set under the expertise of the band’s producer and musician, Liam Howlett.
Anyone who’s seen The Prodigy over the course of the last 30 years would know the familiar elements of their concerts – robust breakbeats, intense strobe lights, and edgy live bassist performances. One peculiar incident, though, was when Maxim seemingly dedicated a song to ex-goalkeeper of Cork City and Waterford FC, Mick Devine – a moment that might have been misconstrued due to an odd encounter with a huge rolling Pikachu Pokémon by the portable lavatories.
“All Together Now is renowned as the quirkiest festival Ireland has to offer. In this vein, securing The Prodigy, a group at the forefront of mainstream rave who were the main act at Electric Picnic in 2018, seemed a bit off-track. Their performance at Curraghmore was competent, but ultimately, it’s simply one more Prodigy gig that will likely be dismissed by both performers and concert-goers shortly after the end of their shortened final track, Out of Space, and the dimming of the lights.”