The Prodigy at Glastonbury: 'It's been long overdue'

As the Other Stage parades its final acts of the weekend

29 June 2009

Liam Howlett and Co seemed invincible as they mixed new tracks like ‘Invaders Must Die’ and ‘Omen’ with classics like ‘Breathe’, ‘Poison’ and ‘Diesel Power’.

“The last time we were at Glastonbury it was 1998," Maxim told the sweaty hoards, "It's been a long time coming, and it's been a long time overdue."

Keith Flint made the crowd get down low before exploding into ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ while the troupe segued ‘Breathe’ into a dubstep version before ending their set with a highly memorable ‘Out Of Space’.

Glasvegas played a ferocious set on the Other Stage before headliners The Prodigy. Though attracting fewer people than earlier acts, those present were treated to the likes of ‘Geraldine’. All clad in black, singer James, hopefully sarcastically asked, “how fucking gorgeous is our drummer?” as the band rev up the volume. ‘Daddy’s Gone’ got the biggest cheer, but Glasvegas basically did what they say on the tin.

Bon Iver provided one of the moments of Glastonbury 2009 on the Other Stage as they bring grown men near to tears with tracks like ‘Flume’ and ‘Creature Fear’. There was more guitar echoes than expected, but it is the angelic vocals of Vernon that wrap around the audience like a warm hug on ‘Beach Baby’ and ‘For Emma’. A euphoric slowly built audience participation session on closer ‘Wolves’ sums it up.

Natasha Kahn’s vocal cartwheels were the main attraction as Bat For Lashes brought the vagueness to the Other Stage. With a former Ash guitarist in the band, the loopy sound remained tight during the set, leaving Kahn to doodle on the piano and thrill with her stunning voice. ‘Two Suns’ is funky, ‘Pearl’s Dream’ proved other worldly and the set in general was well received, if not swallowed up by the drifting crowd at the back. A minor triumph for the thinking persons’ pop starlet.

Karen O was on typically outlandish form on the Other Stage with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Drawing largel from their synth-driven new album, there was still room for Nick Zimer’s guitar heroics on ‘Cheated Hearts’ and ‘Date With The Night’. O changed from a colourful headdress to a ‘KO’ emblazoned leather jacket for ‘Zero’, while a giant inflatable eye was thrown into the crowd. ‘Maps’ brought some heart, O’s panting and screaming came raucous, which was all greedily lapped up by the crowd.

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