The Prodigy Returns (w/Tiga) to Chicago for First Time Since ‘06 (5/23/09)
“The biggest-selling act in dance-music history rages harder than virtually any guitar band you can name these days.”-Time Out Chicago
“Invaders Must Die, sees it back in rabid, snarling form. This could be the only show you’ll see in a while that calls for both dancing shoes and riot gear.” – Flavorpill
“The Prodigy can fairly be described as the techno equivalent of U2 or Oasis.” **** - The Independent (Live Review)
After entering the UK Charts again earlier this month at #1 and selling 100,000 copies of their fifth studio album, Invaders Must Die, in the first week, The Prodigy has announced its return to Chicago. Dance music’s most successful act will bring their metal guitars and breakbeat techno back to the Congress Theater this Memorial Day weekend, on Saturday, May 23rd.
They’ll be joined by Tiga, the uber-fashionable Montreal-based DJ/producer who has received both underground and the mainstream cred for his wry brand of campy electro and stark techno.
Tickets for the all-ages show are available at www.clubtix.net and www.ticketweb.com for $35, and will also be available through the Congress Theater box office located at 2135 N Milwaukee Ave.
For 20 years, The Prodigy have been the heaviest and grittiest dance act in the world, raving harder than the rockers and rocking harder than the ravers. The four tatted up and terrifying Brits took over MTV in ’96 with “Firestarter”, and forced them to bow to the demand for their banned “Smack My Bitch Up” video a year later. They started a fight on-stage with the Beastie Boys at Reading in ‘98 and headlined Coachella in ’05. They endangered aplenty by collapsing the floor at Brixton Academy in ’96 and shredded the faces of 100,000 in Moscow’s Red Square two years later. They spurned the major labels for good in ’08 and sold out five consecutive Carling Academy shows that same year. But they haven’t played Chicago since 2006.
Invaders Must Die, released on March 3rd, signals a return to form for The Prodigy, the first album on their recently launched independent Take Me to the Hospital label. The album features drummer Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on drums for “Run with the Wolves.” The anthemic single “Omen,” their most successful radio single to date, was co-produced by Does It Offend You, Yeah? frontman James Rushent.
Tiga is touring to support the recent release of Caio!, which has received worldwide acclaim for its uber-catchy single “Shoes,” and its equally-addicting music video.
The Prodigy will bring their “Invaders Must Die” tour back to the Congress Theater, an official “Chicago City Landmark,” during their two-week visit to the US this May. Built in 1926 and designed by Friedstein & Co., The Congress is one of the last of the city’s classic movie ‘palaces’. Featuring an exultant blend of neo-classical and Italian Baroque, with an elaborate domed auditorium draped in stone, terra-cotta, and plaster accoutrements, the Congress has played backdrop to epic performances from the likes of Justice, David Grisman, Girl Talk, The Misfits, Prince, and the Wu-Tang Clan.
2135 Milwaukee Ave
Chicago IL 60647