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Warrior’s Dance Festival (Review)

Let’s face it; you don’t have to be an avid chart show listener to realize that Drum & Bass and Dubstep are pushing their way up through the cracks in the mainstream music industry.  Walk into the Living Room on a Friday night, and it won’t be the low throbbing bassline that strikes you first, but how, miraculously, Presha are beginning to attract the kind of numbers you might expect during a quiet night upstairs.  On one such evening I turned to a friend and shouted, “Give it two years and people will be craving this stuff in Rubix!” He turned to me and simply replied, “No, sooner.”

If the crowds at Warrior’s Dance Festival this summer were anything to go by, his prediction couldn’t be more correct.  The veteran punk-dance hybrid The Prodigy pulled in a staggering crowd of over 65,000 spectators, turning the Milton Keynes Bowl into a metaphorical sardine tin of adrenaline-fuelled ravers.  The line-up was packed with the most fashionable heavy-synth bands on the scene, ranging from Enter Shakari to Does It Offend You Yeah?, whilst Dubstep addicts were treated to a ear-splitting performance by Chase & Status, who even brought along grime/soul superstar Plan B for good measure.

However, ask anyone who wasn’t there for the screeching, detuned venomous spats of The Gallows on the smaller stage, and it soon becomes clear whom people had paid their £45 to see.  A hyperactive Zane Lowe, high on the thrill of convincing thousands to bounce up and down to Darude’s club classic Sandstorm, emotionally introduced the big guns to conclude the event. 

Former Australian Drum & Bass advocates turned all-singing-all-dancing Pendulum got off to a promising start as MC Verse paced, bending over in the distance, even if his frantic grunts of encouragement were lost under the sheer intensity of Salt in the Wounds.  As the set progressed however, the momentum waned; a partially responsible sound system could not make up for the fact that the band were intent on cramming as many greatest hits into their time slot as possible, resulting in an underwhelming rendition of their overlooked Immersion-epic The Island in favour of such overplayed, repetitive pop-singles as Witchcraft and Propane Nightmares.  Whilst it may be said Pendulum failed to reach their element as a support act, the lesser known tracks The Vulture and Hold Your Colour classic Fasten Your Seatbelts managed to pack a surprising punch, in some cases literally with regard to the swarming mosh pits that had kicked up suffocating dust clouds in true, Reading-esque festival conditions. 

As Pendulum departed the proceedings, the Sun took leave too.  The Chemical Generation survivors seethed forward, intimidating 16-year-olds with their acid-house-know-how and awaited their anti-authoritarian idols to rave like it was 1992 again.  The moment Liam Howlett, Keith Flint and Maxim opened with World’s On Fire the venue erupted.  As they charged through hit after hit, including Flint’s notorious live version of Firestarter, there was no question who the night belonged to.  During one bizarre moment in the midst of Invaders Must Die, Maxim attacked any imitators who dared to copy The Prodigy, yet with their obvious cutting-edge influence over the electronic genre, it’s hard to imagine any of the line-up existing if others hadn’t done just that.  With their encore came the original big beats, including the psychedelic fairground ride of Everybody In The Place and dancefloor favourite No Good (Start The Dance).  However, it was traditional set finisher Out of Space that brought people together, a staple crowd pleaser that is loved by old and new fans alike. 

The Prodigy ended on an incredible high, with Maxim stating it had been the best day of their lives.  With the myriad of sub-genres now branching out from where this band left off, the encroachment of Drum & Bass on the public conscience may well mean Warrior’s Dance Festival is due to become a permanent fixture. 

In layman’s terms: good news for the future of alternative music, bad news for the elderly of Milton Keynes.

Tom Goulding