I was afraid you will start bragging about that. The truth is that you could have been on other metal bands but you haven't been on them in Poland. Get to circle pit or wall of death on woodstock or any other proper gig and you will admit that Prodigy fans are rather quiet.

Check this at 6th minute, look at all those dangerous flags around...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i4PimCztVo
or this at 5:20, the rain was heavy all gig long, lots of mud for sure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxtgBfDT ... re=related
have you seen that on Prodigy gig?

why the hell do you complain this much?you sound like they tied you up to a tree and din't enjoy the show properly as a result.you were there,you heard them play,you jumped around you had fun.what else is there to say.fence or no fence

Following the band’s performance at Woodstock, Poland on Saturday, the band’s management have issued a press release in response to the misinformation circulating in the media regarding ‘unsafe’ and ‘unprofessional’ practices.

Click here for the full press release http://theprodigy-news.s3.amazonaws.com ... elease.pdf

The Prodigy HQ

The
safety barrier was insisted on by the bands’ manager John Fairs to protect the crowd; to allow
access of security and medical staff to the fans, who were pulling people out and over the
barrier when they had exhaustion etc, also to allow water to be given to the audience,
including the fireman’s hose that was cooling the crowd - none of this would have been
possible with the crowd directly in front of the stage without a safety barrier to protect them.

Yeah dude, because you worked in pit on europe's biggest, hassle free festival you really know that it have to be there. I just posted random videos showing how massive is the crowd and how they surprisingly do well without pit. Seriously, these guys have been doing this for years and you all know better? This festival due to specific attitude gathers lot of bad reviews without a reason. While it's organised very well it's still often criticised because someone fall off a train when going to/from festival and media totally skip all the great aspects just to find some drama. Do you think this 500,000+ capacity festival magically skips all security demands that are required by massive events regulatons in Poland? And just because you can't believe/understand that it works you claim to know better than organisators?

Get a grip.

(part of interview about prodigy starts, short questions are interviewer, answers are Mr. Owsiak, my comments or additional info or explanation in [] brackets)
-What were they thinking...
-...when they demanded barriers? It was writen in their contract, I'm not saying it wasn't. And that was the only band that had this written in contract, and we were trying to convince them and said "listen, you will see when you arrive here that barriers are not necessery. our middleman [Mystic Production as we just read in press release] confirmed that, when talking with them, that the band agreed.
-but not on paper
-yes, it wasn't written anywhere. but to finish that [finish his thought?], because barriers were delivered. so [prodigy] crew arrived the day before. they saw the gigs. Helloween, where there was massive crowd in front of stage. this is somehow tested [confirmed, verified]. it's not random logistics, like unless something bad happens... when people see 4m high wall in front of them, wall of stage, they do have to come back to see anything, because they reached end. they won't see a thing there. we are even telling them that if they are exhausted during the gig they can sit right there under the stage wall. because when you are there you can't even see a screen, nothing. because of that people [there] are naturally walking away [from the crowd] and all gigs, even of very hard music, Papa Roach, or various metal bands had no reasons to change those rules. these rules were formed in years and when we present festivals summary to officials [government etc.] they also accept that: it's going to be this way.

Someone from Prodigy [crew] came, looked at that and said "ok, i see, this is different ideology", [especially] when he saw that this massive crowd can escape [there in front] so easily. 12 hours before the gig he changed his mind, and i got this evening call, people are already having fun [on gigs] and i already know that i have to organise barriers. these were special barriers, we didn't have ones like that [ready]. they are special and we had to get them from Gdansk [or Tczew, like we have been told on festivals site, both cities about 350-375km away] and they arrived. and then we showed them another miracle, which they didn't want to believe. they were never on that big gig. i value them, this is worlds class band. this is worlds class management, those are worlds best festivals [that they are playing all over the world]. but those are festivals for 40-100 thousands of people.
-right, we checked that they played for biggest crowd in Brasil, 60 thousands [interviewer was clearly misinformed as we know]
-so what's happening now. we said that we will set up these barriers during the previous [support] band, it was Gentleman. Where crowd for The Prodigy was already waiting. He said that it's more probable [it will happends first/quicker, not sure how to say that in English] that the Red Sea will be divided than we will set up those barriers during a gig. No miracles like that possible. [He said] We need squad of police to move people. And like you saw, i said from the stage, that I ask people to move 10m back because we need to set up that stuff. people moved back and we did setup them. when i was walking past him i asked "is it ok?" and he just said one word, "bit awry". so it was ok [a bit of laugh?], we set them up, they were there and we fulfilled every single demand.

and later this crowd did it's stuff [pushing in front?] so there was a bit of hysteria [fear?] from managements side and i were telling them "easy, just let us do something more. you turned off all the lights. we allways have some lighs on so people can see themselves [in crowd, see the crowd] to make it safe." this caused so much pressure [on management, because they were afraid?] that all lights were turned on [i don't know if he refers to gig or pre-gig]. and we took firebrigades inside, with firehoses and people were later saying "what a great gig, not only we listed to great music, were also cooled with water from firehoses". this was also a bit educational because firebrigades were both Polish and German [festival is very close to German border and various services cooperates/works together]. so, we got this topic done [about The Prodigy].
-but it was a bit of bad blood for you [this is how i say that in English?]
-yes, much. because it's not our ideology. it's like telling people, who wrote emails to us later "why they don't trust us. we build this festival in years, we know how it should look like. and we know that when you [Mr Owsiak] tell us something from stage we do listen to that and do that". otherwise [if they wouldn't understand that] they would cry about queues to water taps, queues to shops, because there are always queues. [he continues saying that people were positive the day after even despite waiting in traffic jams etc., because they understand the ideology, the spirit]

[later part of interview mentioning safety]
we had aprox. 700 cases in our field hospital. 90% of that was faints, swoons, insect bites and injuries from opening cans. we had 8 cases of hospitalization and this was convultions or heavy injuries/broken bones, completly not related to massive crowd. this crowd cared very much for themselves and i thank them very much for that.

Crowd surfing saved lives that night as people could be helped behind the barrier by first aid people straight away. If you would have a surge forward at woodstock people would be crushed against the stage with no way to escape

aurel


There's one thing that management of Prodigy do not understand. No-barriers is one of main rules on Woodstock. It is because Woodstock stands for freedom. There was one time, when people who called themselves "Comity of Morality" blocked festival, and Owsiak must have anounced, that Woodstock is off this year. People AND THE BANDS came anyway. People didn't put up any barriers for themselves - they just came, listened to music and had fun.
That is why it is so controversial, what Prodigy did. This year - barriers, next year bands are gonna be paid, next time they gonna close the area and give tickets. You're destroying Woodstock and it's spirit.

Still, I must say, I would forgive and forget - if Prodigy gave a great show. And they didn't. They played well, but they said almost nothing to the crowd (except of course those two fucking steps back...). After show that Helloween gave and just after Airborn - it was like Prodigy didn't care enough. I didn't feel any connection and it was sad, because i liked this band very much before the concert, and after - not so much.