P.O.D.
w/ Bad Wolves and Norma Jean
The Belasco – Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, May 1st, 2024
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
P.O.D. count amongst one of the bands that have constituted the soundtrack of my life for over two decades now. They were also, until yesterday, one of the bands on my bucket list that I still had not seen live. When it comes to those bands that helped shape my musical taste back in high school that I get to see perform for the first time (twenty years after their “peak”), I am always a bit anxious to find out if they can still rock as hard as they did in those videos that a younger me watched obsessively over and over… But let’s cut to the chase. I have to say that P.O.D. did NOT disappoint even a little bit and actually blew away all my expectations. They are an incredible act to see live! Wow!
Two days prior to releasing their 11th album Veritas, the San Diego outfit hit the Belasco stage in Downtown LA and I am thrilled I was there. Four bands were listed on the bill and the show advertised “door open at 6:20, show starts at 7pm”. I felt very confident when I showed up at the door at 6:30 but found it to be strange that there was absolutely no line. It turns out that Blind Channel had already started performing. By the time I got in, the Finnish band was finishing their cover of Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”. They played one more song before leaving the stage so I didn’t really have the opportunity to guage the energy and sound, so I’ll move on to the next part of the evening.
Norma Jean
It only took a few minutes to unload and reload the stage, do a brief soundcheck and within the blink of an eye Norma Jean took the stage. I have to admit that I wasn’t familiar with them so I had to do my homework and consult my reliable friend Wikipedia to learn a bit about this Atlanta band. I found it interesting to note that Norma Jean formed back in 1997 and none of the founding members are still active with the band. Although singer Cory Brandon has seniority in NJ with 20+ years of vocal duties.
The band dug through their discography to showcase a variety of songs they’ve released in the past ten years. The musicians’ high energy was incredible and surely contagious as it spread through the crowd where a circle pit formed in the center of the venue. Every song ended with thundering applause from the audience. Needless to say, regarding the expectation of warming up the crowd, it was mission accomplished. The band left after a little over thirty minutes of stage time.
Bad Wolves
Next in line was LA based Bad Wolves who also happened to be on my bucket list at the time of the show. I was happy to cross off two bands with one stone. The guys received a warm welcome when the lights turned on and the first notes rang out of the speakers. Bad Wolves opened with a couple of songs from their latest album; “Bad Friend” followed up with the title track of the LP, “Die About It“.
They played songs from their previous two records, ensuring to please their older fans. From the barricade it was nearly impossible to get a good shot of singer Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz who kept pacing from one end of the stage to the other. After a couple of songs it became obvious that the band knows how to work a crowd. DL and founding guitarist Doc Coyle both climbed the barricade to sing and play closer to the crowd and connect with their fans.
Most people (me included) discovered Bad Wolves with their cover of the Cranberries’ “Zombie” which they saved for last. Before starting, DL took a moment to dedicate this song to Dolores O’Riordan who passed away in January of 2018. Although DL is not the original singer and wasn’t in the band at the time, it is undeniable that Bad Wolves owe a lot to the Cranberries and their late singer who actually loved their cover version. DL came down to walk amongst the crowd to sing most of the song, turning the mosh pit into a karaoke session as he was handing over the microphone to the crowd for us all to sing along. Bad Wolves is definitely a great act to see live and I would encourage anyone to see them.
Bad Wolves setlist:
Bad Friend / Die About It / Killing Me Slowly / Comatose / Knife / If Tomorrow Never Comes / Legends Never Die / I’ll Be There / Zombie
P.O.D.
The moment that we all were waiting for finally came around 9pm. P.O.D. got on stage with the same energy I had seen them display twenty-something years ago. They opened with “Drop” from their upcoming album (which might be out already by the time you’re reading this line, since it is expected to drop in a couple of hours as I’m typing these words). The crowd’s reaction proved that everyone in attendance had been blasting the newest single prior to the show. Without a moment to catch their (and our) breath, P.O.D. played the banger “Boom” from their classic 2001 album Satellite. Instantly the venue turned into a zoo and the crowd was bouncing off the walls.
Sonny (vocals) really blew me away with his performance throughout the entire night. His energy was off the charts, especially on “Lost In Forever” and the way he excels at singing, rapping and screaming and switching from one to the other is really impressive. P.O.D. peaked in the late 90’s/early 2000’s while riding the Nu Metal wave. This movement brought to the metal table a lot of great stuff including groovy bass lines (see Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne etc.). Satellite came out around the time I was picking up bass and I remember being in awe of Traa’s sound and bass lines. It still had the same effect on me this night that it did back then.
In-between songs, Sonny and Marcos alternate when it comes to addressing the crowd. Marcos (guitar) introduced the crowd to LA native Alex Lopez (from Suicide Silence) on drums who has been their touring drummer for the last two years. Marcos also mentioned that they were happy to get the P.O.D. train rolling again with their first record to come out in a five year span.
Another memorable moment was the live rendition of “Circles” in which the band threw in a little snippet of Rage Against The Machine’s “Bulls On Parade”. I am 100% convinced that Sonny burns more calories during a show than anyone during a CrossFit session. He did however catch a break on the acoustic version of “Beautiful”. Peace and serenity tamed the circle pit for a moment. Minutes later P.O.D.’s absolute anthem if there must be one “Youth Of The Nation” turned the Belasco into a giant choir and got us all singing our lungs out.
The San Diego band closed the show with a two-song encore that started with “Lies We Tell Ourselves” and ended with “Alive”, also from Satellite. I believe anyone can appreciate how nice it is to see a band put out record after record, keep touring and still giving 100% of their energy on every show after over thirty years of career. If, like me, you have never had the opportunity to catch them live, don’t hesitate for a second next time you get a chance. And if you’ve seen them already, I’m pretty sure you’re keeping an eye out for the next opportunity to catch them in concert.
The only thing left for me to do at this point is to sit back and relax for a couple of hours until I can blast Veritas once it’s out.
POD setlist:
Listening For The Silence / I Got That / Boom / Lost In Forever / I Won’t Bow Down / Satellite / Murdered Love / Going In Blind / Addicted / Angels & Serpents Dance / Circles / Will You / Beautiful / Youth Of The Nation / Southtown / Afraid To Die – encore: Lies We Tell Ourselves / Alive
Related Links:
P.O.D.
Bad Wolves
Norma Jean
