P.O.D. – The Studio April 14, 2018

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P.O.D.’s rendition of hit album Satellite at The Studio last night was not without flaw, but better than it had any real right to be.

The live music trend of the past couple of years has been the hit album of yesteryear toured in full. It’s been everywhere, spanning genres from pop punk to black metal. I get the appeal- it rewards old die hard fans who’ve known the material for years, while transporting the artists back to an earlier flush of fame. I’m not so understanding of the recent nostalgia for early 00s nu-metal. I remember being 13, both musically and personally, as a time of identity confusion and over-stated angst. Nevertheless it seems the pop culture gods were determined to drag me back in time, as I found myself in the surreal position of watching P.O.D. live in 2018.

While you might remember successful album Satellite distantly for some catchy radio hooks over a decade old, as P.O.D. took the stage it felt like time had stood still since 2001. All the detail was there, from the snapback caps to the Deftones shirt in diagonal Old English lettering. Even the stage mannerisms of frontman Sonny Sandoval, displaying that odd aggressive two-step that’s part hip hop bounce and part headbang. It was a performance and an aesthetic so of its time, so out of place today, that it would be easy to mock…if it wasn’t for the fact that P.O.D., through sheer conviction, pretty much managed to pull it off.

Opener Set It Off did what it said on the cover, establishing a heavy groove that got the crowd jumping about. Hype established, the band launched without pause into the one-two-three punch of chart hits Alive, Boom, and Youth of the Nation. By this point I was surprised to find myself guardedly impressed. Admittedly these songs have dated badly, but P.OD. played them tightly and with likeable energy and enthusiasm. The band were happy to be here, clearly having a blast playing this music and appreciative of the enthusiastic reception by their fans. In the absence of freshness or musical complexity, that passion went a long way.

The show foundered a bit when progressing into the album’s deep cuts, though. Entertaining enough when playing aggressive grooves, in mellower tracks like Thinking About Forever the instrumentation lacked the musical depth to achieve the poignancy P.O.D. was clearly aiming for. The cringe inducing reggae rap of Ridiculous, meanwhile, was nothing short of awful. The album reclaimed its guts in later songs, even showing some enjoyable flashes of hardcore punk influence.

With the album played out, the show became even more enjoyable. The band becoming more casual and chatty, playing a loose selection of older and newer songs, with Southtown getting an especially rabid reception. The band played well beyond their expected time, pulling crowd surfers onto the stage for selfies, and generally coming off like nice, affectionate guys to their fanbase. Sandoval mostly let the Christian focus of his lyrics speak for itself apart from one slightly grating moment: “this song is about Jesus. Sorry if that offends anyone.” It’s your own show, guy, surely there’s no need for the persecution complex. The rest of the time, though, he spoke generally about coming together for the show and loving one another, and was actually quite endearing.

Overall the music was too dated, too shallow, and too hit and miss for this to be a truly great show. Yet it was lifted out of potential mediocrity and into the realm of the actually decent by the band’s passion and spot on performance. And you’re hearing that from this snobby cynic- based on the mile wide grins of P.O.D.’s actual fans as we left The Studio, their reviews will be glowing.

Cameron Miller

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski:

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