It was a lovely evening of music at Wooly’s in Des Moines, Iowa. However, something was missing. It was a sobering night when it was reported earlier in the day that Sleep Signals had to drop off the P.O.D. “Satellite 20th Anniversary Tour” due to their horrific accident. Our thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with the Sleep Signals camp for a quick and speedy recovery. Due to the accident, All Good Things were the first band to take the stage.
Talk about anthems, talk about our brains being blown away by the positivity and musicianship that All Good Things possess in their music. They were promoting their album entitled “A Hope In Hell” and the songs in the album tug at the heartstrings and challenge the listener to persevere and pull through. You could feel what they were singing and I didn’t catch the setlist, but the fourth song they played moved me, I had tears in my eyes. They closed it off with “For The Glory”, and that song is such a stadium anthem, but not one of those cheesy stadium anthems, it’s heartfelt and it makes the listener feel like a champion afterwards.
From Ashes To New were the next to take the stage. Their energy was fantastic. This band gives it their all whether there’s 20 people packed in a room to a stadium full of people. I could feel they were extremely excited to be back on a stage and I promise you, if there’s a stage, you’re bound to find From Ashes To New playing on a stage. I liked their Call of Duty look they had too, it was symbolic of the stage being a battlefield and them being on a mission to win over every single audience member in the Wooly’s crowd. They just sounded absolutely crisp from a musicianship standpoint and having the dual frontmen attack of Danny Case and Matt Brandyberry brought copious amounts of energy and a vibe. The band is gifted when it comes to connecting with their audience as a whole. From Ashes To New is the type of band that other bands watch to see how they can better their live performance.
P.O.D. poured through the “Satellite” album. I noticed a few people leaving after the title track”, which I’m guessing they were there to hear the hits “Alive”, “Boom”, “Youth of the Nation” and “Satellite.” Iowan audiences are known to do that, however, P.O.D. left it all on the stage. Sonny Sandoval genuinely feels every note played and every word belted, and Traa is one of the best bassists I have ever heard live. Marcos goes down as one of the most underrated and underappreciated guitarists in rock history and Wuv is smooth as silk on the drums. The fans enjoyed the deep cuts from “Satellite” and P.O.D. treated the audience to a few extra jams from “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown”, along with “Roots In Stereo” and “Sleeping Awake.” I was kind of surprised they didn’t play “Rock Tha Party(Off The Hook)” since that song was a MONSTER hit on the MTV Total Request Live days. P.O.D. was up against Five Finger Death Punch at the Iowa State Fair, however, they left it all out there. The only wish I had was that the room was more packed but it’s a tough draw when the Iowa State Fair is going on. I mean who can resist fried butter on a stick, but I digress. I was expecting P.O.D. to tease new music but they didn’t, however, I think they were just blessed and thankful to be performing on a stage again given these uncertain times.
You can check out the “Satellite 20th Anniversary Tour” on the following tour dates:
Saturday, September 4th- Buzzfest in The Woodlands, Texas
Sunday, September 5th- BFD21 in Dallas, Texas
Thursday, September 9th- Blue Ridge Rock Fest in Danville, Virginia
Friday, September 10th- Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut
Saturday, September 11th- Granite State Music Hall in Laconia, New Hampshire
Sunday, September 12th- Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
Tuesday. September 14th- Gramercy Theater in New York, New York
Wednesday. September 15th- The Paramount in Huntington, New York
Thursday. September 16th- Rams Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland
Saturday, September 18th- Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia
Sunday, September 19th- Soul Kitchen Music Hall in Mobile, Alabama
Tuesday, September 21st- Zydeco in Birmingham, Alabama
Wednesday, September 22nd- Victory North in Savannah, Georgia
Thursday, September 23rd- Rebel Rock Taco Metal Party in Orlando, Florida
Saturday, September 25th- The Senate in Columbia, South Carolina
For tickets and further information on any of the shows listed above, click here.
