A busted transformer — reportedly downed when a drunken driver hit a power pole — knocked out power to Usana Amphitheater in West Valley City on Saturday night, forcing the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch to end their show early to the disappointment of about 20,000 music fans.
According to two music websites — Loudwire and Metal Injection — the Las Vegas-based band was either seven or eight songs into its set when the power went out. Both sites blamed the outage on a transformer that was damaged when a drunken driver hit a power pole near the amphitheater.
West Valley City police did not return a request for comment Monday.
Video posted on Reddit captured the moment. The lights from the stage burn blue, a bank of lights aimed at the audience turn bright — then, suddenly, the whole stage goes black and frontman Ivan Moody’s microphone cuts out.
It “started out as an incredible show with 20,000 fans,” Zoltan Bathory, Five Finger Death Punch’s guitarist, wrote in a tweet late Saturday night.
The show, Bathory wrote, “was going off” — he inserted a rocket emoji — “when a drunk driver hit a transformer down the road and knocked out the power to the whole area,” followed by a red-faced, swearing emoji.
“One more reason not to drink and drive,” Bathory added, “you screwed up 20,000 people’s day.”
Commenters on Usana Amphitheater’s Facebook page said the band did try to compensate for the shortened set, with Moody coming out to sign autographs for fans.
Also performing were supporting acts Megadeth, The Hu and Fire From the Gods. Concertgoers told The Tribune that those performances suffered from technical problems and were cut short.
Saturday’s show was Usana Amphitheater’s last concert of the summer season.
It might also have been Five Finger Death Punch’s final show in Utah. The night before, at a concert in Denver, Moody announced he would be “retiring from heavy metal” after recording one more album with his band, Loudwire reported. A set of late fall tour dates listed on the band’s website does not include any stops in the state.
