Five Finger Death Punch brings Lexington native home to Rupp Arena in seismic show
No, that wasn’t an earthquake originating in downtown Lexington last night, but rather shockwaves emitting from Rupp Arena during a performance from rockers Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, Starset and Bad Wolves.
Los Angeles-based Bad Wolves got the evening off to a quick start with their blend of heavy rock and metal. Featuring energetic and versatile front man Tommy Vext, the group performed a handful of songs from their upcoming debut "Disobey," out May 11 including “Learn to Live,” “Hear Me Now,” featuring a guest performance from Diamante, and “Zombie,” currently the top selling rock song on iTunes and No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs.
With anticipation building following undercard performances from the aforementioned Bad Wolves and experimental rock outfit Starset, veteran rockers Shinedown came out firing with a mix of songs both new and old.
The high-flying set began with “Sound of Madness” off of 2008’s "The Sound of Madness" and continued with songs alternating between different chapters in the band’s discography, from “Bully” on 2012’s Amaryllis to “Cut the Cord” and “State of My Head” from 2015’s "Threat to Survival" to “The Human Kind” off of newly-released "Attention Attention" and “45” from 2003’s "Leave a Whisper," the band’s debut.
The group jumped back to "The Sound of Madness" later into its set for a performance of “Second Chance,” which the crowd sang along to in unison. Then vocalist Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers snuck to the rear of the arena on an impromptu stage at the sound booth for a stripped down, acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” urging the crowd to takeover singing duties during the chorus, which it did with ease.
Smith and Myers then scurried back up front, leading the band in a pyro-filled “Devil” finale.
Shinedown left the Rupp Arena crowd at a fever pitch, and then an ominous calm settled over the crowd — one that could be likened to being stuck in the eye of a hurricane — with chaos looming.
Soon, the lights dimmed and Barney’s “I Love You” began blaring over Arena PA. After a chorus from the infamous purple dinosaur, a black curtain hiding the stage was dropped, revealing a gargantuan skull with laser eyes backed by enormous, crisscrossed baseball bats along with the deafening roar of Five Finger Death Punch and opening number “Under and Over It.”
The group continued feeding off the crowd’s energy with a performance of 2007’s “Never Enough” before bassist Chris Kael, a Lexington native, led the crowd in a C-A- T-S chant. Later in the evening, following an up-tempo rendition of Bad Company’s 1974 hit song of the same name, and “Fake” off their album "And Justice for None," due out May 18, lead vocalist Ivan Moody emerged from the shadows donning a No. 1 UK basketball jersey in support of Kael on his return home.
Moody then sought out children in the crowd, ushering them to come up to the stage after seeing two young girls near the front of the pit with their parents and one young boy crowd surfing to the front earlier during their performance. In total 10-15 kids and parents made their way to the stage, getting to meet the band, an up-close experience they’ll long cherish.
One lucky boy dressed as drummer Jeremy Spencer was even allowed the opportunity to sit at Spencer’s drum kit and experiment, all while the crowd cheered him on. That moment, along with those that followed shortly thereafter featuring a duo of Moody and guitarist Zoltan Bathory performing “Remember Everything” and “Wrong Side of Heaven,” showcased a softer side of the band on what was otherwise a hard-driving, high-flying night of music.
This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 7:48 AM with the headline "Five Finger Death Punch brings Lexington native home to Rupp Arena in seismic show."