What went wrong? Frustrated fans want answers after rock concert debacle

POCATELLO — Fans are fuming over a botched concert in Pocatello last weekend.

Thousands showed up at the Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 19 for the Rockzilla Tour, featuring Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse, Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves.

But it ended up a huge disappointment and attendees want answers.

Over the last week, EastIdahoNews.com has received numerous messages from people saying the concert was delayed after they’d stood in line for several hours.

“My personal experience was showing up at 4:15, standing in line with no movement,” one fan wrote in an email. “Show was supposed to start at 5, finally made it into the venue at approximately 6:30. There were thousands of people still in line.”

The show was actually scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. but one person said the gates didn’t open on time because “the promoter failed to get enough security,” and there were only two entrances for thousands of people.

“When doors did open they refused to let people into the sections they had paid for,” the fan wrote.

At one point, it started raining and those in attendance say they were told to go home because the show had been canceled.

Some reported receiving refunds. Others say organizers refused to give any money back.

Several hours later, after the bulk of the crowd had left, the show apparently did resume without the entire lineup that was advertised.

“They reopened the venue in worse weather than the evacuation was triggered by and had 2 of the 4 bands play after 9 p.m.,” one ticket-holder wrote.

The headliner was just getting started at 11 p.m., according to one fan, which is when the concert was originally supposed to be over.

Hundreds of fans took to social media following the concert to express frustration and anger over how the event was handled. Many bought their tickets months in advance and traveled from other states. Some say they were “scammed” out of their money and others are upset that staff offered attendees the option to attend two other concerts of their choice rather than refunding their money.

“Everyone, including myself and my family and friends basically just want our money back. We cannot afford to travel back up to Pocatello for concerts we don’t want to see. Many fans are mad also because of how unprofessional the venue personnel were and how they are scamming everyone out of (sic) there money,” one fan from Utah wrote.

In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, event director Mike Mendez says multiple factors contributed to the delay “due to circumstances beyond their control.”

Mendez says one of the bands wasn’t happy with the way the venue had things set up and staff were forced to make some last-minute changes.

During this time, it started raining. Mendez says the National Weather Service issued a warning about lightning in the area so the amphitheatre was evacuated over public safety concerns.

“We were in constant contact with the National Weather Service as the storm was moving in,” Mendez says. “At that moment, there wasn’t a specific plan in place because we didn’t know how long the lightning strikes were going to last. We didn’t know how long we needed to evacuate for. We were just told to evacuate.”

Amid the chaos, Mendez says two of the bands, Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves, posted on Facebook that their performance was canceled due to inclement weather. Many people misinterpreted that, he says, thinking the entire concert was canceled.

Echo Marshall is the spokeswoman for The Go Agency, the promoter of Rockzilla. She says the headlining bands posted on their social media that the concert was just postponed.

“We did our best to communicate to a very large crowd that we were being evacuated and the show was being postponed (delayed) due to the weather through a verbal on-stage announcement and on the Idaho Concert Facebook Page,” she said.

Mendez said in situations like this, it’s fairly common to eliminate certain acts from the show so that everything stays on schedule.

“In order to keep up with timelines when you’re delayed, you start knocking bands off the list. So, if an opener is scheduled to go on at 4, and you’re not going to reopen until 6, then that first band, maybe even the second band, are more than likely going to be canceled so the show can continue on at a decent timeframe,” he says.

Marshall says about 70 percent of ticket purchasers returned to the show after the initial evacuation.

Refunds for the concert are not being issued, Marshall said. Instead, the company is offering two tickets per purchased ticket to an upcoming show of their choice for the remainder of the 2022 Idaho Concert Series.

Concertgoers who purchased tickets to Rockzilla can email concerts@thegoagency.com for instructions on how to redeem them.

“We understand everyone’s frustrations as we felt similar frustrations throughout the evening caused by circumstances beyond our control,” Marshall said. “The entertainment industry can at times be unpredictable due to weather and last-minute tour decisions.”

CLARIFICATION: This article has been updated with new information from The Go Agency.