Man commits suicide in front of 100s of concert goers

[Liberal_in_LA]

Apparent suicide at Saratoga concert
Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, August 20, 2010

(08-20) 11:21 PDT SARATOGA -- A man apparently jumped to his death during a concert at the Mountain Winery in the Saratoga hills Thursday night, authorities said, leaving hundreds of concertgoers at the amphitheater in a state of shock.

The man accompanied a friend to see the alt-folk band the Swell Season perform, but left his seat during the concert around 10 p.m., said Sgt. Rick Sung, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.

"Next thing his friend and everyone at the concert sees is he's standing on top of the roof and dove onto the stage," Sung said.

Sung estimated that the man fell 20 to 30 feet. The victim's name has not been released.

Christian Pantages, 39, a Milpitas resident who attended the concert with his girlfriend, described the crowd's response as, "Numand shocked, and 'What the hell is going on?'

---------------------------

The Swell Season canceled the rest of the show. It posted a statement on its website today, saying, "The band, crew and all involved with them are shocked and saddened by the unfortunate events of last night. Our hearts go out to the victim ... and to his friends and family."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/20/BA071F0TCS.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0xAzaNzoc

[cbdo2007]

1. what a f*ckin idiot!!

Sorry but I have no respect for people who kill themselves and make other people victims in the process, whether it's a murder suicide or something stupid like this where they make everyone watch.

There must have been at least a few thousand people there also. Too bad as The Swell Season is such a great band and now they have this as part of their history.

[Hannah Bell]

8. they should do it in secret so as not to inconvenience anyone.

[cbdo2007]

10. Hmmmm....are you being sarcastic?

[Lance_Boyle]

2. There is no such thing as a victim of suicide.

There are only perpetrators of suicide.

[Wickerman]

4. Not a real deep understanding of mental illness and

depression, eh?

:eyes:

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. Yes there is.

I am the widow of a victim of suicide. Thank you.

[Binka]

12. I See You Posted A Photo Stickie

:hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. Thank you Binka. It's good to see you.

:hug:

[chrisa]

14. .

:hug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Well, there are both.

They happen to be the same person.

[chrisa]

13. The 'victims' of suicide are the ones left behind.

[Wilber_Stool]

18. There most certainly is a

victim of suicide. It's their friends and family. A wound that never heals.

[cbdo2007]

20. and in this case, the trauma of thousands of people including children forced to witness it.

[Pathwalker]

22. Too true. A sorrow that never leaves.

n/t

[FedUpWithIt All]

3. We're very fond of Swell Season in our house. This is very sad.

I'm sorry for all involved.

[cbdo2007]

5. Here is a link to comments from people at the show who witnessed it....

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2010/08/apparent_suicide_attempt_at_th.php

It sounds horrible. He landed a few feet from the lead singer Glen Hansard. Glen walked over to him and shouted "quickly" to one of the crew and then they all left the stage. There were children there and stuff. wtf

[MilesColtrane]

7. I have a friend who was playing a solo piano gig one time in the atrium of a big hotel.

A jumper missed him by no more than a couple of feet.

He told me that it sounded like somebody dropping a "Hefty bag full of meat" from 15 stories up.

[NNN0LHI]

9. Seen a guy dive off the The Stairwell Pendulum Clock stairs at the Museum of Science and Industry

Happened in the 60's while we we there on a school field trip. The clock was surrounded by panes of real glass about six feet tall at the bottom back then that shattered into a million pieces when he hit them. Bloody mess.

Don

http://www.examiner.com/museum-of-science-and-industry-in-chicago/the-stairwell-pendulum

[proteus_lives]

15. How spiteful.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

16. Doesn't sound like it could have been a sure thing either

You could fall from 20 to 30 feet and survive. And you'd be massively fucked up.

[RagAss]

17. Too bad it wasn't Wolf Blitzer

[NoPasaran]

19. Bazinga!

[Princess Turandot]

23. Something similar happened at the Met in NYC about 20 years ago..

an elderly man with a music background jumped from the greatest height possible in the seating area, a side balcony with almost no view of the stage because of its height. (People, often students, sit in the section with scores to follow the music.) He fell 80 feet. He did it during an intermission; if he had jumped while the opera was underway, he might well have badly hurt or even killed someone else sitting in the orchestra seats where he landed.