The Swell Season (lost onstage suicide concert footage; 2010)

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DISCLAIMER:
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN TAGGED AS NSFL DUE TO ITS DISTURBING SUBJECT MATTER.


On August 19, 2010, during a concert by The Swell Season that was taking place at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California, a 32 year old man (later identified as Michael Edward Pickels) left his seat at around 10pm, climbed to a rooftop approximately 20–30 feet above the stage, and, just after the band had finished playing "When Your Mind's Made Up", jumped to his death, landing just a few feet away from singer Glen Hansard.

With the crowd and band in shock, they immediately stopped everything, some rushing to the man's aid, others calling for an ambulance, although despite half an hour of CPR revival attempts by paramedics who happened to be in attendance, he was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor (who was also a member of the audience). It was later revealed that Pickels had recently been released from jail at a bail of $150,000, after being imprisoned for threatening to kill both himself and his girlfriend on New Year's Day of the same year.

Due to the fact that (multiple versions of) video footage both just before and just after the suicide have surfaced online, it's safe to assume that someone (of the 1900 or so concertgoers) had indeed unintentionally recorded the tragic event (though it's understandable as to why they wouldn't have uploaded such a clip online). That said, the clip remains a piece of lost media, until such a time that someone leaks it.


Footage from just before the suicide.

Another piece of footage from just before the suicide.

Footage from just after the suicide.