Pitchfork

Photos by Shervin Lainez

A 20-year-old man from Richmond, British Columbia died after he was dragged unconscious from the mosh pit at a Smashing Pumpkins show on Monday, September 24, in Vancouver, according to a report in The Vancouver Sun.

Citing an interview with Vancouver police spokesman Constable Howard Chow, the report said three or four other young men at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum concert pulled the man to security just after 9 p.m. He was then taken to St. Paul's Hospital, where he eventually died.

A coroner is investigating the death, but Chow said, "There was nothing to indicate there was any foul play or anything suspicious about his death." Instead, he pointed the finger at the generally unsafe nature of mosh pits and crowd-surfing.

The Sun mentioned unconfirmed radio reports claiming the man had crowd-surfed, but PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance (not the Superchunk bassist, as far as we know) said that was not the point: "Regardless of how it happened, a 20-year-old who came to enjoy a night of music is gone. It's extremely sad and very tragic."

Chow asked that anyone who witnessed the incident, including the men who were responsible for bringing the victim to security, contact the police.

Unfortunately, this is not the first death at a Smashing Pumpkins show. There was a similar incident in which a woman was crushed to death at a 1996 performance in Dublin, Ireland.

The next date of Smashing Pumpkins' tour is in Salt Lake City on September 28.

Pumpkins:

09-28 Salt Lake City, UT - McKay Center (University of Utah)
09-30 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks
10-02 St. Paul, MN - Wilkins Auditorium
10-04 Normal, IL - Braden Auditorium (Illinois State University)
10-06 Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
10-07 Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
10-09 Pittsburgh, PA - AJ Palumbo Center (Duquesne University)
10-11 Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion *
10-13 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *
10-15 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *
10-16 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *
10-18 Providence, RI - Providence Performing Arts Center *
10-19 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater *
10-21 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater *
10-22 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater *
10-23 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater *
10-25 Memphis, TN - Mud Island Amphitheatre *
10-27 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Experience
10-28 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10-30 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater *
10-31 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater *
11-02 Austin, TX - The Backyard
11-03 Dallas, TX - Nokia Theater
11-05 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium *
11-07 Athens, GA - Classic Center Theater *
11-08 Greensboro, NC - War Memorial Auditorium *
11-09 Columbia, SC - Township Auditorium *
11-11 Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheater

* with Explosions in the Sky