At Riot Fest in Chicago this past weekend SYSTEM OF A DOWN had to interrupt the show several times due to multiple fan injuries
September 15, 2015
It’s not news that System Of A Down fans like having fun at the band’s shows, often in an aggressive way. Especially taking into account that the rockers have played shows very few concerts over the last several years, it’s easy to imagine that the crowds go absolutely nuts at their gigs. Things got totally out of control when Riot Fest came to Chicago venue on Saturday, September 12, with System Of A Down headlining the festival, and System had to stop the show many times due to serious fan injuries.
The audience behavior took a dangerous turn when a bunch of fans collapsed over each other in the pit, reports website WrestleZone. A professional young wrestling student Steve Schneider, who studies at the PWX training school in Pittsburgh, could have died if the band hadn’t reacted and the festival security and medics hadn’t intervened and saved him. The young man was knocked to the ground during System of a Down performance and was nearly trampled by fans. As soon as the band saw what was going on, they paused the concert and made sure Steve would get the help from the medics.
“I fell over during System of a Down, then someone fell on top of me so I couldn’t breathe,” Schneider wrote later. “Then once they got up, someone else fell on top of me. It was never ending. At one point I had someone on top of my back, and someone either sitting or standing on my head, pushing my face down into mud. I couldn’t breathe the entire time, but then any breath I could take I was close to inhaling muddy water. It was the scariest thing in my entire life cause I had no idea how long I’d be trapped for. Apparently System of a Down had to stop playing so paramedics could get me out, I was unconscious at that point so I have no memory of it. Both of my eyes are blood red from passing out due to lack of air + someone crushing my head + screaming for my life.” Steve welcomes wishes and questions at his personal Twitter account @Focalin, writes WrestleZone.
System of a Down also stopped their gig after ‘Aerials’ (see the fan footage below). Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian asked the audience to make an open space so that the fans wouldn’t collapse onto one another to such a troubling extent. “We love playing these shows, but it’s not worth one person getting hurt,” Tankian told the crowd.
The band moved on with the show and started ‘B.Y.O.B.’ with the intro from ‘Soldier Side’ and the words to the fans, “It’s extremely awkward to sing when there are people who look like they’re dying right in front of me,” Malakian said. However, in the middle of the song security told the band to stop the performance.
Check out the fan-shot live footage below, leave us your comments, and stay tuned with Alterock Facebook and Twitter to never miss out on the news about your favorite alternative music!
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