Man Beaten at Family Values Show Dies...

pjalive21

A 30-year-old man beaten in the mosh pit at Sunday night's (July 30th) Family Values show in Atlanta, Georgia has died from his injuries, according to local television station WSB-TV. Andy Richardson was earlier declared brain dead and listed in critical condition after two unidentified men attacked him at the show, headlined by Korn, when Richardson asked the men to be careful around his pregnant girlfriend and a mentally challenged child accompanying them. Richardson has now been declared dead, although his body was still being kept on life support so that his organs could be harvested for donation.

Richardson's mother, Gloria Richardson, told the station, "Can you imagine your child goes to a concert and be killed for it, because of people out there fighting to have a quote unquote good time? And I'm angry. I'm very angry. Why were the police not there to stop them?"

The two men left the area after Richardson had asked them to be careful, according to a friend who also attended the show, but returned later. According to eyewitnesses, one of them punched Richardson in the head and knocked him head first onto the concrete floor. The friend reported that Richardson was "unconscious" and "had blood all over his face."

There has been no comment from Korn or the venue. Atlanta police are investigating the incident and asking the public for help, as they reportedly have only a vague description of the suspects.

The Family Values tour, which also features Deftones, Stone Sour, 10 Years and others, arrives in Pensacola, Florida tonight (Wednesday, August 2nd).

pj_zombie

I thought mosh pits were retarded to begin with but this is just another good example. This is really sad.

facepollution

That is so sad, I can't believe there are cunts out there that would do things like this, fucking sickening.

Coming back to life

I'm not condoning it but going to a gig that's standing when you're pregnant aint too clever.

Rhinocerous Surprise

pjalive21 wrote:

The Family Values tour, which also features Deftones, Stone Sour, 10 Years and others, arrives in Pensacola, Florida tonight (Wednesday, August 2nd).

Am I the only one who thinks this was a pretty unconscionable place to put an ad for the tour?

intodeep

THere is a thread about this in AET so i'll just rehash what i said there.

It really sucks for this guy hopefully they find out who did this and they are punished.

The real blame here is with Hi Fi Buys Security. They so not have proper raido equipment for ALL of their security and they are somewhat thing. Also that being said they are not prepared to handle this kind of crowd.

I went to the Unholy Alliance tour and it was out of control. People started moshing back in the ailses on slanted concrete between the seats. This was a problem it was dangerous and out of control. The guys trying to break it up were skinny little twigs. I hate to say it but for a heavy rock band you need big muscled bound guys that can handle those kind of situations.

cookie5798

yeah, my friend went to this show Sunday and said she left after one hour because her and hubby were standing in line for beer and three different guys tried to pick fights with her husband. This is shitty. You don't go to a concert to fight, you go to enjoy the music. I hope they catch these guys, if not, karma is gonna bite them in the ass!!! I really feel for the girlfriend, family and friends.

moemoe6434

Man dies after concert fight
Suspects sought in attack at Lakewood Amphitheatre

By RHONDA COOK , JULIE TURKEWITZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/01/06

People were drinking and having fun as the heavy-metal band, Korn, played. Then a ball cap was grabbed, a single punch thrown and Andy Richardson lay sprawled, with a head injury, just where the seats meet the lawn at Lakewood Amphitheatrer.

A senseless dispute over a little thing ended Richardson's life. At 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, doctors pronounced him dead even though his body was being kept alive so recipients for his organs could be found.

His mother, Gloria Richardson, was in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital when doctors told her one of her two children was gone.

"He was a sweet-spirited, strong, fiercely loyal young man," the mother said of her 30-year-old son. "He marched to the tune of his own drum. He really did love his friends and family. He didn't deserve this."

Richardson's friends, who had worked with him as a roofer and were with him at the Sunday night concert, waited at home for the news.

"We just went out there to have a good night," said one friend, Eddie Arellano . "It was starting off fun. And then this whole thing turned into nightmare."

According to Arellano and others at the concert, there was a group of rowdy men acting up during the show.

"These guys were just way too drunk. They had too many fights," Arellano said.

Earlier in the evening, some of the rowdies tumbled down a hill, crashing into Richardson and his friends. There was a brief scuffle, according to Bernice Averil, who was in Richardson's group. A little later, the rowdies returned and one of them snatched Richardson's cap.

"When they took his hat he stood up and said 'We've already had a fight. I don't want to have any problems.'" Arellano said, describing the moments just before the punch. "The guy threw the hat back at him. And when he [Richardson] caught it, the guy hit him in the face and he [Richardson] hit the ground and hit the concrete with the back of his head. He just collapsed.

"His face was bloody. It was bad. It was horrible," said Arellano, who also was Richardson's roommate.

The person who threw the punch and his friend ran off, Arellano said.

Atlanta police spokesman Officer Steve Coleman said homicide detectives "have people of interest" but no arrests had been made. Police have a "vague description" of the person who threw the punch, according to Sgt. Kevin Iosty.

Jack Gannon, a spokesman for House of Blues, a California-based company that has a sponsorship deal with the HiFi Buys Amphitheater, said the incident was "unfortunate and tragic" and that the company is "cooperating fully with the Atlanta police department investigation."

"This was a total shock," said Richardson's mother, Gloria, who was widowed several years ago. "It's not right that someone could go a concert for a good time and wind up dead. I want justice. Those two people need to be caught. There needs to be more security [at the venue] or they need to not have these concerts at all. I'm going to pursue this. My voice will be heard."

enharmonic

Fucking punks.

I was on the perimeter of a pit at Lollapalooza in 1996...just trying to get close enough to the stage that I could rock out to some Kim Thayil. Dudes were grabbing at a girl's body in front of me and she started freaking out, so I pushed a few guys off of her and got her out of there. Next thing I know, I get kicked in the eye.

I won't get into what happened to that piece of shit, because I was a different person then, but I bet he never acted like an asshole at a concert again. If he did, I hope that he got what he deserved...again.

The moral of this story is that this guy didn't have to die. He should have handled the problem during the initial incident. Those guys were obviously too drunk to be allowed to reamin at the venue. He should have located security, and pointed those fucks out. He'd still be alive, and someone wouldn't be a murderer today.

Coming back to life

They did what they did because they're scum. I've been drunk loads of times it never made me kill anyone.

intodeep

Coming back to life wrote:

They did what they did because they're scum. I've been drunk loads of times it never made me kill anyone.

I've made and ass of myself and embarressed myself but never started a fight with anyone.

GeorgeinNY

There was almost a fight at Black Crowes at festival pier in Philadelphia, and I was almost involved, a dude decided it would be cool to crowdsurf, anyway to make long story short I got a boot to my head which is normal in that situation but there were a lot of girls around and when the guy came down there was a headlock angry words etc, I mean I can expect that scene at Ozzfest, but Black Crowes? thats crazy.

THe difficulty of getting security to react cannot be understated(remember Woodstock, this stuff is expected at that type of show (OZzfest, Family Values, etc) so the security right away starts out accomodating the surfers/moshers. Actually never been at that type of show where security would get involved, even in fights, usually they cant even see anything, would have a hard time getting to the altercation. So basically I see it as every man for himself. Too bad this happened, there is no excuse these guys should do time for involuntary manslaughter at least.

Jammin909

I was in the pit a couple years ago at the Y100 Feztival in Camden and had to leave after System of a Down came on. Same shit with all these freaks who hate their parents, grandparents, and society in general. Fucking assholes just looking to fight. I like SOAD, but Ill stick with listening to them in my car...

It is a real shame this man died but going to a pussy heavy metal show was not the smartest idea when your wife is pregnant....

Anyhow, its a senseless murder and hope the man is found and spends the rest of his life behind bars.

pjalive21

i dont know why people find it necessary to pick fights at these type of shows....then again after going to the Taste of Chaos Tour and having the bands want people in the crowds to start mosh pits, i guess it shouldnt be a suprise a fight broke out and a life is lost

intodeep

pjalive21 wrote:

i dont know why people find it necessary to pick fights at these type of shows....then again after going to the Taste of Chaos Tour and having the bands want people in the crowds to start mosh pits, i guess it shouldnt be a suprise a fight broke out and a life is lost

I don't think a mosh pit leads to someone being an idiot. If people mosh in an area that is expected to happen and there is room for people who don't watn to be apart of it to enjoy the show from anotehr area that is cool.

Moshing is fine as long as the people doing it are not morons.

circles down

The older I get (and I'm still only 29) the more disgusted I am with fighting. I remember it being entertaining when I was a kid in school to watch a fight, but now it's so disturbing to feel that kind of vibe. It's so sad to see somebody get their ass kicked. Just because they aren't strong or quick they have to go down in such a humiliating (and painful) way, and it's so so much worse when it happens to someone who is trying to avoid it because they are with family.

cookie5798

I went and seen Live a couple of years ago On the Bricks in midtown Atlanta which was a $5 concert. We were up at the front and my friend that had a bad foot and him and his stepdaughter (8) had stood up there for hours to keep their space. Mind you, this was an all ages concert. Well as soon as Live comes on, all these people behind me starting pushing. I am a 5'5 girl (125 lbs) and got pissed as hell. (My friends had never seen me raise my voice before). We told security and they said there was nothing they could do about it. We got pissed and told them that if they are gonna have a concert that kids are allowed to come to, I think they should moniter the assholes in the crowd a little more. We were right against the gate in the handicapped section. Sometimes security just sucks!

Pacomc79

intodeep wrote:

I don't think a mosh pit leads to someone being an idiot. If people mosh in an area that is expected to happen and there is room for people who don't watn to be apart of it to enjoy the show from anotehr area that is cool.

Moshing is fine as long as the people doing it are not morons.

sounds like this was out on the lawn, by the wall not in the pit up front. Lots of lunatics at a show like that. What sucks is now they will probably curb tailgating out there and not allow people to drink at all in the parking lot, all because some poor excuse for a human decided to get drunk and someone had to pay for that losers indiscretions with his life. I hope they find this asshole and prosecute the shit of of him.

Hifi buys security does suck balls, beyond if you're depending on the APD you're pretty much already screwed.

It's really not security that is the problem, most of the time we want them seen and not heard. It's the poor excuses for humanity, that ruin it for everyone

StoneG82

jesus. I really hate to read something like that.

wtf is wrong with people? has that shitty music made them that stupid?

moemoe6434

i have seen fights at all kinds of concerts.... from Phish to Misfits to REM..... i am not sure the music is to blame. It is just egos clashing. The scariest thing about this is that it only took one punch... that is it.

pjalive21

Point Music News provided by LaunchDaily

Korn and the rest of the bands on the Family Values tour have issued a joint statement regarding the death of a fan who was beaten by two men during the tour's stop in Atlanta on Sunday (July 30th). The statement read in part, "All the bands on the Family Values tour offer their sincerest condolences and prayers to the family of 30-year-old Andy Richardson...Korn are appalled at the actions of these men and are imploring anyone who witnessed this senseless act or has any information about the attack to please immediately come forward by contacting local authorities."

According to initial reports, Richardson was attacked by two unidentified men after he asked them to be careful around his pregnant girlfriend and a mentally challenged child accompanying them. A friend of Richardson described the attackers to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as "way too drunk."

One of the men punched Richardson in the head and knocked him head first onto the concrete floor, said eyewitnesses. The friend reported that Richardson was "unconscious" and "had blood all over his face."

Richardson, who never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday (August 1st).

Atlanta police are reportedly investigating "people of interest" in the incident, although they have only a vague description of the suspects.