Ben Gibbard Leaves Stage Mid-Set

Any video or anything?

 

Click view original and it's at the top.

 

Can't really see what happened but the drummer stops and points at someone in the crowd before Ben walks off. If that's what happened that's so messed up. They've always been so authentic and genuine.

 

Thanks! Still getting used to Chorus... Haha

 

I was at the show. A lot of articles seem to paint the picture that him leaving the stage cut the show short, but the set was actually cut short by rain delays and SMB was the last of the regular set (pre-encore).

As for the event itself, a guy in the front row was taken away by security for throwing stuff at Ben. Heard some stuff about him being upset about an ear mix or something and that's definitely not the case. He and the band crushed it all night.

Luckily they came back for an encore set and he apologized for for leaving apruptly. All and all, a really fun show, Chvcrches crushed it as well!

 

I know it has to feel bad to have people throw shit at you. I always cringe when they throw their expensive ass instruments down lol I'm like nooooooooooo not the guitar!!

 

That was my reaction! Haha.

Especially in ears. I've had one of my molds break before and it was major money to repair.

 

Multiple people on YouTube (take with grain of salt) have said that there was a fight in the front of the stage, which is possibly what the drummer was pointing at. One comment:

"I was at the show. A fight broke out right in front of the stage. A couple of guys were out of control, annoying everyone. I guess Ben saw it, got pissed and stormed off. They pulled the guys out of the crowd, everyone cheered and the concert resumed, Panties unbunched"

 

I didn't see any fighting, but this makes just as much sense as anything. Only saw one person get taken away, but maybe the other involved party slipped away.

 

Yeah this seems likely, as I really didn't see anything being thrown at Ben in the video posted.

Edit: Saw this on CoS...

 

Dude this is crazy. Also, what's up man!

 

Hey dude!

 

Those instruments have more insurance on them than some people's lives do.

 

So instead of pointing them out to security faster, he has a temper tantrum? Okay...

I won't lie though. I was hoping for a Kris Roe-esque breakdown.

 

so awkward for the band haha

 

Being grown up isn't half as fun as throwing drums.

 

If you pay attention, at the 0:16 mark you can see his hair flip up like something did hit him in the head.

 

Fingers crossed for a good sound guy and no drunken idiots up from at Riot Fest.

 

I saw them last weekend at Bonnaroo and they were fantastic. This just sounds like an unfortunate situation due to a couple ass holes in the crowd. I'll also be seeing them at riot fest, I'm not worried haha

 

This reminds me of the scene in Runaways where Fowley is training the girls to to be performers by having kids hurl trash and rocks at them during band practice. I always thought that was a good lesson, though brutal, because there's always criticism, always haters, and sometimes people who literally throw shit at you. This also reminds me of early in Panic!'s career when Brendon was knocked unconscious after being bottled, but continued performing right when he regained consciousness.

It's hard to see exactly what's going on here or even why Ben quit mid song, but I don't think the way he handled it was at all professional and it's a disservice to the rest of the audience. If his safety was compromised, why not stop the song and call out the assailant or ask security to escort him out instead of just giving up? And tossing an expensive instrument? I don't know Gibbard, I'm not a death cab fan, but jeez, way to look like a brat.

 

I saw them on Tuesday and Ben had three temper tantrums during their set. He even pointed out he was having them. It all had to deal with equipment not working properly though for those.

Sucks that this situation happened.

 

I've seen MCS do exactly that before. Some fight broke out at Starland and Justin noticed it before almost anyone else. He just stopped singing and made security go get the jerks, while the whole crowd chanted, "Asshole! Asshole!" Then they just started the bridge again and all was well.

Sucks that this tour has had so many issues. The Richmond show was delayed due to a power outage caused by the Trump rally.

 

You dont know what kind of day he was having up to that point. You cant judge someone based on one weak moment. Maybe the band went through a lot of hassle to be able to play that show.....and then some asshat's wasted, throwing bottles, at him on stage.

 

^^^

he is still a human being, prone to emotions and reactions.