The jam band Goose expressed shock and dismay at the news that a fan had plunged to his death during the group’s Saturday night concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“We are all reeling following the events that occurred at last nights show,” Goose wrote Sunday on Instagram.
“Getting off stage to learn that news was devastating for us and our crew, and we cannot imagine how some of you left the show feeling last night,” the group added as part of a lengthy post.
According to the New York Daily News, 51-year-old Paul Kueker, a Connecticut-based software executive and father of two, died about 9:50 p.m. while attending the show with his wife to celebrate the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary.
The cause of death is under investigation, according to a New York Post report.
However, the Post reported that law enforcement sources said witnesses had said Kuecker “appeared intoxicated” and “under the influence.” He reportedly leaped over a glass barrier four feet high on the arena’s Chase Bridge, an elevated area that “offers a top-down view of the entertainment below.”
He then dropped 150 feet onto concertgoers below, the Post reported. One of those fans suffered minor injuries.
Have you ever been to Madison Square Garden?
The Post reported that it had reviewed footage of Kueker taking a “head-first dive.”
The investigation will include a toxicology report, according to the Post.
Patti Finelli, Kueker’s mother, told the Daily News that her son had left his seats to go to the restroom and that his wife, Kristen, did not see his death.
“He got up to go to the bathroom and he didn’t come back,” Finelli said. “She was getting worried after 10 or 15 minutes. And he didn’t come back.”
Police then found Kristen and delivered the tragic news.
Finelli described her son as a “wonderful dad” who “loved everybody.”
“He had no enemies. He was the life of the party. His sense of humor was beyond,” she said.
To the New York Post, Finelli described her son as “the greatest kid in the whole wide world.”
“He’d give you the shirt off his back,” the grieving mother added. “He has two children, a beautiful wife, and he took care of me like I was a piece of gold.”
To aid those in grief, Goose provided resource information as part of its lengthy Instagram post.
The band also pledged to “host community gatherings with licensed therapists and grief counselors present, offering support with guided breathwork, space to share, and smaller breakout circles” during the coming week.
Moreover, Goose announced efforts to fund said resources.
“We are working with Western Sun Foundation to establish a fund to provide support and resources to our fans,” the band wrote.
Meanwhile, a Monday concert in Central Park went on as scheduled.
“We considered whether or not we were going to play and came to the decision that the best thing we can do right now is bring our community together, lean on one another, and offer a space for healing. So let’s be kind to each other tonight and remember our friend,” Goose wrote.
The post concluded with a promise that concert proceeds would “benefit Western Sun Foundation’s fan support fund.”
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