Onstage suicide: concertgoer jumps to his death at Swell Season show

For a few moments, it seemed to the audience that it was a part of the act, but the crowd got extremely stunned and horrified after realizing the fact.

Suicide at Saratoga concert
According to The Associated Press, a horrified crowd watched as a 32-year-old San Jose man fell to his death in front of an audience of hundreds at an outdoor concert by the band Swell Season, in Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California.

The man, identified as Michael Edward Pickels, deliberately threw himself from a roof shielding the stage around 10 p.m. and fell onto the stage, a few feet from the Swell Season lead singer Glen Hansard, the reports says.

The Irish singer/songwriter duo promptly stopped playing as paramedics unsuccessfully attempted to revive him, declaring the man dead.

Band members Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova had just finished the rousing 'When Your Mind's Made Up' when Pickels fell onto the stage near Hansard, according to E! Online.

Fatal fall left the band in shock
The Irish singer/songwriter duo promptly stopped playing as paramedics unsuccessfully attempted to revive him, declaring the man dead.

According to MTV, Pickels’ fatal fall left the bandmates in extreme shock, and the group posted a grieving statement on their website.

"The band, crew and all involved with them are shocked and saddened by the death that occurred at the August 19th show. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the deceased, his family and friends," reads the statement by Oscar-winning singer-songwriters Hansard and Irglova.

"Making and performing music is what the band has always done in good times and in bad. Our hope is that in this communal experience tonight we can somehow help our own grieving process after what we just witnessed. The show will most certainly be different than any other we have ever played."

Tragedy distraught audience
The tragic incident left many concertgoers in tears and extreme shock.

"It was spooky, you're at this concert with beautiful music," said Will Hector, one of the witnesses from the audience, according to Mercurynews.com. "It felt pretty intimate and powerful and then this completely invasive thing happens. I'm not sure I can go back to the Mountain Winery. It's too hard. The image of that man on the stage was too

Kyle Rivers, who was also at the concert Thursday night, initially thought it was part of the act but got stunned when realized that what happened was a horrible fact.

"I saw him standing there on the edge of the roof, I thought it was part of the act, and then he took off running and jumped, did a couple of flips and landed on the stage. It was pretty traumatic," says Rivers.

Victim was facing domestic violence charges
Meanwhile, the Mercury News has learned that Pickels was facing charges of assault with a firearm, domestic violence and false imprisonment.

Citing the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, the publication reports that the victim was out on $150,000 bail at the time of his death, twice the typical bail amount for such charges, and was scheduled to be in court on Oct. 5.

Pickels reportedly was involved in an altercation on New Year's Day with his girlfriend, in which he pointed a loaded shotgun at her and threatened to kill her and himself.