UPDATE: Phish Guitarist Trey Anastasio Says Tragic Events at Chase Center Left Band 'Heartbroken'
EUGENE, OR (CBS SF) -- The guitarist for Phish paused during the band's Tuesday night concert in Oregon to briefly speak about the tragic events at the Chase Center in San Francisco that left one person dead and two injured.
The band was playing a fall tour date at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Tuesday evening when a clearly emotional Trey Anastasio spoke between songs to address what had happened during their SF concert two nights before.
"At the last show we played, we had some really awful stuff that happened. And I -- well, we -- need to say a couple of words about how heartbroken we all are," Anastasio said.
The guitarist said he wanted to mention the names of the people involved, pointing out that the second man named Keith Thompson -- who fell from the upper deck and landed on Oakland resident and Phish fan Evan Reeves -- was the husband of a person who actually worked with the band at their Golden One Center show in Sacramento just two days before the Sunday concert.
"Just to show you how tightly knit our community, his wife Carrie is the event manager for the Sacramento Phish concert. This is how close we all are," said Anastasio. "He is in the hospital and we want to send our love to him and to Carrie."
The guitarist also mentioned Reeves in his comments.
"And then I'm also gonna send love to Evan Reeves, who was involved in the accident and was able to come back that night and sit over there afterwards," Anastasio said, motioning towards the area where Reeves had been wheeled to watch the final 40 minutes of the Chase Center show after being hit by Thompson. "So go Evan! We love you."
Reeves on Tuesday provided KPIX with a photo that showed him grooving away in a wheelchair during the band's performance after getting the on-site doctor's consent to stay at the show before getting picked up by his wife and taken to be examined at Alta Bates Summit Hospital in Oakland.
Anastasio then talked about 47-year-old Athens, NY resident Ryan Prosser, who died Sunday, and offered his and the band's condolences to the man's family and friends.
"We send our love to the Prosser family and we're sorry that this all took place," he said.
Earlier Tuesday, San Francisco police announced that Prosser was believed to have "leapt from an elevated area of the arena," causing his death.
"Immediately before the victim leapt, he did not appear to have any physical contact with any person or barrier/railing," SFPD Officer Grace Gatpandan said in a statement.
Anastasio also said he wanted to say a few words to everyone who had been affected by the tragic incident.
"I'm sending out my love -- and we all are; I'm speaking for the band -- we're sending out love to everyone in the whole community," said Anastasio. "I don't know how much I can express how we feel a part of this group of people that is here tonight and the people who can't be here who are watching on tv."
He continued briefly before the band went back to the music: "We very much know and feel that we're just four more people in this group who happen to be up here and you guys are standing there. But when something like this happens, it hurts us and we want to send our love. Please be safe and everyone have a good time."
Phish's fall tour continues through the end of October, culminating with a run of four nights at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas through Halloween night.
