A fan collapsed and died at a King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard concert over the weekend.
Mathew Gawiak, 36, experienced dizziness before collapsing while enjoying the Australian band’s performance at the Field of Vision Festival in Denver, Colorado, on Friday.
Fans had to alert the band to the medical emergency happening within the crowd as they called out for medical responders one hour into their set.
The band’s guitarist, Joey Walker, informed the audience that assistance was on the way and requested attendees to make room for medical staff to pass through.
Gawiak had been with his brother Christopher who posted about his final moments to a fan page on Reddit.
In it, he described his brother as a ‘diehard gizzard fan, loving husband and best concert buddy’.
Christopher explained how his brother had complained of feeling dizzy and that he had tried to escort him out when he collapsed.
‘He fell to the ground and was unresponsive. Fortunately, two trauma nurses in the crowd reacted quickly, began CPR, and we managed the situation while runners were dispatched for paramedics to take him to the medical tent’, he explained.
Mathew Gawiak, shown here, reported dizziness before collapsing during the Australian band’s performance at the Field of Vision Festival in Denver last Friday.
Fans had to alert the band, seen performing in Paris last year, to the urgent medical situation by calling out for emergency responders about an hour into their set.
He added: ‘They fought to stabilize him for almost two hours. They could only maintain any kind of pulse with massive doses of epinephrine.
‘An ambulance was needed because they ran out. Essentially, I witnessed my brother’s life slipping away in front of me, and I felt helpless.’
He also said that while details on how his brother died were not yet known he had a ‘very complicated’ medical history, revealing he was a child cancer survivor.
Christopher also shared a GoFundMe page to the page that he said was set up by his sister-in-law Allison to help with funeral costs.
In it, she wrote: ‘Matt was a loving and beloved husband, son, brother, uncle and friend. He was the love of my life and my best friend, he was the kindest most genuine person that I’ve ever met.
‘His passions included playing guitar, camping, skiing, traveling, cooking, live music, and above all else, sharing those experiences with the people he loved.
‘He got his masters and had a fulfilling career as a geospatial scientist. His goal in life was to make the people he loved happy.
‘I find some peace knowing that he was surrounded by music and a community that was special to him and that he was truly happy in the moments before he tragically passed away.’
In a post to GoFundMe, his wife Allison – seen here with Gawiak – described him as ‘a loving and beloved husband’
The band, seen here, had been livestreaming the concert on their YouTube page at the time, but the video has now been removed
Gawiak had been with his brother Christopher who posted about his final moments to a fan page on Reddit
So far the fundraiser, which can be found here, has already raised over $53,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to Gawiak’s LinkedIn profile he worked for real estate investment trust Prologis as a Senior Geographic Information System Analyst
A joint statement from the band and the venue said: ‘Regarding the incident, we are deeply saddened to share that on Friday night, a guest passed away due to an unexpected medical event during the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard concert at Meadow Creek despite the best efforts from emergency teams.
‘We are sending our love and condolences to their family, friends, and the entire King Gizzard community.’
The band had been livestreaming the concert on their YouTube page at the time, but the video has now been removed.
Daily Mail has contacted the Chaffe County Coroner’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office for comment.
