| Jessica Anna Michalik |
|
| Born |
7 January, 1985
Manly - Sydney |
| Died |
January 26, 2001 (aged 16)
Sydney |
| Education |
Cromer High |
| Occupation |
Year 11, Student |
| Children |
none |
| Parents |
George & Barbara |
Jessica Anna Michalik (7 January 1985 - 26 January 2001 in Concord, New South Wales) was an Australian teenage girl from Dee Why in Sydney who died of asphyxiation five days after being crushed in a mosh pit during the 2001 Big Day Out music festival during a performance by nu metal band Limp Bizkit.
Incident
The Coroner's Court of New South Wales findings into her death criticized the crowd control measures in use at the time, and also criticised Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst for "alarming and inflammatory" comments during the rescue effort.
Somewhat prophetically, the band At the Drive-In had taken exception to the vigorous moshing during their performance earlier that day. Their lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, at the conclusion of their song Cosmonaut addressed the crowd saying "I think it's a very very sad day when the only way you can express yourself is through slamdancing" then after pointing at an audience member crowd surfing saying "look at that... you didn't learn that from your best friend! You learned that from the TV!" and finally stating to the crowd "You're a robot, you're a sheep" before bleating at them several times and leaving the stage around 10 minutes into their set.[1] The band Grinspoon performed at Jessica's funeral, and moments of silence have been held at subsequent Big Day Out festivals. Performers at the Big Day Out observe the "minute of noise" each year to honour her memory.
References
- Comments by an event manager about Coronial Inquest Report (in pdf format)
- The Jessica Michalik Contemporary Music Endowment (in pdf format)
- A big thumbs up for troubled Big Day Out, Sydney Morning Herald, November 11, 2002
- Insurers sue over death, The Age, August 13, 2005
- Anna Cock, "Jessica's tragedy - Thoughtful girl with a passion for rock bands", 2 February 2001, The Daily Telegraph, Surry Hills (Sydney, Australia), pg 4.
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