Stay away from the brown acid...

[kopfhorer1]

Based upon the responses to the Apollo 11 thread, it's probably safe to say that not many folks here were around for Woodstock (the original). I was around (I was in high school), but did not attend (no car, no friends with cars who were going).

So instead, I'm going to simply ask what people thought of it, what it's cultural and political significance was, that kind of thing. (If perchance you were there or knew someone who was, feel free to comment!)

Me, I saw it as (1) a massive financial fiasco which was salvaged after the fact by movie deals, record deals, etc. (2) proof that large numbers of people could gather in one place, have a good time, and not do bad things to one another (3) the mother of all future music festivals (the "grandmother" was the Monterey Pop Festival) and (4) a logistical nightmare which could have turned out far, far worse than it did.

 

[Violetta]

You sure it was the brown acid? I'm preeeeeetty sure it was the blue acid.

It was bad acid.

 

[Dave2112]

Well, I was actually there. Absolutely NO memories of it, of course...I was a year old and in a stroller while my mom and two of her brothers and their wives/gf's enjoyed. It was held pretty close to where my family still has a large chunk of land.

The thing that strikes me the most about Woodstock was that it proved exactly what you said. That, back then, an insanely large number of young people could get together, even get wasted, and have a great time without any violence destroying the function.

Sorry to say, but today...you can't put twenty young people in the same room, add music and drugs and expect half of them to walk out alive. Remember the LAST "Woodstock"? Chaos and destruction.

As far as I'm concerned, the name Woodstock should never have been used for any festival again. It was part of a specific time and culture. Just hijacking the name doesn't make it Woodstock.

Point of interest: From what I understand...Emerson, Lake and Palmer were scheduled to play, but something happened where they were unable to make the festival. I would have LOVED to have been able to see an ELP performance at Woodstock, even if it was in video form much later.

 

[kopfhorer1]

Hmm, Emerson, Lake & Palmer were active from 1970 on, so no chance of them playing Woodstock '69.

Otherwise, you've nailed things dead-on as usual. Great post!

 

[Dr. Bill Kobb]

In poetic terms Woodstock was sort of the last gasp for the flower power generation. It was followed shortly after by Altamont, the killings at Kent State, the Manson Family murders, and just an overwhelming flood of "bad vibes", man.

On the other hand, the Grateful Dead managed to keep some of that sense of hippy dippyness going for a good decade or two past it's prime.

Interestingly, it's almost impossible to find any acid these days. Here's why. 😱

 

[melanie2]

hmm i was in junior high..and i really don't remember hearing much about it back then..of course since, i've seen clips, movie takes etc...i wouldn't have wanted to attend..as it was super crowded..and the sanitation wasn't so great..

 

[Dave2112]

Hmm, Emerson, Lake & Palmer were active from 1970 on, so no chance of them playing Woodstock '69.

Otherwise, you've nailed things dead-on as usual. Great post!

Oh, I know they weren't active then, but I can swear I read where ELP were playing together and were going to be at Woodstock. A lot of the acts there weren't THAT big at the time they played the festival. I could be wrong about this, but I've had that in my head for a very long time...must've come from somewhere. I'll poke around a bit, maybe I'm off base. Hmmm....

EDIT: Ok, did some poking around. The band I was thinking of was King Crimson, and the fact that Greg Lake was the vocalist/bassist at the time probably skewed my memory of the information.

Interesting thing, though...and it has a little to do with Woodstock alumni. King Crimson played at the same venue as a band called The Nice a couple of times. The Nice's keyboardist was, of course, Keith Emerson and he and Lake found they had a lot in common in what they wanted to do with music. Birth of ELP. They needed a drummer, and the first person they approached was Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Mitch wasn't interested, but he passed the info off to Jimi, who WAS interested. Jimi was a bit tired of his band and wanted to try new things. Scheduling conflicts prevented it at first, but there was a jam session planned after ELP did their Isle of Wight concerts. After those, Jimi joining was planned to take place. In fact, the British press got wind of it and started dubbing the possible band HELP (Hendrix, Emerson, Lake and Palmer).

Unfortunately, Jimi passed away a couple weeks before the collaboration was to take place.

Imagine what a band that would have been.

 

[Dave2112]

hmm i was in junior high..and i really don't remember hearing much about it back then..of course since, i've seen clips, movie takes etc...i wouldn't have wanted to attend..as it was super crowded..and the sanitation wasn't so great..

Sweetie...it was the late '60's. Sanitation wasn't that great anywhere. 😀