Woodstock, Isle of Wight

[Free For All]

Lately I've had more than a little fascination with the music & culture of this era (outside of the jazz genre). I recently watched the Woodstock film (excellent sound on the director's cut, BTW), Miles' Isle of Wight performance and Janis Joplin's "Festival Express". I was only 11 in 1969, but was aware of Woodstock without really understanding the cultural significance. After watching the Woodstock film I think it's amazing that the event came off with so few serious issues given the attendance of 500,000. Two deaths and two births.

No way that something like that could ever happen again. What an amazing time as far as the loss of innocence/coming of age aspect of the culture, you know, a gathering of that many diverse facets of society with so few negative moments. How sad that it really couldn't happen again.

I would be interested to hear of any tales related to these large-scale events either by those who may have actually participated, or observations of those who were simply around at the time. As I said, I was a little young at the time to understand the cultural significance, but for whatever reason I really identified with the whole "hippie" culture (and this while I was in MF IOWA!) and feel it contributed to my eventual appreciation of and obsession with art & jazz and identification with the latter's general underground existence. The people I was hanging out with at the time shared that attitude, kind of an oasis in the middle of a conservative land.

Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis with this obsession with the 60s/70s. I dunno- maybe I'm just longing for a different time, given our current culture. But I'm betting that there are some here who probably have some first-hand experiences to share. So thank you in advance.

....and Hendrix's set was some crazy good shit!

Edited November 22, 2008 by Free For All

[A Lark Ascending]

I wasn't at either (too young) though as a rock conscious teenager I read about them.

I do recall at that time my parents saw such things as manifestations of the poverty of contemporary culture/society. They longed for the 1940s (World Wars, atomic bombs etc but didn't everyone look after one another and leave their front doors wide open?).

I love the music of that era and can still enjoy watching Woodstock the film. But even at the time I don't think I believed the mythology. I suspect most of those flower children are retired former-CEOs now.

Going beyond the nostalgia, I do think that era had a sense of possibility, an openness to alternatives that was very much narrowed both politically and socially in the following decades. In music there was a real sense of 'Let's try this'. From the late 70s I became increasingly aware of 'You can't do that' (true of both punk and the Young Lions).

[Free For All]

I suspect most of those flower children are retired former-CEOs now.

Wouldn't that be interesting to know how they ended up?

You know, the one group that (IMHO) really didn't fit on the Woodstock concert was Shanana. They seemed really out of place.

[A Lark Ascending]

I suspect most of those flower children are retired former-CEOs now.

Wouldn't that be interesting to know how they ended up?

You know, the one group that (IMHO) really didn't fit on the Woodstock concert was Shanana. They seemed really out of place.

I remember seeing an extended review of the film on a UK film review programme and one of the clips was Shanana. To my circle rockn'roll was definately yesterdays music so they didn't work at all.

I do recall, however, certain radio DJs still playing the old rockers and bemoaning how the energy had gone out of music. Ten or so years later rock'n roll became fashionable again. So maybe Shanana were ahead of their time.

[JohnS]

My wife was born on the Isle of Wight and went to one of the festivals. When I ask who did she see all she can recall is Tiny Tim!

[sidewinder]

My wife was born on the Isle of Wight and went to one of the festivals. When I ask who did she see all she can recall is Tiny Tim!

He was on right before Miles !

[JohnS]

My wife was born on the Isle of Wight and went to one of the festivals. When I ask who did she see all she can recall is Tiny Tim!

He was on right before Miles !

Miles obviously made a big impression on her! Same today.

[sidewinder]

On the 'Miles Electric' DVD there's a short excerpt of Tiny Tim "singing" 'There'll Always Be An England'. About 1.5 seconds worth ( ) before segueing in to the Main Event.

[AllenLowe]

missed Woodstock - my brother said "let's go" but than we heard traffic was backed up for miles and we decided too much hassle -

I WAS at the Grateful Dead's first NYC Central Park concert in '67 - they were quite fantastic -

not the same thing, I know -

[John L]

I didn't make Woodstock, but I was at the very first big rock festival: Fantasy Fair & Magic Mountain - On Mount Tamalpais in Marin County (SF Bay Area): June, 1967. The Doors, who had just released their first record with "Light My Fire," were the top attraction of the day.

Edited November 23, 2008 by John L

[Jazzmoose]

Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis with this obsession with the 60s/70s.

Nah, that can't be it; I'm going through the same thing, starting to rediscover the music of that time. After all, we're so far apart in age; you were only 11, I was already 11 and a half. So it can't possibly be a midlife crisis...

I remember the second Atlanta International Pop Festival was the next summer, and I was deluded enough to think I could somehow make it. My twelve year old ass was put straight pretty damned fast...

Edited November 22, 2008 by Jazzmoose

[Jazzmoose]

I suspect most of those flower children are retired former-CEOs now.

Well, I doubt that. My guess is that they're just retired average joes now.

[Jazzmoose]

You know, the one group that (IMHO) really didn't fit on the Woodstock concert was Shanana. They seemed really out of place.

I agree. I thought they really stunk up the album as well. But then my 'cool' older (he'd have been 16 then) cousin thought they were okay, so my opinion didn't swing much weight then. If I read his reaction to the arrival of "Happy Days" correctly, he came around to my thinking eventually...

[Stereojack]

I attended Woodstock with my brother and three of our friends. We heard about the event a couple of months in advance, when it was still scheduled to take place in Walkill, NY, as a 2-day event (Saturday & Sunday). The list of performers was staggering, and as music fans, we eagerly anticipated getting a chance to see a whole gang of great bands. We actually sent for tickets, and received them. I still have two of the tickets. Later the promoters added a 3rd day (Friday), and seeing the lineup was mostly folk acts on that day, we chose not to buy the additional tickets. A month or so before the event, the location was switched to a farm in Bethel, NY, and this is where it finally did happen.

On Friday afternoon five of us - me, my friends Dave and Bobby, my brother and his friend Wayne - piled into Dave's 1956 Ford and headed for upstate NY. We ranged in age from 19 - 24. We came prepared - brought our own food and drugs. I don't recall hitting any serious traffic on the way, but perhaps we had timed it right. We arrived around 9 or 10 in the evening, and parked the car and set up the tent we had brought about a half mile from the stage area. After getting settled in we decided to head over to the stage area to check things out, even though we didn't have tickets for Friday. We could hear the music from the tent. When we got to the stage area, it seemed that no one was taking tickets, and we were able to walk right in. Tim Hardin was on stage at that moment. We stayed and listened for a little while and headed back to the tent to crash.

The Saturday show was scheduled to start at 1:00 pm, so we headed over and even though we arrived relatively early, we had to sit pretty far back. A couple of us had brought binoculars, which came in handy later. There was an announcer addressing the crowd repeatedly, and this was when we became aware that this was now a free concert, and that attendance was way beyond what had been anticipated. They kept saying 300, 000 at the time, although that number seems to have grown to 500, 000 by now! I had never been in a crowd so large in my life, although I have to say that the vibes were pretty mellow. Most everybody, including all of us, was pretty stoned anyway. My memory of the actual sequence of acts is hazy today, although I'm sure that information is on line somewhere. We saw Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, Santana, Quill, Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, Incredible String Band, Creedence Clearwater, Janis Joplin, Sly & Family Stone, and a few more. After Sly's set we decided to head back to the tent to crash. It was probably already around 2:00 am and we were very tired. We heard the Who perform "Tommy" while we were walking back, and the Airplane were scheduled for next, but I crashed and never heard them.

The next morning we headed back to the stage area, determined to get better seats, and we did. Joe Cocker began the afternoon, and although I wasn't a fan, Bobby had brought a joint of something very special, and I have to say that Joe's rendition of "I Shall be Released" sounded very sweet. Right after his set the sky got dark, and it became obvious that we were about to be deluged! When it started, we huddled under a poncho, but this wasn't working, so we resigned ourselves to getting drenched. Talk about a buzz kill! The concert was suspended, and being soaked to the skin, we decided to head back to the tent to change and dry off. The rain did eventually stop, and the concert was resumed. The acts that played in the final hours included Crosby, Stills & Nash, Blood Sweat & Tears, and the Band - these are the only ones I can remember. On Sunday evening we crashed a little earlier - it was cold and wet after the rain, and we were tired. To this day, people chide me that I didn't see Hendrix! He came on Monday morning at dawn, and we were sawing wood a half mile away! If you see the film, you will see that the crowd was pretty thin for his set.

On Monday morning we headed back to Boston. It wasn't until afterward that we began to hear about the "cultural milestone" we had participated in.

[A Lark Ascending]

I suspect most of those flower children are retired former-CEOs now.

Well, I doubt that. My guess is that they're just retired average joes now.

Yes. Exaggeration on my part.

I know a head of a maths depatment/chief examiner, a former army man now French teacher and a housewife who were at the IoW. None of them do anything close to 'letting their freak flag fly' today. And they all cut their hair (no 'almost' about it) long ago.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[Hot Ptah]

There have been photo-filled magazine articles about the people pictured on the Woodstock LP cover and what they are doing now. As I recall, the men were mostly bald and a bit overweight, and everyone seemed to have a normal middle class life. No one was a CEO or in prison--everyone had a routine type of life. There was a big media stir in either 1989 or 1994 at either the 20th or 25th anniversary of Woodstock, and that's when the articles were published. I can't remember whether it was 1989 or 1994. It was enough of a media blitz that younger people I knew asked me often about Woodstock then.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Hot Ptah

[BFrank]

I didn't make Woodstock, but I was at the very first big rock festival: Fantasy Fair & Magic Mountain - On Mount Tamalpais in Marin County (SF Bay Area): June, 1967. The Doors, who had just released there first record with "Light My Fire," were the top attraction of the day.

That's the same month/year as the Monterey Pop Festival which I always thought of as the first.

[Quincy]

What an amazing time as far as the loss of innocence/coming of age aspect of the culture, you know, a gathering of that many diverse facets of society with so few negative moments. How sad that it really couldn't happen again.

I have a friend who was at Altamont. There goes your innocence.

Same friend and another (now departed) were at Watkins Glen (1973). Makes sense I've known 2 from the latter since it was the largest festival (at the time) of roughly 600,000. At Watkins one friend arrived the day before and got within reasonable eyesight of the stage. He said they tripped and the Dead came out for their famous "rehearsal set." They had a good ole time, eventually fell asleep in the wee hours and when he woke up around noon or so there were about 1/2 a million people behind him. At least for the Dead portion of the bill (the other 2 acts were The Band and Allman Brothers) the day before far surpassed the actual show.

The "Altamont" friend's Watkins' experience was one of drudgery. He notes he was a chump for actually buying tickets and it took a great deal of effort fighting traffic to get there with an annoying girlfriend in tow. He ended up so far away from the stage that he could barely see it let alone hear the music. Then there was getting out of there and breaking up with the girlfriend.

Though Altamont has a reputation of being the "end of innocence" due to the fatal stabbing, the friend who was there didn't think it was all that different, just turned up a notch. Technical difficulties, Hells Angels, fights, assholes, scammers and lowlifes dealing poor quality drugs weren't anything new for shows of the time. Having a lead singer (Balin) punched out on stage was, but he's made a crack that at least at Altamont you didn't have to worry about the cops beating you up.

[marcello]

I was at Watkins Glen, also with a girlfriend who insisted to go.

I got separated from her and jumped a tall fence which brought me close to the front of the stage, where I ran into a bunch of people from my old neighborhood, a hundred feet from the stage. I remember that the Band's set was nice, and the rest of it was a mess.

I also remember that there was a jam at the end with Richard Manuel drinking a bottle of booze and staring out into the crowd most of the time. Jerry Garcia looked at him and handed Manuel a tambourine at which time Manuel tossed the bottle into the crowd and began playing the tambourine like crazy.

Oh yeah, I picked up a new girlfriend too and went back home with her!

A lot of people from my neighborhood went to Woodstock, the drive is about four hours away. I remember the flyer that were circulated that Summer in the one or two independent record stores and the like, and one guy from the neighborhood was hired as part of the security detail. Everyone came back funky and spaced out! For days they were spaced out.

Edited November 24, 2008 by marcello

[7/4]

A lot of people from my tambourine went to Woodstock, the drive is about four hours away. I remember the flyer that were circulated that Summer in the one or two independent record stores and the like, and one guy from the neighborhood was hired as part of the security detail. Everyone came back funky and spaced out! For days they were spaced out.

We all live in a yellow tambourine.

[John L]

I didn't make Woodstock, but I was at the very first big rock festival: Fantasy Fair & Magic Mountain - On Mount Tamalpais in Marin County (SF Bay Area): June, 1967. The Doors, who had just released there first record with "Light My Fire," were the top attraction of the day.

That's the same month/year as the Monterey Pop Festival which I always thought of as the first.

Magic Mountain was one week earlier: June 9-10. Of course, Monterey Pop was more high powered in terms of talent.

[papsrus]

You know they've built a performance center at the site of Woodstock. There was an article about it in the NYT mag a while back. I'm pretty sure it's on the actual site, with that natural bowl.

[marcello]

A lot of people from my tambourine went to Woodstock, the drive is about four hours away. I remember the flyer that were circulated that Summer in the one or two independent record stores and the like, and one guy from the neighborhood was hired as part of the security detail. Everyone came back funky and spaced out! For days they were spaced out.

We all live in a yellow tambourine.

OOPS! Corrected.

[Aggie87]

A lot of people from my tambourine went to Woodstock, the drive is about four hours away. I remember the flyer that were circulated that Summer in the one or two independent record stores and the like, and one guy from the neighborhood was hired as part of the security detail. Everyone came back funky and spaced out! For days they were spaced out.

We all live in a yellow tambourine.

OOPS! Corrected.

I liked it with tambourine better!

[7/4]

Yeah - me too!

.