Woodstock 2019

     August 15-18, 1969, more than 500,000 people gathered at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm in upstate Bethel, New York.  What happened was a LOT more than just a concert!!  This was a legendary event that defined a generation through the voices of the singers and those who were there.  This was a pivotal moment in popular music history as well as the nexus for the counterculture generation.  It was billed as ‘an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.‘  Thirty-two acts performed outdoors despite heat and sporadic rain.

     Many events occurred in the United States prior to Woodstock.  Richard Nixon succeeded Lyndon Baines Johnson as president.  US troops numbered at 543,000 in Vietnam.  There were American draft dodgers living in Canada rather than support this war.  The troops were fighting an unpopular war that the US could not win.  The government published false information about the war and this was later leaked in the Pentagon Papers.  Three hundred students stormed and occupied Harvard University’s administration building in protest.  Charles Manson’s LSD crazed cult killed actress Sharon Tate and seven others including Tate’s unborn child.  In the autumn, the largest peaceful protest in US history happened on October 15 in Washington DC .  This was a time of more social and political upheaval than most Americans had witnessed before.  

     Putting this concert together was a very difficult process!!  The team was forced out of their first venue when the town of Wallkill, NY voted against the concert.  It was estimated that about 50,000 people would descend on the town?  Helicopters were used to find another location and it was mandatory because many tickets had already been sold.  The time span before the concert had now shrunk by five weeks.  There was crowd control provided by Wavy Gravy of Hog Farm??  No one knows what their credentials were??  It was estimated that 400,000 people were there the first day.  Second day attendance jumped by at least 100,000 people. Single day tickets were $6.50 and three-day passes were $18.  Many people didn’t have tickets and there wasn’t any way to get people to pay for tickets and also collect purchased tickets.               Fortunately, only two people died at the festival.  One person had a drug overdose, another person was sleeping in a sleeping bag under a tractor and he was run over.  I wonder if this type of event could be held today?

     There is supposed to be a Woodstock Festival this summer August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York.  Tickets will be around $450!!  It seems that today even small gatherings risk someone or a group coming in with automatic weapons!!   4* (I really liked this movie)

106 min, Doc directed by Barak Goodman and Jamila Ephron with Joan Baez, David Crosby, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Jon Jaboolian, Hugh Romney, Joel Rosenman, Stephen Stills, Max Yasgur.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 83% critic 85% audience, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 3 reviews, Indiewire.com Grade: B-, David Ehrlich, Metacritic 66 out of 100 with 9 critics, Letterboxd average 3.5* out of 5*.  

Special Note:  This film won an Oscar for Best Documentary feature.  The assistant director on the original film was 27 year old Martin Scorsese.