One of the problems I had with Woodstock in 1969, was I saw it as stage for a bunch of B-list music acts: none of the biggies showed up such as the Rolling Stones and the Doors, as well as any number of other acts.
The treatise linked misses the point, IMO, because the author fails to address what the thing was: An exemplar for what not to do with an outdoor music festival.
Woodstock was the first and the worst. Much better venues were to follow over the years since.
As an aside, also IMMHO, the only decent act that was there was a newly formed Mountain, a band that is still touring to this day.
A taste from TFA:
Sickeningly, an effluvium of nostalgia over the debacle concert near the town of Woodstock, New York in August of 1969 is everywhere. It’s the big 4-0. We should take this anniversary to remember that the catch phrase of the Woodstock generation eventually became “don’t trust anyone over 30.” In the case of the white wash of what really happened with the concert in Max Yasgur’s field, the warning is fitting because the truth seems to be forgotten for the fluffy propaganda of how wonderful the concert was. The concert is also emblematic of some of the vapid 60’s generation — by no means all of them, but the worst of them, to be sure. |