Woodstock!

I find it interesting that the creators of Woodstock were able to put together such a huge event in such a small town. When we look back at this event as modern day listeners, it may not seem as large, as we have massive music festivals all the time such as ACL or South by Southwest. At the time, however, this was amazing and revolutionary. They were able to centralize a multitude of amazingly talented bands in one place in order to expose many artists to the average listener. They were able to build stages and whatnot in the middle of a dairy farm just outside of the town of Woodstock. These people were very motivated and it cost millions of dollars, but it was definitely worth their while. Today, we are left with one of the most revolutionary, innovative and well known music festivals of all time.

It took a couple of months to set up the entire festival. There were mixed feelings about the festival. Some people believed that it had economic benefits because of the huge influx of fans that were brought into the area. Others worried that the town did not have the infrastructure to support so many people’s needs, including food and transportation. Others still were annoyed that they were disrupting the peace of this quiet area. As I was watching the Woodstock documentary, I noticed so many hippies just aimlessly walking around without purpose. The creators of Woodstock actually way underestimated the number of attendees by about 300,000 people! They also probably way underestimated its legacy. I think Woodstock is so impressive because it united people under one cause to enjoy music. This music had become more evolved in society and represented the current events of the time. Because of this capability of music, it attracted so many people to the festival who wanted to find themselves.

I’m not sure if an event this large could or would ever be pulled off again. The magnitude of this music festival was so large because of the time period in which it took place. Because music and society is forever evolving, I don’t personally believe that people would have the insanity to replicate such an expansive and large event. It’s also crazy to think that they had no cell phones or any other types of communication to the outside world. As I continued to watch this documentary, I found that the people organizing the event really had a lack of control over the situation. They didn’t have much security and no backup plan for the rain. Everyone just went with the flow and I think this is another reason why the festival was so successful. No matter what happened, people were willing to bear through it together, in order to experience such a revolutionary music event.

These people had this attitude because, simply, they were HIPPIES! They were still making the stage literally moments before the first act went on. The noise of the crowd when the concert began was INSANE! It was super loud and I can only imagine the decibel level if I was actually there. If there was a modern day version of Woodstock, I don’t think I would go. Even though it would be insane to be there live, I think the general attitude of today would not highly value this epic live performance. I don’t know if I would want to drown in the mass of humanity in order to just listen to music. In retrospect, though, I believe being able to participate in one of the most influential events in the history of rock and roll would be amazing. I think if they replicated it today, though, there wouldn’t be nearly the numbers they had in 1969.

When they interviewed the hippies I learned about the mentality and lifestyle of the people in attendance. This is another point that makes me believe that such a large event wouldn’t occur again anytime soon. People crowded around, not just for the music, but for answers about society and life itself. The hippies were very content with simply being human and not desiring anything more. Woodstock was a way for a lot of people to come together and share in an enjoyable experience where they could explore and search for answers about themselves. They didn’t have any violence or conflict. People were able to peacefully listen with one another in a general environment of love. In this way, Woodstock went beyond music. It provided a place where society could be reevaluated in a fun and exciting manner.

Just to give you some basis for this festival, I’m going to post some short video clips from the documentary so that you can see the pure energy of the festival.

Richie Havens played a guitar solo that was so full of energy that it just oozed out of him. His soulful voice added to the overall energetic, enthusiastic vibe of Woodstock in general. Haven also is very into the music that he’s performing. Sometimes in modern day, I feel that modern artists simply go through the motions to make money. There were no significant financial gain for these artists and they did it simply for the love of their music and their society. This passion for their art is what makes this music festival seem so different from anything else in history because it was just a group of people united by love and the arts. I can really respect this. Check out this guy:

Another performance that stuck with me was Canned Heat. I genuinely liked their sound. They were very rebellious, which I think perfectly matched the tone of this time period. Check it:

I know I’ve been talking a lot about this festival, but Woodstock could arguably be the most influential and revolutionary event in all of music history!