30 Apr What About Woodstock?
1969 was an interesting year for lots of reasons. The United States was involved with the Vietnam war, Nixon became president of the USA, and guy landed on the moon, to name a couple. And then. . .there was Woodstock.
The majority of us have attended a concert and appreciated hearing a band play for a massive crowd. There’s nothing about the power of being able to watch musicians up close, doing what they love, and hearing your favorite tunes live. However, when it comes to crowds and concerts, there’s really nothing quite like what occurred in Bethel, New York, in August of 1969.
It’s estimated that half a million people showed up with this concert that lasted a few days and showcased several bands. The organizers had not anticipated anywhere near that big of a crowd, and due to it, the amenities were not even close to adequate. Just imagine: toilet facilities, food, and shelter (it rained off and on during that weekend) to get a crowd that large, when they had been originally planning for a group that was half that size.
Originally, thousands of tickets were sold for the concert. But it did not wind up taking place at which it was initially going to. With the change in location, the organizers did not have sufficient time to look after the details in the venue. Just days before the event was to start, they were attempting to determine whether they should set a fence for safety and entrance points for assessing tickets, or end building a suitable stage for the performers. People began coming early and the decision was made to concentrate on the stage and the concert was then declared free.
Once word was out that there would not be a charge, hundreds of thousands of people began to go to the concert grounds. The traffic was so horrendous that the freeways actually became completely stalled up. People left their cars and made their way on foot. Some people never made it, only due to the nightmare that the traffic position created.
The audience was largely made up of young people involved with the hippie movement. The festival is remembered as being a time of rock n’ roll, but also an event where sex and drugs were rampant, too. But unusually, with all these people and the potential for chaos being so high, Woodstock was predominantly peaceful. No riots or violence, without any major issues. People literally came together, shared their sources, relaxed, did drugs, and appreciated the songs.
Woodstock was a one-time bargain; it’s nevertheless this epic thing that happened in the audio world. Richie Havens, one of the performers at Woodstock, afterwards said this: “Woodstock wasn’t about sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. It had been about spirituality, about love, about sharing and supporting each other, living in peace and harmony for three days.” Whatever it was or wasn’t, it is an interesting piece of history in the 20th century, in addition to a comment on how much we enjoy music and the abilities of others.
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These links supplied that the information for this post:
http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1969.htm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstockq
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=czFr_kJCdKQ
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