Woodstock

Yes

otm!

Even the acid was bad at Woodstock (it's in the movie!)

Looking back a bit:

And there are articles scattered throughout 1969-70 issues of Rolling Stone about failed festivals — either because permits didn’t clear, or because hippie scam artists announced an amazing lineup that never showed (and probably wasn’t supposed to show).

Related to which, I happily kicked down for this (successfully funded) effort:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gormanbechard/powder-ridge-music-festival-sex-drugs-no-rock-and-roll/description

I've read about this legendary botch before:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_Ridge_Rock_Festival

And look forward to a film on same -- the guy behind this did the really wonderful Grant Hart documentary among other things so I'm looking forward to see what he and his team create.

Seems like there may have been some early revisionism---for inst, in Buried Alive, her Joplin bio, Myra Friedman said that a lot of people coming back to NYC, like one of her neighbors, reported that conditions were dire, and the Times ran a piece titled "Nightmare in the Catskills"---but then, somehow, there was a turn-around: Times had much nicer follow-ups, maybe with some exclusive interviews? And son enough, Friedman's neighbor was "dancing all over the building," talking about what a groovy historical event it was.

🚨🚨exciting update:

I have acquired the full 38 disc set (or mr veg acquired it for me because he lives to serve)

i am go for launch :D

sweetwater here you come...

i’m going to go find a hot dog, can u watch my blanket? i should be back in (muffled sounds)

sweetwater but no fever dog :/ (jk)

Not waitin 4 Wstock:

Hey kids - that’s the Byrds playing at Jane Fonda’s Fourth of July party 1965 - photo by Dennis Hopper. pic.twitter.com/M5l4E26YTl

— Pat Thomas (@PatThomas1964) July 4, 2022

Glad you got the set there, VG, through whatever means. :-D (My big ol' actual box sets right near my desk.)

liveblog plz

i am almost through to end of sweetwater, “come down from the tower” plea from nanci & the band

real talk:
i think it might be something to do with 15 years or so going to Bridge School, and a life of attending looser sundry outdoor festivals of all kinds -listening to the full show really hits me in a much different way than i expected. sense of history for the vibe, the stage announcements & all the attendant ephemera that goes with this … and the acts that don’t really exist anymore except in the context of Woodstock

i’m just really locked into this groove man ✌🏻

(apparently there was a VH1 biopic about Sweetwater featuring Michelle Williams !)

Bert Sommer now - he sounds like a dream from the first bar, really just entranced by this dude, what a voice my god. Kind of a Donovan vibe if its ok to say (voice quality i mean)

fun fact: he was in West Coast production of Hair & it is his irl hair on the original show poster so how about that

BILL MCGEE PLEASE BRING THE MEDICINE TO THE INFORMATION BOOTH

already annnouncer’s tone is IF YOU FREAKS DONT GET OFF THAT GODDAMN TOWER RIGHT NOW SO HELP ME I WILL TURN THIS CONCERT AROUND I AM NOT KIDDING

[few hours delay for dinner & life stuff]

back to the show & Tim Hardin up next
love his voice so much, seems incredibly talented
reading backstory about him & between the addiction/talent he sounds a bit reminiscent of Gram Parsons, he didn’t exactly endear himself to the ppl around him

i will def seek out his albums though, just gorgeous stuff here

again with “get off the #^%*! scaffolding”

update: everyone is now off the scaffolding

FLAT BLUE ACID IS POISON
BE COOL

and now Ravi Shankar <3
looking forward to hearing this full set!

goddamn ravi’s tutorial is cool as hell & so charming. a great way to ensure a captive audience

Melanie is a nice surprise for me
I only previously knew a couple of her songs from her later heyday around “Brand New Key”

but she really has a very strong natural singing voice, and as far as i have heard she could absolutely hold her own w the folkies of the day.

v enjoyable set imo

i feel bad saying this but I do not dig Arlo Guthrie a whole lot

he is Not For Me™️

tells the worlds longest story about Moses which is about as much fun as listening to an acid-head talk, ymmv with that but ugh no thanks . dude could talk the leg off a table just sitting around drawing breath

and here i pause to sleep