:~)aniel
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Déja Vu, anyone?
My brother just rented the movie "Woodstock," and we're watching it again (for the umpteenth time). I'm reminded again what an incredible experience the whole '60s thing was, and the love and hope that motivated us. Max Yazgur's comment from the stage to the half a million people who attended the concert, that they had shown the whole world something new, was right on the mark. I highly recommend re-renting the movie, if you haven't watched it lately... it might bring tears to your eyes, as it did to mine.
:~)aniel
:~)aniel
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5 comments:
What if we started a RUMOR that there is going to be next spring, a SECOND Woodstock in say, the forests of Eastern Arizona? I remember a motorcycling camp-out and jam session at a little town who's name I can't remember, next to a stream. Only one building in town - a clapboard shack - that was the post office, telephone booth and general store. Two rooms. The owner slept in the back. About a mile off the highway and they DID have electricity - and a traffic light.
Yazgur's Farm I have heard is under development as a housing project or Wal-Mart or something and the town nearby is selling legendary legends and tea.
WOODSTOCK: Could it "happen" again somewhere? Maybe SEVERAL somewhere's? Would the government permit it?
Probably not. All of us - naked, stoned and covered in mud - would probably be tasered.
Of course y'all know there were two other attempts to recreate the original Woodstock, one in 1995 and again in 1999. Here's how those events are summed up on Wikipedia (wikipediaq.org):
"Woodstock 1999 was the second rock concert (after Woodstock 1994) that attempted to emulate the success of the original Woodstock concert of 1969. Like the previous concerts with the same name, it was held in upstate New York, this time near Rome. The concert, with an estimated 200,000 attendees, was marred by eruptions of violence, sexual assault, and looting. Though many concertgoers reported enjoying the event the consensus was that it failed to emulate the "peace and love" environment of 1969, and it was also economically unprofitable."
I like Ron's idea, though. That one might actually have some potential!
My son Coleman became a Jimi Hendrix fan at age 12 after an brief earlier flirtation with Milli Vanilli as his fave. He eventually wound up owning about 25 Hendrix CDs and once sheepishly asked me "Dad .. did you ever meet Hendrix?" No, but I saw him play at the Newport Rock Festival in Orange County in 1968, the year before Woodstock.
I always loved the fact that Coleman was so musically astute but never knew exactly where that fascination with Jimi began until last year when I found a Todd McFarlane Hendrix action figure and gave it to Coleman for Xmas. "And what's great dad, is that it's Hendrix at Woodstock .. and that's where it all began." I asked him what he meant and he said, "Don't you remember (he says that a lot) .. you showed us the Woodstaock movie and that's the first time I saw Hendrix!"
This past weekend he camped out with his girlfriend and another young couple at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee where he called to tell me that he had connected with his "inner hippie" and was going barefoot in the mud for three days listening to John Prine and Toots and the Maytals & the Yonder Mountain Bluegrass Band,
and his personal favorite Bob Weir & Ratdog, playing Dead tunes into the nite.
Far as I know Hendrix wasn't there, but it's clear to me that the spirit of Woodstock is still alive in a good many of the current generation. As near as I could tell, they were just having 3 days of fun & music .. and nothing but fun and music.
Wow, Marty, what a great story. The Spirit of Woodstock, still alive and well... gotta love it! Thanks for sharing...
:~)
Oh, and thanks to whoever it was (Jimmy?) that put the Woodstock stamp logo on the post, that's cool!
In accompanyment to Marty's great story (above): Hendrix at Woodstock, playing
"Red House"
And doing a little ""Woodstock Improvisation"".
Enjoy!
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