March 19, 2024

40 years after ... why Woodstock still matters

Aug. 2, 2009
40 Years After...
Why Woodstock Still Matters

By Rick Coates 8/3/09

August 15 will mark the 40th anniversary of the most iconic event in rock
and roll history, The Woodstock Music & Art Fair, a three-day festival of
peace and music. Some of the original organizers and performers will
return to what was once Max Yasgur’s dairy farm (about 40 miles from the
town of Woodstock) for a reunion concert next weekend. In Northern
Michigan this weekend the Roscommon Rotary has a two-day fundraising event
(Woodstock North and Art de Vin) planned to celebrate Woodstock.
Woodstock was born out of ads placed in the New York Times and Wall Street
Journal by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman stating “Young men with
unlimited capital looking for interesting, legitimate investment
opportunities and business propositions.” Michael Lang and Artie Kornfield
responded to the ad, initially proposing a new type of rural recording
facility before the four decided on a major music festival.
What started out as a “for-profit” venture became the largest free concert
in history. Some reports say that close to 180,000 advance tickets ($18
apiece) were sold. But by the time most people arrived, Woodstock had
become a free concert with estimates of 500,000 in attendance.

MANY THINGS
Woodstock has become many things to many people. For some it defined a
generation; for others it was a defining moment in their career.
“When we first came to the United States it was difficult to find our
way,” said Roger Daltry, lead singer of The Who. “After our first tour, we
were ready to throw in the towel on the U.S. and never play here again,
until we played the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. That was our first
defining moment as a band. But it was two years later, when we went on at
4 a.m. at Woodstock, and we played a two-and-a-half hour set that
immortalized us in the world of rock and roll.”
Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane agrees; his band followed The Who.
“It was a defining moment for every band there, regardless of your
previous success,” said Kantner. “We all looked at it as another gig but
when you took the stage and looked out at half a million people you
realized this was the gig of a lifetime.”
Wavy Gravy, who served as the MC and head of security for Woodstock,
became famous for his statement, “What we have in mind here is breakfast
in bed for 400,000 people.” He felt that no one knew that the moment they
were in would define their generation, the generation of “peace and love.”
“I think I finally realized it a few days after Woodstock when our group
(Hog Farm Collective, the famous hippie commune) was on its way to the
next festival down in Texas and we saw an article in Time Magazine about
Woodstock and I think as I read that editorial and the fact that we were
able to assemble 500,000 people without incident, says a lot for our
generation and our message of peace.”

ROADTRIP
Not everyone went to Woodstock because they were part of the peace movement.
“We saw an advertisement in a magazine and being the adventurous type, we
decided to go,” said Mike Shaw, now a CPA in Traverse City with the firm
of Dennis, Gartland and Niergarth. “My friend and I heard that Bob Dylan
lived in Woodstock and was going to perform. He was a recluse in those
days and didn’t perform often, so we grabbed a couple of our female
friends and headed off.”
Dylan ended up not performing, but Shaw was not disappointed by the
experience.
“We had ordered tickets but by the time we arrived Friday afternoon it was
a free concert,” said Shaw. “We parked about five miles away and walked.
We saw the start, but I was concerned because it was raining and muddy and
I had my dad’s van and I didn’t want it to be stuck. So Friday night we
drove about 100 miles and found a hotel. Well, my buddy and I both had
long hair and we were soaking wet and were told the hotel was full. So we
drove around back sent the girls in and they got us a room. It was nice to
take showers.”
Shaw remembers traveling back Saturday morning.
“When we left I noticed there were military and service vehicles turning
down another road, so we stopped at a gas station and this old timer gave
us directions the back way in. We ended up parking a few hundred yards
away.”
Wanting to get a jump start on the crowds Shaw ended up leaving on Sunday
to return to Detroit.
“Someone in our group had to work on Monday  so we left. I just remember
that we didn’t have any money to speak of and we were all starving,” said
Shaw. “We stopped at this market and bought one large steak to share among
the four of us. I had a small hibatchi grill and some charcoal, but we
basically ate the steak raw.”

NEW MUSEUM
Two years ago Shaw was passing through New York the same weekend of the
original Woodstock and decided to stop by the former festival grounds.
“There is a large concert auditorium and Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie
were performing in honor of the 38th anniversary so I went,” said Shaw.
“They were building a museum at the time and now that is opened so I am
taking my brother and going for the 40th anniversary this year and am
looking forward to seeing the museum. My brother didn’t go to the original
concert so he is excited as well.”
Attorney Jerry Brabant of Roscommon was a big fan of a lot of the
musicians at Woodstock so for him it was a no-brainer to go.
“I grew up in Detroit and saw a lot of these bands at the Grande. I was a
senior at Western Michigan I think I saw an ad in Newsweek about
Woodstock, so my buddies and I decided to go,” said Brabant. “We figured
we would get our tickets when we got there and when we arrived Friday
afternoon it had become free to get in. So we pitched our tent in the rain
and watched the opening night.”
While conditions were chaotic and food and drink were limited, Brabant and
his buddies decided to be enterprising.
“We found transportation to town and bought several cases of pop and went
back to sell them,” said Brabant. “We used the boxes to create signs.
Since everyone was so high we decided to confuse them. We had a line and a
sign that said ‘one can free’ and another sign and line that said ‘three
cans for a dollar.’ Well, these guys would get in the one-can-for-free
line and say they needed two cans and we told them they would have to go
to the end of the other line. It was pretty funny. But before the festival
ended people, started figuring it out and we pretty much broke even.”
Brabant decided he was in no rush to return home so they stayed a couple
more days.
“A lot of people did,” said Brabant. “We took our time getting home. I had
been drafted, so a couple of weeks later I went into the Army and six
months later I was in Vietnam.”

HITCH-HIKING HOME
For John Hover, principal owner of True North Golf Course in Harbor
Springs, going to Woodstock was something all of his friends were doing.
“I was in high school and everyone was talking about it. I lived about
three hours from the festival grounds. I knew my parents wouldn’t let me
go, so I just did,” said Hover. “We left two days before Woodstock
started. We took an old van and it broke down at Woodstock so we ended up
hitchhiking back a couple days after it all ended.”
How did Hover keep his parents from finding out?
“I didn’t, but I wanted to go so I figured it would be better to face the
punishment after the fact, versus asking them and having them tell me no.
When I came up missing, they called some of my parent’s friends and
figured out where I was at,” said Hover. “I go in big trouble when I got
back. I had to work hard labor for my father for three months without pay.
My family owned a logging business, and he worked me like a dog. Plus I
lost my car for six months. But it was worth every minute of it.”
So does Hover remember anything about Woodstock?
“One thing that was pretty wild was that there were so many people that
when we were in the center of the crowd you couldn’t find the outskirts.
You just walked in circles and where there wasn’t a person there was a
tree.”

STARVING ARTIST
Woodstock billed itself as a music & arts festival, but the art seems to
be a forgotten aspect as the focus in the media accounts was all about the
music.
“I went there as a starving artist,” said Sarah Colson of Gaylord. “I was
28 and just starting out as an elementary school art teacher. I loaded all
my paintings into my boyfriend’s VW Bus and we drove from East Lansing. I
got in for the two dollar artist vendor fee.  I didn’t make a dollar -- I
gave all my works away because no one had any money and I may have been a
little stoned myself.”
Colson, now retired, plans to head back next weekend for the anniversary
concert.
“It changed my life,” said Colson. “I love telling my grandkids that
anything is possible. Woodstock proved that to a lot of us. Despite the
weather, the lack of food, drink and for me not having a bathroom for five
days, 500,000 people figured out how to get along. Maybe it was the
drugs—I like to think it was more than that.”
Figuring not everyone will be able to make it back for the Woodstock 40th
Anniversary Concert next week the Roscommon Rotary is hosting two events
this weekend. On Friday night they will celebrate the music of Woodstock
with the Woodstock North party. They are asking all to dress the part. The
festivities get underway at 8 p.m. and there is no cover charge. On
Saturday, August 8 they will celebrate with Art de Vin featuring Michigan
wines, beers, spirits, foods and more than 20 Michigan artists displaying
their works.  Art de Vin starts at 5 p.m. with a musical afterglow party
starting at 8 p.m.
Both events will feature the Catch and Release Blues and a silent auction
with proceeds benefiting the Higgins Lake Non-Motorized Trailway at Art du
Jour, an afterschool and summer youth arts program. Both events take place
at Forest Dunes Golf Club.
“We are excited to celebrate Woodstock and whether you were there or not,
you wish you could have been. So we see this as a lot of fun,” said Barb
Costello, event coordinator with the Roscommon Rotary. “We are very
excited that the proceeds will benefit worthy causes. We are in the early
stages of fundraising for the Trailway project and this weekend will go a
long way in helping us raise the much needed funds.”

For additional information on Woodstock North or Art de Vin check out
forestdunesgolf.com or call 989-275-0700 ext. 148. For more information
about Woodstock, the new documentary, Michael Lang’s new book or the
upcoming anniversary concert, check out Woodstock.com.


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