There’s an event on November 7th at Unity of Vancouver that caught my eye from a band that aims to keep the original spirit of Woodstock from 1969 alive, Cosmic Caravan. It’s meant to be a tribute, featuring songs of artists who performed at the original festival.
You may have heard of the Woodstock festival before as one of the most peaceful music events ever, with memorable artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Santana, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Many who attended the original Woodstock reminisce on the good times since it’s a symbol of the ideals of peace and love in the 1960’s.
If you’ve seen the 1970’s documentary of the event, you may remember the event wasn’t all love and drugs. It was a complete nightmare for organizers of the event. You expected a smaller crowd, but half a million people unexpectedly showed up, and suddenly the event became free. Artists demanded money before performing, and there were panicked negotiations, begging the local banks to open after hours for emergency loans.
As for the crowds, an event that lasted four days with a massive crowd gets messy. For half a week, you’re stuck in mud, running short on food and water, and you lack access to nearby washrooms. Despite all the chaos, at least it became a significant cultural icon of peace and music. The same can’t be said for Woodstock ‘99, which was the complete opposite of peace and love. Instead, it was about riots and violence.
It had similar issues to the original: poor planning with nearly half a million people, lack of food and water, and an even worse case of sanitization. Above all, the toxic crowd is what put the name of Woodstock in the mud.
Before the chaos of the crowd, the aim of Woodstock ‘99 on the surface was to keep the spirit of the original, but it was ultimately about profits, as they charged extreme amounts of money for admissions, and they cut corners for sanitation, security, and shading. They even charged high prices for necessities like water under extreme heat conditions. These are a few things that led to the event literally going down in flames by an enraged crowd fueled by alcohol and aggression.
While this upcoming Woodstock tribute concert is from a smaller band, hopefully the event still goes well and captures what people remember fondly about the original Woodstock.