Woodstock 1969

[Wayne LaFoy]

It's been 40 years since the greatest music festival of all time happened. I was way too young to attend, at the time & my parents were way too square, along with most of my relatives. If I would have been old enough, I would have gone to Woodstock, no doubt about it. I would have also gone to Monterey, two years before & Altamont a few months after it. Woodstock defines the sixties, celebrating hippies, long hair, sex, drugs, anti-war, anti-establishment & great rock & roll. The Who, Hendrix, Ten Years After, CSN&Y & Country Joe & The Fish gave the best performances in the original documentary. I have seen most of the classic performances from Janis Joplin, CCR, the Airplane, the Dead & Blood, Sweat & Tears that weren't in the original one. I saw the whole set from Jimi Hendrix, a few years ago, from Woodstock, which is his finest moment. Michael Lang shouldn't do a 40th anniversary concert, those days are long gone & let the memories, the music & the documentary, do the talking. When I first heard of Woodstock, in the early 70's, I thought the Beatles & the Stones were there. I had to put my two cents worth in, since everybody else will in August.