LAST NIGHT : WOODSTOCK

Last night I watched The Director's Cut of Woodstock, after going to see Late Night in the afternoon.  Late Night gained credible reviews of 80%/84% from Rotten Tomatoes.  Starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, the numbers tell the story.  The film was excellent.  Box Office Mojo had it at #9 for the weekend, with a disappointing Men in Black International at #1.  Understandable, as Rotten Tomatoes had this movie at 25%/66%.  But let me stop here, for I'd like to focus on one of the epic films of all time.

I've been here and there mentioning Woodstock in my past few postings.  That is because I have a special fascination for that festival, as, perhaps, I helped invent the concept, described in one of my postings five years ago:

My interest in this gathering goes back to 1967 when I was a process engineer with the Hutchinson Sugar Company in Naalehu, and was asked to do something different for their annual fair.   To quote from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth:

..annual July 4th Fair, organized what I called The First Annual Battle of the Bands, which might have been the first rock concert held in Hawaii. It was a huge success. Oh, what an impresario future I might have had if I continued that thrust. I think I invented the concept. There were no such things as Woodstock in the early 60’s, where rock groups came together to entertain the public in an outdoor setting.

Thus, when Pearl and I were in Hersey on our way to Montreal in August of 1969, and that was half a century ago, we could, too, have joined the half a million or so in Bethel, Pennsylvania for Woodstock.  It would have been a mild deviation on the way to Montreal.  I was really tempted, but chose not to go.  

Why?  Not every challenge is worthy of acceptance, especially when it shows signs of being patently idiotic.  I was in a group of half a dozen classmates during the Spring break of '61, when we were charged-up to drive to Fort Lauderdale, where the Boys Were (song by Connie Francis), then join the Bay of Pigs adventure.  I simply chickened out, and subsequently, no one went.  

Same reason why, after graduating from Stanford in 1962, after most of my close classmates joined the Peace Corps, I decided not to fancifully attend Sophia University in Tokyo to pursue an art career, and showed up in Naalehu, the Southernmost Point in the USA, to become a factory engineer.

Finally, I elected to continue my engineering studies at LSU instead of entering New York University's law program.  I took the more secure and financially sensible option.  Frankly, I'm glad I backed off on those opportunities.  My life could have so very different.  Doubt if I'd today be in a state of Euphoria 3 if I went down all those other pathways.

Some facts about the Woodstock Festival:

• R-rated film earned 100% / 92% ratings from Rotten Tomatoes
• most probable audience of 400,000
• tickets cost $7-$24, depending on purchase details
• but ticket-taking was abandoned
• so only $1.5 million revenues, not close to defraying the $2.5 million production cost

• however, the film ($50 million) and recordings more than made up the difference
• in 1970 the film won an Oscar for documentaries
• did you know that Joe Cocker was once young and good looking?

• amazingly, no confirmed violence occurred, although there were three accidental deaths, one fatality was in a mud-covered sleeping bag run over by a tractor collecting debris
• there were no births, but up to eight miscarriages
• there were 33 musical acts, and only 18 or so made or wanted to be in the film cut, leaving out Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Blood Sweat & Tears and others

• those that showed up were paid as little as $375, and the amount each got pretty much indicated how popular they were in 1969
• Janis Joplin was was given $7500 in cash at the venue after she performed
• the final performer, Jimi Hendrix, got the most ($18,000) and closed the festival, but by 9AM on Monday, August 17, the crowd had diminished to 25,000, many helping to clean up
• his The Star-Spangled Banner was said to be momentous

• however, he did not destroy his guitar
• he did that twice, both in 1967
• London
• Monterey
• organizers were all in their 20's
• Woodstock was 70 miles away from Bethel

• counterculture, hippies, Vietnam War protests, peace, flowers, acid...
• food variety ran out on Day One, but no one starved, as there were ample supplies of free brown rice and granola
• hamburger and hot dog prices were raised from 25 cents to $1, so the attendees burned down the stand
• The U.S. Army saved the concert by providing food, water and medical supplies...some irony to those protests

• the rain muddied the whole place and delayed performances, so that Crosby Stills Nash took to the stage at 3AM
• traffic was so bad that Iron Butterly never made it
• Bethel, briefly, became the third largest city in New York
• Governor Nelson Rockefeller declared the whole thing a disaster area
• the original film ran for 185 minutes, while The Director's Cut, released in 1994, went on for 224 minutes

Will there be a Woodstock 2?  Maybe.  The 50th anniversary celebration was initially announced to occur in Watkins Glen, New York from August 16-18.  Said to have signed up 40 acts for three stages, including contemporary artists celebrating originals like Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix.  There will also be TED-style talks from leading futurists and retro-tech experts, whatever they are.  

Organizers promised total safety with all the food and drinks you want, for a price.  I think that's a bird of peace above.  Oh, the cost, you ask?  $450 for all three days.  A half century of inflation should have brought the price up to only $120.

Oops, one huge problem.  Dentsu of Japan's office in London, the bankroller, indicated it was dropping out and Watkins Glen International Racetrack reported that they will not be hosting the event.  But organizers insisted the show will still go on...August 16, 17 and 18.  But they don't know yet where.  Bethel?  Bad joke.

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