WOODSTOCK: Three Days That Defined A Generation, 50th Anniv. Aug. 15-18, 1969

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Fri Aug 16, 2019, 12:50 AM - Edit history (1)

Trailer. Now airing on PBS TV Channels,

or *WATCH Online (90 mins.): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/woodstock/#part01

WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION (2019) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2019 and opened in select theaters on May 24, 2019. Click here to find a screening near you.

In August 1969, nearly half a million people gathered at a farm in upstate New York to hear music. What happened over the next three days, however, was far more than a concert. It would become a legendary event, one that would define a generation and mark the end of one of the most turbulent decades in modern history.

Occurring just weeks after an American set foot on the moon, the Woodstock music festival took place against a backdrop of a nation in conflict over sexual politics, civil rights and the Vietnam War. A sense of an America in transition—a handoff of the country between generations with far different values and ideals—was tangibly present at what promoters billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music.

Woodstock turns the lens back at the audience, at the swarming, impromptu city that grew up overnight on a few acres of farmland. What took place in that teeming mass of humanity — the rain-soaked, starving, tripping, half-a-million strong throng of young people — was nothing less than a miracle of teamwork, a manifestation of the “peace and love” the festival had touted and a validation of the counter-culture’s promise to the world. Who were these kids? What experiences and stories did they carry with them to Bethel, New York that weekend, and how were they changed by three days in the muck and mire of Yasgur’s farm?

The Youngbloods, 'Get Together' (Woodstock, Aug. 15-18, 1969)

[appalachiablue]

1. Country Joe, Anti-Vietnam War Song, Woodstock Aug. 1969

[In_The_Wind]

2. We still have the tickets. Mr I_T_W arrived 0n 8/14/69.

He has been telling me about all his wonderful memories.


... ...

[appalachiablue]

3. Terrific, how lucky you folks are to have experienced

this beautiful festival. Feel free to share!

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. I went, with a couple of my brothers and a new girlfriend. It was not much "peace and music" as

much as crowded, muddy, and, with the rain, the music was heard thru the hiss of rain ponchos. Honestly, I had little memory of the music and performers...till the movie came out a year later.

Am I glad I went? Sure, I guess. But to all those who wanted to go and couldn't or didn't: you didn't miss much. See the movie(s) That was better than the real thing, IMHO.

Oh, and "Don't take the brown acid, it's bad shit, man"

Being at the 1st Obama Inaugural. Now THAT was a transformative experience!

[Mr.Bill]

6. I didn't go but I was on the east coast

a few weeks after and talked to people who went. They pretty much said the same thing you do, and they were very pissed off that they bought tickets and then they let people in for free.

[FailureToCommunicate]

7. Yup. Well if those people KEPT their tickets...

they’re worth a LOT more ( than what the paid back then) on eBay I bet.

[appalachiablue]

8. Incredible post

[appalachiablue]

5. So if you don't get a good place or seat, can't see or hear well

and the weather isn't fine for an event, just stay home. Watch it on TV, nice and comfortable, no hassles- for a Super Bowl, music concert, March on Washington, holiday parade, inauguration- yeah, Lol.

'But to all those who wanted to go and couldn't or didn't: you didn't miss much. See the movie(s) That was better than the real thing, IMHO.'

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. I was eleven years old at the March on Washington 1963. ML King's speach was

powerful and unforgetable...

OF COURSE it's better to attend important events rather than just sit on a couch and watch it on TV.

I was just trying to say to the -seemingly- zillions of people lately that regret not having gone to Woodstock, that in that case the

"wonder" of the event has been overly romanticized in the decades since.

[appalachiablue]

10. Like millions of others I'm appreciating not 'romanticizing' anything.

Woodstock and the counterculture revolution of the 1960s and 1970s was one the most significant movements of the 20th century by any measure.

As for inaugurals, I attended Obama's in 2009, both Clinton-Gore affairs, and several governors' inaugurals over the years and more, they're very special and important political events. Complete with mishaps which people expect and overcome in order to get the most out of public events on that level. Standard.

[The King of Prussia]

11. I'm currently listening to the 38 CD archive of the event.

Which is good, with a couple of caveats - the interminable stage announcements are a bit wearing (although there was one for Don Felder); there is not much crowd noise - so it doesn't really convey the scale of the event. Some of the performances are good, some not so much - but I still have a lot of the big hitters to listen to. Best so far, by a distance, Sly & The Family Stone.