It is time for Woodstock at AWT and it will be held this weekend, August 13, 14, and 15. This has become something of a tradition at AWT and we do it every August now. I have 27 hours of the 36 hours of music recorded that weekend (the whole concert except three songs was recorded directly from the soundboard), that is 75%, or ¾ of the concert! I will play it this weekend over the three days in its historical order.
I should mention here the Back to the Garden project. In 2019, being the 50th Anniversary of the
festival, Woodstock Producer/Promoter, Michael Lang (no relation to Ashra),
decided to release all 36 hours of concert recordings made at the soundboard
that weekend. This was a very
limited-edition release with a price tag in the thousands. I was willing to pay it (fueled by my own
love and obsession for this concert, not just for AWT) but there were just no
copies to be had. They went on sale and
sold out before I learned about them (a couple of days later). I hope to have them sometime in the next few
years. This year I continue as I have in
the past, with portions from the board along with other portions from other
sources (bootleg) of varying quality.
If you visit AWT this
week, you will see it slowly transform into the concert grounds as the
stage and other facilities take shape. In the past couple of years, I
have begun to further capture the feel by controlling the time of day
(day/night) on the sim to match what it was during that point of the concert we
experience at AWT. I have also included things like sunny vs. overcast,
rain, and other things. Through the weekend, you will see the festival
grounds at AWT go from pristine to a disaster area. This is truly as close as we could get to
attend the actual 1969 event.
If you missed the original in 1969, this might just be your best chance to
experience the original Woodstock in cyberspace with us at AWT. A number
of people who attended in the past have said that in a way they now felt like
they were there. Below, you will not only find the schedule and times,
but I have printed the entire setlists for this weekend. Furthermore, if
you scroll past the massive setlist, you will find interesting moments you
will hear this weekend, like when the Dead blow their amplifiers or Pete
Townsend of the Who hits Abbie Hoffman over the head with his guitar.
Each event is explained and an approximate time, to the minute, that you will
hear it this weekend.
So pack up your car or micro-bus. Drive as far as you can down the SL
Thruway, then abandon your car and hike the rest of the way to a Woman’s
Touch. When you get here, the chain link fence is down on the
west side of the concert field. It’s a free concert. Roll out your
sleeping bag and enjoy the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, an Aquarian
Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.
Concert Times (all times in SL time)
Friday, August 13
3:30 - 9:15 PM
Saturday, August 15
10:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday, August 16
10:30 AM - 9:15 PM
Here are the setlists for this weekend. Bands and artists with an
asterisk (*) in front of their name denote that we have their complete
set. No song is missing.
Anything marked in RED from here on
is new this year.
Friday, August 13, 3:30-9:15 PM
Richie Havens
Hello
From the Prison
Get Together
From the Prison (Reprise)
High Flying Bird
I Can't Make It Anymore
With a Little Help From My Friends
Handsome Johnny
Strawberry Fields/Hey Jude
Freedom (Motherless Child)
His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda
Festival Blessing
Sweetwater
Motherless Child
Look Out
What’s Wrong
Two Worlds
Why Oh Why
Day Song
*Bert Sommer
Jennifer
The Road to Travel
I Wonder Where You Be
She’s Gone
Things Are Going My Way
And When It's Over
Jeanette
America
A Note That Read
Smile
*Tim Hardin
(How Can We) Hang On to a Dream?
Once-Touched by Flame
If I Were a Carpenter
Reason to Believe
You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie
Speak Like a Child
Snow White Lady
Blues on my Ceiling
Simple Song of Freedom
Misty Roses
*Ravi Shankar
Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital
Tabla Solo in Jhaptal
Raga Majh Khamaj
*Melanie
Close to it All
Momma Momma
Beautiful People
Animal Crackers
Mr. Tambourine Man
Tuning My Guitar
Birthday of the Sun
*Arlo Guthrie
Coming into Los Angeles
Wheel of Fortune
Walkin' Down the Line
The Story of Moses
Oh Mary Don’t You Weep
Every Hand in the Land
Amazing Grace
*Joan Baez
Oh Happy Day
The Last Thing On My Mind
I Shall Be Released
Story about how the Federal Marshalls came to take David Harris into custody
Joe Hill
Sweet Sir Galahad
Hickory Wind
Drug Store Truck Driving Man
I Live One Day at a Time
Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South
Let Me Wrap You in My Warm and Tender Love
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
We Shall Overcome
Saturday, August 14, 10:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Quill
They Live the Life
That's How I Eat
Driftin’
Country Joe McDonald
Janis
Donovan's Reef
Rockin’ Round the World
Flying High
I Seen a Rocket
The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag
*Santana
Waiting
Evil Ways
You Just Don't Care
Savor
Jingo
Persuasion
Soul Sacrifice
Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries
*John B. Sebastian
How Have You Been
Rainbows All Over Your Blues
I Had a Dream
Darlin' Be Home Soon
Younger Generation
The Keef Harley Band
Spanish Fly
Halfbreed Medley: Sinning For You / Leaving Trunk / Just To Cry / Sinning For
You
The Incredible String Band
Invocation
The Letter
Gather Round
This Moment
When You Find Out Who You Are
*Canned Heat
I’m Her Man
Going Up the Country
Leaving This Town
Too Many Drivers at the Wheel
I Know My Baby
Woodstock Boogie
On the Road Again
Mountain
Blood of the Sun
Stormy Monday
Long Red
Who Am I but You and the Sun (For Yasgur's Farm)
Beside the Sea
Theme for an Imaginary Western
Waiting to Take You Away
Dreams of Milk and Honey
Southbound Train
*The Grateful Dead
St. Stephen
Mama Tried
Dark Star
High Time
Turn on Your Love Light
*Creedence Clearwater Revival
Born on the Bayou
Green River
Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)
Bootleg
Commotion
Bad Moon Rising
Proud Mary
I Put a Spell on You
Night Time Is the Right Time
Keep on Chooglin’
Susie Q
*Janis Joplin
Raise Your Hand
As Good As You've Been to This World
To Love Somebody
Summertime
Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)
Kozmic Blues
Can't Turn You Loose
Work Me, Lord
Piece of My Heart
Ball 'n' Chain
*Sly & the Family Stone
M'Lady
Sing a Simple Song
You Can Make It If You Try
Everyday People
Dance to The Music
Music Lover
I Want to Take You Higher
Love City
Stand!
*The Who
Heaven and Hell
I Can't Explain
It's a Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Eyesight to the Blind
Christmas
Acid Queen
Pinball Wizard w/ Abbie Hoffman incident
Do You Think It's Alright?
Fiddle About
There's a Doctor
Go to the Mirror
Smash the Mirror
I'm Free
Tommy's Holiday Camp
We're Not Gonna Take It
See Me, Feel Me
Summertime Blues
Shakin' All Over
My Generation
Sunday, August 15, 10:30 AM – 9:15 PM
The Jefferson Airplane was supposed to end things on Saturday as the last
act of the night but things fell so horribly far behind that they didn't take
the stage until the sun was up Sunday morning. Many purists would say
that they are a Saturday act and after their set, there was a several-hour
break in the music. I figured if they played in daylight on Sunday, I'll
classify them as the first Sunday band.
*Jefferson Airplane
The Other Side of This Life
Somebody to Love
3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds
Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
Eskimo Blue Day
Plastic Fantastic Lover
Wooden Ships
Uncle Sam Blues
Volunteers
The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
Come Back Baby
White Rabbit
The House at Pooneil Corners
*Joe Cocker
Dear Landlord
Something Comin' On
Do I Still Figure in Your Life
Feelin' Alright
Just Like a Woman
Let's Go Get Stoned
I Don't
Need a Doctor
I Shall Be Released
Hitchcock Railway
Something to Say
With a Little Help from My Friends
Country Joe and the Fish
Rock & Soul Music
(Thing Called) Love
Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
Summer Dresses
Silver and Gold
Love Machine
Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)
Ten Years After
Help Me
I’m Going Home
*The Band
Chest Fever
Don’t Do It
Tears of Rage
We Can Talk
Long Black Veil
Don’t Ya Tell Henry
Ain’t No More Cane
This Wheel’s on Fire
I Shall Be Released
The Weight
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
*Johnny Winter
Mama, Talk to Your Daughter
Leland Mississippi Blues
Mean Town Blues
You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now / Mean Mistreater
Can't Stand It (with Edgar Winter)
Tobacco Road (with Edgar Winter)
Tell the Truth (with Edgar Winter)
Johnny B. Goode
*Blood, Sweat & Tears
More and More
Just One Smile
Something's Coming on
More Than You'll Ever Know
Spinning Wheel
Sometimes in Winter
Smiling Phases
God Bless the Child
And When I Die
You've Made Me So Very Happy
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Blackbird
Guinnevere
Marrakesh Express
4 + 20
Mr. Soul
Sea of Madness
Wooden Ships
Find the Cost of Freedom
49 Bye-Byes
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
No Amount of Loving
Driftin'
Morning Sunrise
Love March
Everything's Gonna Be Alright
*Sha-Na-Na
Get a Job
Come Go with Me
Silhouettes
Teen Angel
(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame
Wipe Out
Little Darlin'
At the Hop
Duke of Earl
Get a Job (reprise)
*Jimi Hendrix
Message to Love
Hear My Train A Comin'
Spanish Castle Magic
Red House
Lover Man
Foxy Lady
Jam Back at the House
Izabella
Fire
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)/Stepping Stone
The Star-Spangled Banner
Purple Haze
Woodstock Improvisation/Villanova Junction
Hey Joe
Notable Incidents You Will Hear This Weekend (All times
are in SL time this weekend.)
Arlo Guthrie’s Microphone (Friday, 7:42 PM)
Arlo Guthrie starts off his set with Coming Into Los Angeles but
there is just one problem. You cannot hear the vocals. There was
trouble with his microphone, and it wasn’t until about a minute into his first
song that the engineers fixed the problem. You can barely hear him
singing, probably through the microphone set up to pick up his guitar.
Despite the problem, this song did make the movie and the first soundtrack
album released in 1970. The song was begun in the middle, after the solo,
going into the refrain. Thus, the flawed part was edited out and only the
second half of the song is used. We will hear it in its entirety, failure,
and all.
The Army Arrives (Saturday, 10:46 AM)
Woodstock wasn’t officially a protest of the war in Vietnam, but that sentiment hung heavily in the air. Who can forget Country Joe’s (see below) “I don't know how you expect to ever stop the war if you can't sing any better than that?” When things started to fall apart Saturday morning with food shortages and medical needs, help came from a very strange source, the United States Army! Realizing the great potential for a negative reaction from the crowd, John Morris took to the stage and tried to take some control over the situation. In John’s own words upon seeing the green helicopters:
“You could see people start to look up … and all I said was, 'Ladies and gentlemen, the United States Army —' and you could feel it and you could hear it, the tension — 'Medical Corps.' And the crowd broke into a cheer that was just fantastic. And just about then you could see the red crosses on the side.”
He whipped up support for the Army and had the crowd cheering them. “They are with us! They are here to give us a hand and help us, and for that they deserve it.”
Country Joe McDonald Stalls for Time (Saturday, 10:49 AM)
Joe McDonald was the frontman for the band, Country Joe and the Fish.
After Quill finished their set, Santana was not ready to take the stage for
theirs. McDonald was reluctantly recruited to go on stage and do a few
songs solo to placate the crowd. He was not prepared to go on alone, so
he used the excuse that he had no guitar. One was located backstage, so
he then used the excuse that he had no guitar strap. A piece of rope was
tied to the guitar, and he had run out of excuses. Joe McDonald
improvised a solo set and it included one of the most memorable moments of the
weekend. He got the crowd worked up. “Give me an F… Give me a
U… Give me a C… Give me a K… What’s that spell? [FUCK] What’s that
spell? [FUCK]…
Yeah, c’mon on all you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible jam
way down yonder in Vietnam,
so put down your books and pick up a gun.
We’re gonna have a whole lot of fun.
And it’s 1, 2, 3, what’re we fighting for?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn;
next stop is Vietnam.
Partway through the song, he addresses the crowd. “Listen people, I don't know
how you expect to ever stop the war if you can't sing any better than that.
There's about 300,000 of you fuckers out there…"
 |
Joe McDonald with a rope guitar strap, improvises and stalls for time
Bob Hite of Canned Heat has to
Pee (Saturday,
1:13 PM)
Canned Heat took the stage and lead singer, Bob Hite, after the first song
announced to the crowd, “…There is only one thing I wish, I sure gotta
pee!” It was a direct reference to the lack of adequate sanitary
facilities at the concert. It should also be noted that just before
introducing them, Chip Monck, the emcee, remarked about how well they were
holding up with the help of the US Army.
The Grateful Dead are Delayed (Saturday, 4:55 PM)
The Grateful Dead were supposed to take the stage after Mountain. Well, several things kept that from happening. First, the switching between bands was supposed to be facilitated by a turntable-type stage. While one band was on stage (in front), they could be setting up the next one backstage. The mechanism failed and they had to manually set up the Grateful Dead’s stage. Furthermore, the stage had flooded due to rain, and this was causing all sorts of grounding issues and there were safety concerns.
 |
| The Dead at Woodstock |
The Grateful Dead End Early (Saturday, 4:56 PM)
The fear about the water and electrical systems may have been well-founded. As
they ended a monster rendition (over 37 minutes long) of Turn on Your
Love Light, a loud bang can be heard as they blew their stage amplifiers
and had to end their set early.
Abbie Hoffman Crashes the Stage on the Who (Saturday, 8:14 PM)
Abbie Hoffman was a notable 60’s activist and radical who was always
controversial and often in trouble with the law. Between Sly and the
Family Stone and the Who, Hoffman had addressed the “politics of the situation”
with an angry rant (Saturday, 7:54 PM) about the plight of John Sinclair,
manager of Detroit rock band, the MC5. Sinclair was serving a ten-year
prison term in Michigan for possessing two joints of marijuana. (I wrote
about the MC5 and John Sinclair, the whole mess, here.)
After the Who was part of the way through their set and tuning their
instruments after Pinball Wizard, Hoffman crashed the stage, taking
the microphone from Roger Daltry. He began another stoned rant about
Sinclair saying, “I think this is a pile of shit while John Sinclair rots in
prison.” Pete Townsend then attacked Hoffman, hitting him over the head
with his guitar. Townsend can plainly be heard saying, “Fuck! Off my
fucking stage!” The Who then went on to Do You Think It's Alright.
Breakfast in Bed for 400,000 (Saturday, 12:10 AM)
Sunday morning, after Jefferson Airplane had finished their set, Hog Farm
leader, Wavy Gravy (Hugh Romney), took to the stage and addressed the
crowd. “What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000.”
Max Yasgur Addresses the Crowd (Saturday, 12:14 AM)
When the original location for the festival fell through, weeks before the
concert, Max Yasgur, a local dairy farmer, made his 600-acre farm
available. It was only fitting that he got his few minutes of fame and
got to address the crowd. An older-looking man, who looked very out of
place, wearing black plastic-rimmed glasses, took the stage. There was no
less hip person in the place, yet he sang the praises of the concert
attendees. It was another wonderful Woodstock moment. Joe Cocker
took the stage after him and dedicated his first song to him. “And we’re going
to do this um this little number to start off with, the title suggests that
farming guy who just came out, did you see that nice little bloke…"
 |
| Max Yasgur |
Yasgur would later be
immortalized in Joni Mitchell’s classic song, made famous by CSNY, Woodstock.
I came upon a child of God,
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, "Where are you going?"
And this he told me...
I'm going on down to Yasgur's Farm,
I'm gonna join in a rock and roll band.
I'm gonna camp out on the land.
I'm gonna get my soul free.
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young are Scared Shitless (Sunday, 6:06
PM)
Although all four were seasoned concert performers with other bands, this was
only the second time that CSNY had played in front of people and the crowd
happened to be 400,000. After finishing their opening number, Suite:
Judy Blue Eyes, Stephen Stills admits, “Thank you, we needed that.
This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man. We're scared
shitless."
Emcee, Chip Monck, Closes the Festival (Sunday, 9:08 PM)
Chip Monck was the voice of Woodstock. His voice filled the void between
sets with announcements, messages, directions, and warnings about the brown
acid. He worked relentlessly all three days. The thing is that he
was hired to build and operate the stage lighting for the event. After he
designed and built it, the location of the concert changed, and the stage was
built to different specifications to accommodate the new space. The new
roof over the stage was not compatible with the lighting design Monck had
worked ten weeks building. There was no stage lighting at
Woodstock. Only follow spots, operated from those towers that ironically
Monck kept warning people about all weekend long.
Michael Lang realized at the last minute that he never hired an emcee, but
there was Chip Monck, a man he had already paid $7000 and who no longer had a
function. Thus, Woodstock became the only concert in history to have the lighting
director supplying some of the most famous quotes.
What the Hell is the Hog Farm?
There are numerous references to the Hog Farm, such as when a small child was lost and stage manager, John Morris, instructs the child, wherever he may be, to go up the hill and find a hog farmer. The “farmer” would reunite him with his mother, interestingly named “Sunshine.” (You can hear this incident Friday night during our set at about 8:25 PM SL time.) So, who are these hog farmers?
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| Hog Farmers ride their psychedelic bus at Woodstock back in 1969 |
The Hog Farm was a west coast hippie commune that was recruited to help with running the festival. It would obviously take a lot of people to work the event and that was where the Hog Farm came in. They set up a lot of the grounds that were not part of the stage and ran a “Free Kitchen” to feed festival-goers. They were also charged with the task of providing security, which hit them completely by surprise. They decided on a friendly approach and dubbed themselves the “Please Force.” Their approach to security was to ask people nicely, “Please don’t do that.”
The picture above shows some of the hog farmers arriving in their psychedelic school bus. Looking at the front grill, it seems to be late a 1930s or early 1940s model. Today it might be considered a valuable antique, but in 1969 it was just a 25-30-year-old clunker. In many ways, the Hog Farm bus has become a Woodstock icon.
Their leader was a man named “Hugh Romney,” who is better known as “Wavy Gravy.” His part in the concert, and his subsequent appearance in the Woodstock film, made him something of a hippie celebrity, so much so that Ben & Jerry even named an Ice Cream flavor after him. He did not get his famous nickname until shortly after the Woodstock concert. The moniker was given to him by the one and only B.B. King at a concert later that year.
