It is time for Woodstock at AWT and it will be held this weekend, August 16, 17, and 18. This has become something of a tradition at AWT and we do it every August now. This year I finally have the complete concert and it is all recorded from the soundboard! No more missing songs of crappy bootlegs made on cassette recorders in the middle of the crowd. The Woodstock experience is complete this year! I will play it this weekend over the three days in its historical order.
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
attending 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 Grateful 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 southwest 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 16
2:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday, August 17
9:00 AM - 9:05 PM
Sunday, August 18
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Here are the setlists for this weekend. All sets are complete
Friday, August 16, 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Hello
Get Together
From the Prison (Reprise)
Stranger
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
Motherless Child
Look Out
What’s Wrong
Two Worlds
Let the Sunshine In
Oh Happy Day
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
(How Can We) Hang On to a Dream?
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
Coming into Los Angeles
Wheel of Fortune
Walkin' Down the Line
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 17, 9:00 AM - 9:05 PM
They Live the Life
That's How I Eat
Driftin’
Waiting For You
Janis
Donovan's Reef
Heartaches by the Number
Ring of Fire
Tennessee Stud
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 Hartley Band
Spanish Fly
She's Gone
Too Much Thinking
Believe in You
Halfbreed Medley: Sinning For You / Leaving Trunk / Just To Cry / Sinning For
You
Invocation
The Letter
Gather Round
This Moment
Come with Me
When You Find Out Who You Are
Canned Heat
I’m Her Man
Going Up the Country
A Change is Gonna Come/Leaving This Town
Rollin' Blues
Woodstock Boogie
On the Road Again
Stormy Monday
Theme for an Imaginary Western
Long Red
Who Am I but You and the Sun (For Yasgur's Farm)
Beside the Sea
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 18, 8:00 AM – 9:00 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
Rockhouse (The Grease Band only)
Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring (The Grease Band only)
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
Rock & Soul Music
(Thing Called) Love
Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
Sing Sing Sing
Summer Dresses
Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife
Silver and Gold
Love Machine
Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I'm a Nut)
Crystal Blues
Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)
Spoonful
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Hobbit
I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes
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
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Blackbird
Helplessly Hoping
Guinnevere
Marrakesh Express
4 + 20
Mr. Soul
I'm Wonderin'
You Don't Have to Cry
Pre-Road Downs
Long Time Gone
Bluebird Revisited
Sea of Madness
Wooden Ships
Find the Cost of Freedom
49 Bye-Byes
Born Under a Bad Sign
No Amount of Loving
Driftin'
Morning Sunrise
All in a Day
Love March
Everything's Gonna Be Alright
Get a Job
Come Go with Me
Silhouettes
Teen Angel
(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame
Wipe Out
Book of Love
Little Darlin' [incomplete]
At the Hop
Duke of Earl
Get a Job (reprise)
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
The Army Arrives (Saturday, 9:41 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.”
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…"
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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, 3:44 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.
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| The Dead at Woodstock |
The Grateful Dead End Early (Saturday, 5:06 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. (Note: 5:06 PM is about when you hear the amps blow.)
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, 7:55 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 (Sunday, 9:41 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 (Sunday, 9:44 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…"
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| 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, 4:42 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, 8:43 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 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.
