Posted on 08/13/2009 1:07:00 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(Co-creator of the original Woodstock celebration says funding was main issue.)
While there are plenty of tribute celebrations going on across America to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts festival, perhaps the most fitting bash is the one that just fell short of happening.
In a recent article with Variety, Michael Langdon — cocreator of the original festival — says he had planned a concert event that was to be as eco-friendly as it was star-studded. "It required sponsorship at a pretty hefty level, and the sponsors had to be green," Lang told Variety. "And it's just the wrong year for sponsor budgets. They just don't exist, because of the general state of the economy."
Plans called for the green event to be completely free, take place in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and coinciding with New York's Climate Week, a five-day program of events scheduled for Aug. 21-25, (it's since been rescheduled to Sept 20-26) and meant to address the need for action on climate change. Bands lined up to play included any surviving groups from the original '69 concert series, as well as modern day legends like Dave Matthews and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Unfortunately, the whole thing collapsed under financial strains — and as another producer quipped, "How can you do a Woodstock 2 with Pepsi-Cola and a record company sponsoring it?"
Obviously, there's no real way to recreate the magic of what happened back in '69 on a farm in New York — not in today's corporate homogenized landscape at least. The best we can hope is to honor the spirit of Woodstock and work to make any celebration as green as possible. It may not have happened this time — but hey, 50 years is right around the corner.
Seems like the Democrat Convention organizers had the same problem—couldn’t find enough green companies to support their green anqd organic requirements.
Mr. D'Estries must've taken some of the brown acid. It's still affecting him.
This would actually be Woodstock IV. They had a follow-up Woodstock concert for the 25th anniversary (called “Woodstock ‘94”) and not content to wait another 25 years, they had another a mere five years (”Woodstock ‘99”), which is best remembered for people being injured in muddy brawls, and date rape. Woodstock ‘94 was when I was in H.S. and Woodstock ‘99 was when I was in college, so I’m not sure which would be the Woodstock of “my generation”. I guess Lollapalooza is.
It happened once...for a reason.
As pointless and transparent as that 20th anniversary Live 8 concert to commemorate the 20hth anniversary of Live Aid. In reality Live 8 was all the record companies getting all of their acts together to boost their brutally sagging sails under the guise of ‘increasing awareness about the problems in Africa’......
So why can’t it be held on a farm anymore? Too concerned for legal liability? People don’t know how to camp anymore? Sensitive 2009 feet might step on worms n stuff?
Awesome! Lets honor woodstock by never mentioning it again shall we? It’s best to let turds remained flushed or they stink up everything.
I flashed just now on that '69 group of earnest hippies chanting "No rain! No rain!" as it, well, as it rained. These are their ideological children, no doubt about it.
Well there were plenty of big name bands there, David Bowie, Van Halen, U2, Clash, Scorpions, etc. But all I remember was an endless parade of filthy people walking over my blanket as I tried to watch the concert. After a while, people all around me began to relieve themselves where they sat. After a while, there were rivers of pee running down the hillside to join larger rivers of pee and crap that formed a large pond that stoned, half-naked people waded into. Some even flopped around in the pond having sex with each other. By concert's end, the entire site was the world's largest outdoor septic tank.
I never felt so filthy, itchy and scummy in my life. I remember taking a long, hot shower and throwing the clothes I was wearing into the dumpster. It took about a week to finally start feeling clean again.
Um...thanks for sharing? I think? LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.