Houzz Logo Print
petalique

Woodstock — the event. Would you have wanted to be there?

last month

Did you go to the Woodstock event? Would you have wanted to go?


While I enjoy listening to a lot of the music, I would not have wanted/did not wish to attend.


I do not like crowds.

I’ve never been in need of or enthralled with huge cultural sways.

I’m not keen on mud or on group vibe trends.


What about you?


Comments (38)

  • last month

    At the time I think that I would have loved to be there. I’d have only been 12, though.

    Now? No.

    petalique thanked roxsolid
  • last month

    I’m wondering — how many of the performers have died since then. perhaps some are believed to have OD’d.


    Hendrix?

    Joplin? (was she there?)



  • Related Discussions

    Dates of Rose Events Wanted

    Q

    Comments (2)
    I wondered how long it would take you to get more actively involved again? As much as we try we can't get away from them and have to be involved someway.
    ...See More

    WANTED: #2 London/Woodstock/St. Thomas /Strathroy Plant sw

    Q

    Comments (78)
    Hi Chris , Got lots of Poet's daffodil ( I wish they were still in bloom - they smelled so heavenly ) , so even if I havent got it potted up already(I think I already have potted them up ) then we will dig some on Sunday ... and pot them up here..... I will double check today though. Yes , please on the Canna Torchlight! Thanks Chris. Same goes for everyone else...if when you get here, if I have missed something of what you requested, please dont hesitate to remind me. With all that I am trying to get done , something can easily slip my mind ,so remind me. And I really need the room to plant my daylilies . Hi Bill1 , Ooooooooo!Everybody loves surprises! Chairs are a good idea too. I do have some but probably not enough for everyone. Is there anything from my offerings that interests you ? If so please let me know asap so I can get it potted up for you. I believe I have sent out directions to get to my place to everyone , but I dont think I have heard from lovinlife. Are you out there Lovinlife? Please email me for directions (if you are still coming) Sure hope you can make it! Signet
    ...See More

    WANTED: What you have in exchange for what you want

    Q

    Comments (1)
    Hi Michelle, In follow up to my email, I have some common "cuttables", if you're interested. Jennifer
    ...See More

    Do you have a teenager who would want to study in Germany?

    Q

    Comments (5)
    I went to Germany as an exchange student when I was in high school- I went the year after I graduated, before college. I would recommend it to all, it was a marvelous experience. My niece went to Germany for her junior year, and had a great time as well, however she had a harder time adjusting to being back in high school afterwards--her level of maturity was far above that of her peers. I think study abroad programs are a great way to learn a language and another culture.
    ...See More
  • last month

    Yes, I would have loved to have been there. Now, nope.

    petalique thanked lily316
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    I saw Janis Joplin on the Festival Express Tour in 1970. It was a two day affair. I went with my older sister as my parents felt she was the responsible one. LOL! She was a wild child. I had a lot of fun.

    petalique thanked roxsolid
  • last month

    I would have loved it! What a memory.

    petalique thanked jrb451
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    No. I've gone to live rock events since a young teen. Never tolerating such personal inconvenience and mass disorganization.

    I do know someone who was there. He said the inconveniences he and most others experienced weren't accurately shown in the movie. He left early, not worth the hassles.

    petalique thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last month

    I was old enough but not willing to put up with all those people. And now I don't like being around more than a handful of people at a time and they all need to be friends.

    petalique thanked murraysmom Zone 6a OH
  • last month

    @petalique - pardon the formatting


    PerformerAct at WoodstockDiedJimi HendrixJimi Hendrix Experience1970Janis JoplinJanis Joplin / Kozmic Blues Band1970Richie HavensRichie Havens2013Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar2012Tim HardinTim Hardin1980Bert SommerBert Sommer1990Melanie SafkaMelanie2024Alan WilsonCanned Heat1970Bob HiteCanned Heat1981Jerry GarciaGrateful Dead1995Ron “Pigpen” McKernanGrateful Dead1973David BrownSantana2000Gary ThainKeef Hartley Band1975Leslie WestMountain2020Felix PappalardiMountain1983Tom FogertyCreedence Clearwater Revival1990Sly StoneSly & the Family Stone2025Keith MoonThe Who1978John EntwistleThe Who2002Spencer DrydenJefferson Airplane2005Nicky HopkinsJefferson Airplane1994Alvin LeeTen Years After2013Johnny WinterJohnny Winter2014David CrosbyCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young2023Rick DankoThe Band1999Richard ManuelThe Band1986Paul ButterfieldPaul Butterfield Blues Band1987

    These are the deaths of the principal Woodstock performers and members of the bands who played. There were also additional deceased members of Sweetwater, among others.

    petalique thanked foodonastump
  • last month

    No, was never that interested in that scene. Crowds are bad enough but my first thought then, and now, is where are the bathrooms?

    petalique thanked pekemom
  • last month

    Nope. I was 7 at the time, but even if I'd been 17 I wouldn't have wanted to go. I was too shy, too boring, too awkward, and too "out" of the "in" things.

    petalique thanked Toronto Veterinarian
  • last month

    Camping in the rain, no portapotties, no fresh water….no thanks.

    tj

    petalique thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
  • last month

    No. I was too young then, and it would have been light years away from my comfort zone now.

    petalique thanked hobbitmom
  • last month

    I am too young but we watched the documentary about it with footage of the event and OH H*LL NO! I would not have wanted to be there at all. It was terrible IMHO! Can you imagine being boxed in by thousands of people, cannot even move and where do you use the bathroom or get water to drink and it was very hot there and rained a bunch and a muddy pigsty. The people that were there left trash all over the place. I cannot even imagine how awful it was!

    petalique thanked arkansas girl
  • last month

    Yeah, this is one of those things where the folklore is mighter than the event, IMHO of course. I wasn't old enough to go then. And way to old now. And even if I were a "good" age, I'm sure I could find something better to do.


    Now I have been to many rock concerts when I was a young adult. Love them! But that many days? In the mud? with the drugs? No thank you.

    petalique thanked pudgeder
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    I'm with the heck no crowd. There isn't a thing about it that sounds like fun. My son met his future wife at WE FEST--a great grand child of Woodstock, I think I could say. No rain but people wall to wall, most drunk, bathroom facilities lacking...people buy trashed out campers use them for the four days then abandon them. It was the first and last time for my son and wife!!!

    petalique thanked arcy_gw
  • last month

    Every time I see a picture of Woodstock I wonder how they could possibly get to a bathroom.

    petalique thanked girlnamedgalez8a
  • last month
  • last month

    No. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 60s. I was exposed to a lot of the later to become famous bands before they achieved the fame they did. I was never one to to enjoy crowds in an effort to be able to say I was there. I did enjoy smaller and outdoor venues where one had freedom to move. Had a blast of some of the local outdoor events and was a regular at the Avalon, the Filmore and Winterland etc. during my high school years. I also had backstage access to the outdoor events of the time. When Altamont came around I skipped it on purppose at the last minute. Told my best friend at the time to go, have fun and tell me all when she got back. Being what occurred that day I guess fate told me not to be there.

    petalique thanked wildchild2x2
  • last month

    About 15 years ago, I met some people who went, and they just shook their heads at how crazy they were to have done it, but they didn't regret it either.

    petalique thanked Toronto Veterinarian
  • last month

    I was a junior in high school. My bf was a junior in college-we had known each other all our lives and our dads were best friends from kindergarten until their deaths. Anyway, he was going, but my mother wouldn't let me go along. One of the two biggest regrets of my life. Sigh. He did take me to the Atlantic City pop festival earlier that month. saw Canned Heat, Mothers of Invention, the Moody Blues, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Little Richard, and as the closer, iirc, was Janis. Might have been Little Richard, but I really think it was Janis. She was amazing.

    petalique thanked cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
  • last month

    I love reading about couples who met there, married ,and are still together, showing pics from the event and current ones posed like the old photo. Ironically, of the over 400,000 people who attended, very little, if any, violence happened

    petalique thanked lily316
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    Nope. Would never have wanted to go. People there looked dirty and gross for the most part. Never wanted to be around drugs with people out of their minds.

    petalique thanked OllieJane
  • last month

    That weekend, I and some high school friends went to a concert in Queens, at the outdoor theater that was built for the 1964 World's Fair. Tom Paxton and the Incredible String Band, among others. They had come down from Woodstock, along with a bunch of other performers. At 15, I was certainly too young to go to Woodstock, but I feel as if I was on the fringes of it. Happy times!

    petalique thanked faftris
  • last month

    I love going to hear live music, and am a Grateful Dead enthusiast (ie deadhead) and went to many hundreds of their shows- as well as countless other concerts, beginning with the Beatles. I met my husband and the vast majority of my friends at Dead shows. I still see a lot of live music; I saw Maria Muldaur last Sunday! But…Woodstock doesn’t look appealing to me, primarily because of the mud and bathroom issues. I lived on the other side of the country, so I didn’t even consider it.

    petalique thanked chinacatpeekin
  • last month

    I don't want to go to any outdoor concerts/music festivals now, but if I'd been the age of most of those attendees back then I might've. We went to a number of outdoor concerts back in the day, and the worst thing for me was the poor sound/view of the show. My ability/tolerance for discomfort has really diminished since I was a teen.

    petalique thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
  • last month

    Maria Muldaur —

    🎶 Midnight at the oasis

    Bring your camel to bed …

  • last month

    chinacat, so another Deadhead in the crowd. They're all over, I've known a good many.

    I myself could never drink that Kool-Aid. I like a few of their songs, not a full handful, and the rest seem to excude a very self-absorbed vibe. I'm probably not looking at them the right way but I could never find the band or the music to be appealing. The Deadhead contribution to the experience (I went to a few of their shows) added to the lack of appeal for me.

    But hey, what better interest was there to develop at the time that could lead to instantly having tens of thousands of friends, previously unknown until encountering them.

    petalique thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last month

    Would you have wanted to be there?


    Yes, yes I would have wanted to be there, especially to see and hear Country Joe and the Fish perform The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag. From a timing perspective, I was inducted in March 1969 (“Uncle Sam needs your help again”). By August 1969 I pined for some long-haired camaraderie and, I was trained in the mud, was always around lots of people, some smelly, some drunk, some high – just couldn’t get away. Of course – your head is wired funny at 20 years old. "Give me an F!"

    petalique thanked raymondz7a
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    The first concert I took my son to was the Grateful Dead with Steve WInwood opening for them. It was wonderful and he kept saying "Thank you mommy" throughout the concert. The next year, another parent took his son and mine to see the Dead with Dylan as the opener. Happy music. Happy times. Raymond, Country Joe and the Fish played a concert in Paris when I was studying over there. Another fun concert.

    petalique thanked cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
  • last month

    I wasn't old enough to get there solo but it's not my kind of thing so I wouldn't have wanted to attend then, or now.

    petalique thanked dadoes
  • last month

    I was too young, but my brother was there. I need a regular bathroom.

    petalique thanked Cathi Thomas
  • last month
    last modified: last month

    The closest I ever got to a rock concert as a teen was Summerfest in Milwaukee. I was from a small town, and found being in a crowd to be fun, exciting and a little scary. Now I live in NYC and avoid crowds. When I moved here in 1983, Richie Havens lived down the street. I met him a few times hanging out at my neighbor's. He was still wearing the love beads.

    petalique thanked Jupidupi
  • last month

    I was living in a small rural commune in Bolton, MA at the time and we discussed going, but one of us had to stay behind to milk the cow. We couldn't decide who that would be so none of us went.

    petalique thanked laceyvail 6A, WV
  • last month

    I can easily say no. I won't even go to Bonaroo. And that's available now with portapotties and tents to cool down. Nope. No way, no how

    petalique thanked rob333 (zone 7b)
  • last month

    “Nope. No way, no how”

    👍🏻!

    petalique thanked chloebud
  • last month

    Love Richie Havens' music 😊

    petalique thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
  • last month

    In my younger, wilder days - absolutely.


    Not a snowball's chance now. I am old and like air conditioning, hot water and flushing toilets. 😆

    petalique thanked Ally De
  • last month

    Not at all the kind of activity I would enjoy.

    petalique thanked Fun2BHere
Sponsored
Mary Shipley Interiors
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars34 Reviews
Columbus OH Premier Interior Designer 10x Best of Houzz