OT: Yasgur's Farm for sale-no more Woodstock Reunions

[MikeT156]

I don't know how many players on this site were at the original Woodstock Festival, or attended some of the reunions. FYI, Yasgur's Farmhouse, Barn, and about 103 remaining acres of his Dairy Farm is up for sale. Link here:

 

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/08/08/yasgur_s_farm_of_woodstock_fame_on_the_m

 

There are numerous news agencies that have a blog about the sale other than the one that is posted.

 

Its really a shame. The politicians have finally won. For years they were trying (and some time succeeded) in keeping the last of the Woodstock generation from showing up in Bethel, NY for Woodstock reunions. The current owners of the property, Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson, starting holding reunions on Max Yasgur's farm after efforts to stop reunions on the original field succeeded. The county stopped yet another reunion last year, and now Roy and Jeryl have finally given up. They are nice people, and they're probably going to retire to their home in Arizona.

 

I attended the Atlantic City Pop Festival (2 weeks before Woodstock) and also the original Woodstock concert. I went to several of the reunions at the original site, as well as to Roy and Jeryl's reunions just up the road on Max's old farm.

 

I can understand Sullivan County not wanting to deal with all the hassle the hordes of old and new hippies showing up every year to camp, party, and leave a mess to clean up. But this is the passing of an era. I felt very sad when I read the news.

 

If anyone would like to share their memories of Woodstock and the times that surrounded Woodstock, please feel free to post. If you weren't around then, feel free to post your thoughts.

 

Mike T.

[MidLifeCrisis]

It is a sad day indeed. As you can note by my sig line, I am a product of that era. Sadly at the time I could not convince any of my buddies to make the trek up to the original concert. But the memories from the album and the movie are etched in my mind forever.

Every once in a while I throw the movie on and watch it with my kids. They get a big kick out the "Can you dig that", "Far Out" and "Groovy" quotes. Arlo's speech is probably the most entertaining of the bunch.

They can take the farm and stop the concerts but the spirit of woodstock will remain forever in the hearts of anyone who lived in that era.

http://www.timetunnelmusic.com/Emoticons/33_file029.gif

[Mr. Nightime]

I'm right at the edge in age where I'm old enough to remember Woodstock, but was too young to attend. There is a lot of history in that one event that should never be forgotten. It showed that when music is involved, large numbers of people CAN gather in peace.

 

Didn't I read somewhere that the field was made a concert setting?

 

[MidLifeCrisis]

It showed that when music is involved, large numbers of people CAN gather in peace.

 

You remember your history well Ron.

Here is Max's famous speech.

 

I'm a farmer...(interrupted by a cheer from the audience)...I don't know how to speak to twenty people at one time, let alone a crowd like this. But I think you people have proven something to the world not only to the Town of Bethel, or Sullivan County, or New York State; you've proven something to the world. This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place. We have had no idea that there would be this size group, and because of that you've had quite a few inconveniences as far as water, food, and so forth. Your producers have done a mammoth job to see that you're taken care of... they'd enjoy a vote of thanks. But above that, the important thing that you've proven to the world is that a half a million kids and I call you kids because I have children that are older than you are a half million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I God Bless You for it!

[MikeT156]

Quote by Mr. Nighttime:

 

"Didn't I read somewhere that the field was made a concert setting?"

 

Yes, a cable $$ money man, Alan Gerry bought the original site some years back, and has since "developed" the property. He has put up a Woodstook Museum and open air concert venue. From the pictures I've seen, its a nice design. It looks like he built it on the rise close to trees, which is closest to route 17b, the main 2 lane road that goes through Bethel. From what I can see in the photo, he left the original field and stage area alone. However he did put up some fences across the property.

 

What is unjust about this whole thing is, the guy with the money got permits to hold "large gathering" concerts on the site, but Roy Howard, the guy WITHOUT the money was denied a permit. Ordinary people that were coming to the area were denied a cheap or FREE place to camp, listen to music, and party. If you have money, you can go to "Bethel Woods", which is Gerry's venue. No camping or anything else allowed there. Limited number of tickets sold so things don't get out of hand.

 

What's so great about "Progress and Development?" The money people still control everything.

 

Mike T.

[Geoff Grace]

They can take the farm and stop the concerts but the spirit of woodstock will remain forever in the hearts of anyone who lived in that era.

 

Right on, man!

 

I was old enough to watch and digest the sixties but too young to participate. I watched the Woodstock movie when it was released shortly after the concert, and many times again over the years. I wore down the grooves of its three album set, and was blown away by Sly & The Family Stone, The Who, and Crosby, Stills, & Nash.

 

I too was impressed by the fact that so many young people got together without violence when there were no riot police around, or should I say because there were no riot police were around?

 

Regardless, the concert was both a musical and cultural landmark; and I for one, will never forget it.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[MikeT156]

Thanks for the good words Geoff. After the concert, I heard that Woodstock Ventures had some conversations with then Governor Nelson Rockefeller about declaring the Woodstock site a disaster area. The good Governor had talked about sending in the national guard to "restore order", but the Promoters begged him not to send troops. God knows what would have happened if the army came in "in force". The Army Helicopters flew in medical supplies and food. The roads were closed between Bethel and Monticello, and the only consistent way to get anything in to the area was helicopter. I spoke to a few resourceful people there that came on Saturday, after the roads were closed. One guy told me he drove as far as he could but when the Police were stopping all traffic, he walked the rest of the way. No substitute for determination!

 

The music of that era was great, but the music at the concert itself was less than stellar. It was so damp and rainy most of the weekend, it was difficult for anyone to stay in tune. Musically, the Atlantic City Pop Festival was better because it was hot and sunny the day I was there, and humidity wasn't a problem. It was hot enough that they started spraying the crowd down with a large hose of water to cool people off. Those were the days!

 

 

Mike T.

[latchmo]

It is a shame that no more concerts will be held there.

I was born after Woodstock - unfortunately.

I did have the honor though of playing with Richie Havens at the 30th anniversary concert in '99. It was called "A day in the Garden" at Yasgur's Farm.

 

It's a beautiful area, and a great place to put on concerts.

I can only imagine what it was like in '69.

 

[mate stubb]

The music of that era was great, but the music at the concert itself was less than stellar.

 

Musically great at Woodstock: Santana, Ritchie Havens, Joe Cocker, Sha Na Na, Sly & Family Stone, CS&N, The Band

 

Musically NOT great: Joan Baez, The Who, Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez... did I mention Joan Baez?

[MikeT156]

Quote by Latchmo:

 

"I did have the honor though of playing with Richie Havens at the 30th anniversary concert in '99. It was called "A day in the Garden" at Yasgur's Farm."

 

Wow, that's awesome! Not too many people can say that. So you played at the original site. I heard about the "Day in the Garden" but I was among the missing for that one. Richie Havens was on stage before we got there in 69 (He opened the concert on Friday) so I didn't see his set until the movie came out.

 

Matt_Stubb: I agree, for the most part. It sounds like you didn't care for Joan Baez?? Santana was great, as was Joe Cocker's show. (I got a chuckle out of his band singing falsetto for the female backup singers), but great rendition of a Little help from my friends. Sly had everyone rocking for a LONG time. Loved CSN although some of their harmonies were a bit off, I didn't even know who they were at the time. We left when Sha NA NA came on. I was like...."A Doo Wap group at a ROCK festival?What the hell is this?" But it was Monday morning and we were crashed out, so we left. I missed Hendrix.

 

Mike T.

[ITGITC]

But it was Monday morning and we were crashed out, so we left. I missed Hendrix.

 

Mike T.

 

Sorry Mike, but we all think you're making this stuff up as you go along.

 

Got pictures?

[kanker.]

Yeah. He can remember it - he wasn't there...

[MidLifeCrisis]

I think Baez was more of a story teller/folk singer than a musician. He role was to preach the word of the resistance. While her musical abilities were surely lacking her pserona accurately captures the spirit of the movement.

 

And nobody mentioned Ten Years After. Had to love Alvin Lee doing his thing in I'm Going Home.

[MikeT156]

Quote by ITGITC:

 

"Sorry Mike, but we all think you're making this stuff up as you go along.

 

Got pictures?"

 

No T-shirts either. I did have a pipe and some social drugs with me though. Yeah know, the important things.

 

Quote by Kanker:

 

"Yeah. He can remember it - he wasn't there...

 

The concert was just across the state line in NY state, maybe 15 or 20 miles from the PA border. Not far from where I lived back then. I can only remember some of it. It was 38 years ago. I remember some of the groups I heard when I was STRAIGHT, and AWAKE. I remember more of the Atlantic City Pop Festival because I was there for only one day. The weather was great at Atlantic City, and we were all straight and sober, which was unusual in those days.

 

Hey MidLifeCrisis: Alvin Lee and Ten Years After, he was at Atlantic City too. "Baby please don't go" from I'm goin' home, what a jam. One of the best guitar players I ever heard, ever. I always thought Joan Baez had a beautiful voice. She was a big anti-war person. She incorporated it into her music and she talked about it whenever she spoke to people or over a mic.

 

 

Mike T.

[burningbusch]

I think Baez was more of a story teller/folk singer than a musician. He role was to preach the word of the resistance.

 

On one of the original National Lampoon comedy albums there's a wonderful satire of Baez. The chorus of the song goes: "pull the trigger, (rhymes with trigger but starts with an N), we're with you all the way, just across the bay..." Really captures Baez for me.

 

I remember her being on Johnny Carson once and she was furious. Evidently she had been scheduled to appear several times in the past but they always ran out of time and she got bumped. This appearance was only about 30 seconds. Johnny was calm, apologized and promised the next time she'd have a full slot. Afterwards, Johnny probably made sure there wouldn't be a next time.

 

Busch.

[ITGITC]

Quote by ITGITC:

 

"Sorry Mike, but we all think you're making this stuff up as you go along.

 

Got pictures?"

 

No T-shirts either. I did have a pipe and some social drugs with me though. Yeah know, the important things.

 

 

 

Yup. I know.

 

Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Woodstock. It was August of '69 and I was at military academy in Virginia.

 

They said that they landed a man on the moon that summer.

 

I wanna know where the real pictures are for that too.

[MikeT156]

Quote by ITGITC:

 

"Yup. I know.

 

Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Woodstock. It was August of '69 and I was at military academy in Virginia.

 

They said that they landed a man on the moon that summer.

 

I wanna know where the real pictures are for that too."

 

I was in a start-up band at the time. Me and one of the other guys went to the Atlantic City Pop Festival the first week of August for one day. Although we knew about Woodstock, we weren't planning on going. We had seen some of the headliners that ended up at Woodstock play at Atlantic City. (Santana, Ten Years After, Janis Joplin, etc.)

 

On Tuesday, the week of the concert, we showed up for band practice and our lead guitar player says "Look what I got". He was waving tickets around. He said "There's this concert in upstate NY this weekend and I got tickets for all of us." Tickets were hard to come by for us, usually you had to order them through the mail or get them at a gas station along the Interstate, or a record store somewhere close to where the show was. So this was a major score. We got 3 day tickets and they were 18 bucks for 3 days. We flipped at the cost (expensive!), but what was minimum wage back then? We thought it was a lot of money. But he had paid for them already for us, so we had to fork over the money. That was the deal with the band. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone.

 

If I didn't get pneumonia that weekend, I never will. It was the biggest mess I ever saw, but the most fun I ever had in my life.

 

I'm really bummin' there won't be anymore reunions. Two guys (one guy from my old band) that were at Woodstock died, one recently. They were both younger than me. But then, almost everyone is younger than me.

 

Mike T.

[Geoff Grace]

We got 3 day tickets and they were 18 bucks for 3 days. We flipped at the cost (expensive!), but what was minimum wage back then? We thought it was a lot of money.

 

Especially for someone who was as young as you were back then. For what it's worth, what cost $18 in 1969 would cost $100.77 in 2006. (Source)

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[burningbusch]

At Explore Music Project (EMP) in Seattle they have the original Musician's Union Contract for Woodstock signed by James Hendrix. I believe it was $30,000 or $33,000 for one 90 minute set. Three musicians.

 

You might find some articles that say he was paid less but they were trying to hide what they really paid Hendrix.

 

Busch.

[MikeT156]

Quote by Geoff Grace:

 

"Especially for someone who was as young as you were back then. For what it's worth, what cost $18 in 1969 would cost $100.77 in 2006."

 

I was 21 years old, would have been 22 in October of '69. Tickets for groups like the Dead typically were 3 bucks for a show back in those days.

 

Busch, I had read somewhere sometime ago that they paid Hendrix 32k. The excuse for paying him that much (what they told other groups) was that Hendrix was going to play two sets. I found out later (YEARS LATER) that the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and a few others demanded CASH payment or they wouldn't play. It became a FREE Concert, and they were afraid they would get rubber checks. So much for Peace, Love, DOVE. Money talked back then too.

 

Mike T.

 

[Phnymiboy]

Here is my Woodstock story. 5 of us (in a Beetle of course) were on our way to the festival and we had the radio on. Then we heard it ,"Tonight at Asbury Park Convention Hall...Led Zeppelin". I said to my buddies, ok we are going to that and I'm not taking no for an answer. So we went and just walked right up bought tickets that same night at the Box Office. I think the place held no more than 1500 seats, maybe slighty more. They opened with "Train Kept a Rollin'" and the crowd stood up, went insane and remained standing for the whole concert. They were simply amazing. And who opened for them, Joe Cocker, who would make his own history that same weekend at Woodstock. Well we never made it to the festival, but I think it was a fair tradeoff.

Bruce in Miami

[MikeT156]

Phnybmiboy:

 

So, do you remember how much the tickets were?

 

Mike T.

[Legatoboy]

All the members of the first really big neighborhood band (The Sands Of Time) that I was asked to join had gone. Immediatley upon their return from Woodstock or a few weeks later I was asked into the band. What an honor, what a year! They were all about 2-3 years older than me and I had watched/heard them since grammer school in the school basement talent shows playing Beatles and Bee Gees and Supremes with 4 part harmony while I was home going through Waltzes and Polkas with the Palmer method on Accordian, WOW!, I was 15. No way I was gonna get away with jumping out the window to go with my Mom and Dad's orientation. I was just allittle to young, But Shirley (grammer school friend), well she jump out the window and ran off to join the circus - Guirls! )

 

All my friends and I wanted to go all being young active players oof course. We lived right inbetween the 2 major bridges that went over the East River/LI Sound that fed routes to Upstate NY. Many familes in Whitestone had summer places in that upstate NY area, it only being about 3 hours drive away as the guitarist's family in Sand of Time and where they squated first and left from.

 

The stories and hippie lore ran high for me in 1969 inclusive of Monty (our eventual soundman) being forced to run through town naked! They were all there(band) - except me of course, oh darn (as my wife would say)! That's the year I (my dad)bought my 145 Leslie brand new bless him! Booker T here I come!

 

The first 4 songs I was asked to learn were -

Time Is Tight

Green Onions

Come See About Me

To Love Somebody

 

The material eventually changed and 'For Yasgurs Farm' (Mountain)

amd Soul Sacrifice (of course) became set staples! As did Uncle John's Band and others. And as did gigs with garbage cans full of 'bash', one electric and one not! Both with dry ice of course - the ride begins! Dopey huh!

 

lb

 

 

 

[Legatoboy]

interesting!

 

Here is my Woodstock story. 5 of us (in a Beetle of course) were on our way to the festival and we had the radio on. Then we heard it ,"Tonight at Asbury Park Convention Hall...Led Zeppelin". I said to my buddies, ok we are going to that and I'm not taking no for an answer. So we went and just walked right up bought tickets that same night at the Box Office. I think the place held no more than 1500 seats, maybe slighty more. They opened with "Train Kept a Rollin'" and the crowd stood up, went insane and remained standing for the whole concert. They were simply amazing. And who opened for them, Joe Cocker, who would make his own history that same weekend at Woodstock. Well we never made it to the festival, but I think it was a fair tradeoff.

Bruce in Miami

[Phnymiboy]

Wow..who can rememeber that far back. But it had to be under $5.00.

Bruce

[MikeT156]

Legatoboy:

 

Thanks so much for your take on Woodstock. That's a great story! I remember all those songs from back then too. I also had a Leslie 145 at one time.

 

You missed a great (but very wet) party! Did you get a "contact" high from your friends?

 

Mike T.