cannabisnews.com: Concert at Yasgur's Farm Marks 30th Anniverary!





Concert at Yasgur's Farm Marks 30th Anniverary!
Posted by FoM on August 16, 1999 at 06:17:37 PT
Michael Hill, Associated Press Writer
Source: SF Gate
The singers sported gray hair this time, and some who came to hear them brought cell phones and strollers.
But the 12,000 who gathered Sunday at Max Yasgur's old farm for the ``Day in the Garden'' concert were nonetheless after the same feeling that the three-day Woodstock festival produced there 30 years ago. ``I wanted my kids to experience some of the music and camaraderie,'' said Lee Augustine, 53, who came with his wife and three young ones. ``You can repeat some of it. You can bring back the music.'' Richie Havens roused the crowd with his old Woodstock number ``Freedom,'' and Melanie performed Jimi Hendrix's ``Purple Haze.'' Country Joe McDonald performed his signature anti-Vietnam War song ``Fish Cheer.'' The show lasted well into the night. Some who came Sunday to the grassy hill about 80 miles north of New York City were looking to rekindle a bit of the spirit they felt was sullied by rioting crowds at the much larger Woodstock '99 concert in Rome, N.Y. last month. ``The word `Woodstock' is out, you can't use that word,'' said Joe Turner, 43, lounging in a lawn chair and wearing a psychedelic shirt. ``It's been blasphemed.'' Charles Castrovinci, 49, agreed. ``This is what it's all about, not like that synthetic, false Woodstock,'' he said. From the stage, Melanie reminisced about the ``three days of peace and music'' that she experienced 30 years ago. By comparison, Sunday's lineup looked like ``old timers' day,'' she joked. But it wasn't a trip down memory lane for everyone. ``I don't remember much about the first time I was here,'' Arlo Guthrie told the crowd. ``I had to wait for the movie to come out.'' He wasn't the only one. A woman who identified herself only as ``Ruth from Brooklyn'' vowed to buy ``food instead of drugs'' this time around. As expected, Sunday's attendance fell far short of the roughly 400,000 who flocked to the first Woodstock. Monday, August 16, 1999 Encore Performance at Woodstock Site - 8/15/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2506.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 16, 1999 at 08:22:50 PT:
Another Woodstock, But Without The Riots!
 By John O'MahonyNew York PostPubdate: 8/16/99 http://www.nypostonline.com/BETHEL, N.Y. - LSD and pot were just a hazy memory yesterday when nostalgia and '60s good vibrations marked the 30th anniversary of Woodstock at the original site on Yasgur's farm in upstate New York. Cowboy hats and polo shirts replaced love beads and tie-dyes - and cigars replaced marijuana cigarettes - as about 10,000 concertgoers turned out to see '60s stalwarts like Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, David Crosby and Melanie. "This is about the music and not about greed," said Doug MacPherson from Staten Island, referring to last month's Woodstock '99 concert in Rome, N.Y., that ended with looting, violence and fires. MacPherson, who was 18 when he attended the original Woodstock, returned this weekend with a glowing-green peace sign around his neck. "Here in Bethel, it's as different from Rome as night and day. The prices are OK and it's friendly and relaxed. What's going on here today shows the Woodstock spirit hasn't left." After a night of thunderstorms, rain held off during the day as Country Joe McDonald and Melanie warmed up the crowd with a string of their feel-good hits. Melanie got one of the biggest cheers of the day when she began her set with the Jimi Hendrix anthem "Purple Haze." And the performers were just as nostalgic as the audience about peace, love and rock 'n' roll. Havens, one of the original Woodstock performers, said he was every bit as anti-establishment as he was when he sang "Freedom" 30 years ago. His special memory of Woodstock '69 was "that we won and the system lost." "Everything that they told us wasn't true and we had to do something about it," he said. "And right here was where it all started to happen." The reunion concert was the second Woodstock show that's taken place in Bethel since local millionaire Alan Gerry bought the Yasgur's farm site three years ago. His Gerry Foundation wants to turn it into a year-round concert venue. But about 100 protesters took issue with the idea of using the Woodstock site as a commercial venue. Guthrie, also one of the original Woodstock performers, said that while he felt for those at "The People's Woodstock," he had accepted the way things were - "a delicate balance between nostalgia and corporate business." "This place is special to people all over the world, but in the long run, we have to accept there is business involved in running it and deal with it," he said. "The people who put this concert on are really wonderful and I'm hopeful it will work out. The spirit of Woodstock is the thing. We mustn't lose touch with it." Guthrie performed yesterday with his son, Abe, and daughter, Sarah, neither of whom were alive when he played the original Woodstock. 
Another Woodstock, But Without The Riots!
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