Then the political revolutionary Abbie Hoffman - “probably high on acid,” figured Lang - wandered on stage as the band performed and “Pete swatted him on the head with his guitar. Lang remembers Pete Townshend of The Who being particularly grumpy: “He didn’t want to be there and complained about all the hippies And the band wanted to be paid the balance of their fee before going on stage.” Other English performers embraced the spirit of Woodstock less successfully. Then he came off stage, looked up at the clouds and said, ‘Did I do that?’ ” He went on right before the big rainstorm. Joe had so much power and emotion on stage. “I thought he was an amazing, black, blues singer - and then here comes this crazy Englishman. “Joe Cocker was a surprise,” said Lang, who heard the singer on a cassette tape but had never seen him perform. The bargain of the festival: a relatively untested Santana played for only $1,500, which, Lang said, was the lowest rate paid. “But was forgotten in the mix and he still received $30,000.” Playing only the second show of their career, Crosby, Stills & Nash received $10,000, as did the the Grateful Dead. “Jimi Hendrix got paid $30,000 for two sets, one that was supposed to be acoustic,” said Lang. The top rate, $15,000, went to bands such as The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane. Sebastian performed gratis but other acts were well-compensated. It was the biggest crowd he ever played in front of.” Chip said, ‘Yeah, you have to.’ John borrowed an acoustic guitar from Country Joe, grabbed Chip’s hand and held it for most of the set. John was tripping pretty heavily at the time and asked if he had to. The stage was wet and we couldn’t set up an electric band. After an on-and-off rain day, he was standing on the stage and Chip asked if he would do a few songs. He set up a tent in the artists’ compound and was just hanging out. “John decided to come down with the other group. While changing planes in Albany that summer, he ran into a group - Lang thinks it was the Incredible String Band - that was en route to Woodstock. John Sebastian had been the Lovin’ Spoonful’s singer and guitarist until going solo in early 1969. He was a little shocked to see a couple making love on his porch, but he handled it well.” Filippini went to bed and woke up to find a lot more people than he expected. The lake was our water supply - we purified the water - and it was like a beach where you wore no clothes,” Lang said. “On Thursday night, upon realizing that we would be getting more of a crowd than expected, we rented Mr. Nowhere was this more evident than at Filippini Pond, located on a farm adjacent to Yasgur’s and owned by one William Filippini. In conceiving Woodstock, Lang and his partners hoped to create an uninhibited atmosphere. I assume that the people watching are city kids getting their first taste of country life.” Michael Lang “This kid crossed over the wire fence to get a glass of milk directly from one of the cows. “Max’s was a milk farm and there were cows wandering around from neighboring properties,” recalled Lang. Just one month before showtime, the promoters struck a deal to rent the 600-acre farm of Max Yasgur, 45 miles away in Bethel. But, said Lang, “We got thrown out by people who were afraid of being invaded by hordes of hippies.” Originally the festival was scheduled to take place in a Wallkill, NY, industrial park. And although the festival earned no money, “Thousands of people have told me that Woodstock changed their lives. “ became a celebration of what the ’60s stood for: Peace, love and a hell of a lot of fun,” he said. There was also plenty of mischief, skinny-dipping, public fornication - and trash. “ Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music” (Reel Art Press), out Tuesday, reveals that it wasn’t all good karma and rainbows. Now Lang, 74, has put together a book of rarely seen photos from the festival. One of the all-time great cultural happenings, the three-day-long concert attracted a small city’s worth of fans to see performers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Lang co-organized and promoted the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in the summer of 1969, in Bethel, NY. We made the dream happen - showing that people could live compassionately together - and we made it all up as we went along.” Michael Lang calls hosting 600,000 strangers “the best time of my life, outside of family. Woman seen in iconic Woodstock album pic dies We found tickets to the first Catbird Music Festival in Bethel, NYĬarlos Santana reveals fans' 'wives got pregnant' to his music: 'Part of the family'
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