It’s funny how coming up as younger children no one had a definite idea of what exactly “Woodstock” was. I know that for I, until the age of probably 12, was absolutely convinced that Woodstock was some sort of magical place in which a few people gathered in a time years away to band together and form some sort of hippie super-friends band. I have heard so many different ideas over the years from other kids who had no idea what they were talking about but who were also convinced that they knew exactly what Woodstock was. I suppose that was always part of the appeal, the certain mysterious aspect that shrouded the entire event. I just remember thinking that even if I didn’t know exactly what happened musically, I knew that there was a lot of marijuana involved in whatever antics took place. It was those sort of rumors that turned the historical festival into something so much more for a generation of kids such as myself who would never experience something similar or be able to fully comprehend what happened back in 1969.
Obvious the collection of world changing musicians that were present at the event had a huge part in the eventual lore of the event, but it is really everything else to me that makes the idea of Woodstock so appealing and amazing. The fact that nearly half of a million people congregated on one farm, lived together for three days in a state of harmony and utter musical enjoyment is just unbelievable. Sure we have Coachella these days but they just simply cannot compare. There is something about people laying out in the sun clad in every paisley pattern under the sun while Jimmy Hendrix smashes guitars in the background that is undeniably untochable. I guess knowing that I missed it just short of 50 years makes me able to step back and appreciate it even more. It’s still a source of wonderment for the sheer volume of the undertaking itself. I would love to be able to become lost in music for days without a care in the world on the hills of some expansive farm. Perhaps one of these concerts these days will fulfill my desire, until than, I’m just going to continue wishing I had made it to that magical meeting place decades ago.
