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The "WOODSTOCK EPISODE" 1999
I got home from work late on Friday, it was a hot one and I was exhausted to
the point of delirium. My buddy Sully and I had been painting a house in
Framingham all that day and had been listening to the radio. All they could
talk about was Woodstock, hype it about this, hype it about that, live
reports the whole shebang. I started to entertain the idea of attending, it
was just a matter of getting out there. During lunch, I checked out the map,
Rome NY wasn't that far, so I started to make mental possibilities. Kid Rock
and Staind were playing Lowell that night...I could get a ride out there,
then bum a ride off staind or anyone going from there. but by the time I got
home from work I was so tired I just passed out.
I woke up early saturday morning and felt pumped up on life. I put on the
Cro-Mags "Age of Quarrel" on the record player and decided to go for it. Look
out Woodstock, here I come. I could drive the TREE van out there but to be
honest I didn't want to take the responsibility of having our one and only
van out there so I decided to hitchhike, I figured I had plenty of day light
and as long as I could get there before dark I'd be alright. Besides I'm no
stranger to thumbing when I was younger I did it all the time, it's a risk
but it's way more of endurance and survival skills. Getting there was one
thing..getting in was another. I had heard that because the festival was held
on an air force base that if I tried to break in and got caught that it was a
federal offense. Well, federal offense or not I figured I'd risk it, besides,
if worse came to worse and I couldn't get in, I'd just spend the night in the
woods, maybe meet up with others like myself, and thumb back home in the
morning. So I packed a day, duct taped my tent to the bag, rolled up a sheet
with TREE spray painted on it, grabbed some spring water and walked down ot
the mass pike. I live in Allston Rock City so the mass pike was close by. On
the way down, I picked a piece of card board out of the trash and made a 2
sided sign. One sign said "mass pike west" and the other "woodstock, rome" or
whatever and just like that I was back on the road. I felt a little self
conscious as I stood by the highway entrance with my sign that someone I know
might see me but I think that goes back to the early days of thumbing in
westwood where if a parent or teacher saw me thumbing..not only would I get a
dirty look but then they would spread it around town, stupid gossip to put me
down. Well, I stood there for close to an hour and was beginning to think it
wasn't such a good idea, when I got my first ride. A small car that was
making a lot of noise pulled over and opened it's door to me. Inside was a guy
that moved up to the United States from El Salvador in the early eighties. We
talked about the Contras and American involvement in Latin America. He knew
a lot of facts that I was unaware of, but the description of the cultural
climate and everyday life during that period is what really blew me away.
Americans in general are so unaware of the crimes our country is responsible
for, the murder, the bloodshed, the deceit, I don't wonder why we are hated
around the world. It's our foreign policy of selfishness, Joe Strummer wasn't
kidding when he called us the dictators of the world. Anyway, he was cool and
held no real malice for Americans because after living here he was that the
people here are sheep.
Now, hitchhiking on the mass pike is against the law
so I had to be creative. My El Salvador friend was only going to worcester,
so after I sang some Minutemen songs for him, I had him drop me off at a rest
area before his exit. He was a house painter just like me and I thanked him
for the ride. At the rest area I decided to tie on the ol' feed bag while
eating my spaghetti and meatballs. I surveyed the restaurant for possible
rides...nothing but "normal" people, none of which would ever offer a Patriot
like myself a ride. I did spot these two biker looking guys in the back,
heavily tattooed, over six feet, looking fairly dangerous, so I strolled over
and asked them for a lift. They turned out to be ex-cons from California and
were trying out their luck at trucking and were waiting for a call for more
work, but if it didn't come thru they'd be heading west and offered me a
ride. We went back to their truck which was near where you get back on the
Pike so as we waited for the word, I continued to thumb. I could tell no one
was going to pick me up. I was hoping I would run into people heading out to
Woodstock but I was beginning to think everyone going there had already gone
and here I am stuck at a rest area in Wormtown. Again, I was having second
thoughts when I got my second ride. A hippy looking guy in a Volkswagon bus
pulled over and offered me a ride. When I jumped in and closed the door
behind me he asked if my friends were coming. He thought the truckers were
with me, now, I might look a little weird but these guys had gang tattoos on
their faces and looked criminal, this kid was brave and I knew he's be
alright, so I broke out the little kindness that I had and shared it with
him. He was going to Lee Mass which is almost at the New York state line
...once there I knew I could get a ride to Rome. It was a turning point, even
though he wasn't going, he had the mind set I needed to make this adventure
happen. After listening to Phil Ochs and Bob Marley for a couple of hours, he
dropped me off at the last rest area in Massachusetts and man did I have to
take a piss, No sooner had i finished when these loud kids maybe in their
early twenties barge in, I walk outside and I wait. When one comes out I ask
him if he's going to Woodstock he says Yeah, so I ask him for a ride..he asks
if I like beer and just like that I have my third and final ride. They were
from Connecticut and there were three car loads of them and they were real
cool to me. Lots of beer, food and herb...I was all set except the driver was
a little buzzed and drove like a maniac. I thought we were going to crash at
least a dozen times but he got me there.
We stopped and got more beer in Rome and then sat in traffic, hiding guzzles of beer from the police on bicycles.
I saw license plates from all over but Michigan had it hands down. We
creeped by these anti-abortion activists that displayed giant posters of
aborted fetuses in an effort to shock, but these same people are against t.v.
commercials for condoms or distribution of free condoms and yet they blow
away doctors, shoot up women's clinics...pro-life, yet they take
life...they're hypocrites and very dangerous because they are not all there.
Sure..there's got to be a better way but sex cannot be denied ..it's part of
being human and we can't overpopulate the planet so we've got to be smart
about it, leave god out of it, and don't get hysterical. So, we reach the
entrance and there are people everywhere, from hippies to punks and
everything in between. I'm finally feeling I made the right decision. After
an hour, we finally park the car and get out..it's about 5:30pm..I left
Allston at about 11am..I couldn't have made it out faster even if I took the
van but i still had to get in and then find a way home. Once out of the car I
sized up the wall for weaknesses, as I went about my business..this kid
asked me if I wanted to buy a wristband...damn, was I that obvious?? what do
you mean a wristband to get in?? for how much?? He's like $25. You gotta be
scamming me ...I'm here 5 minutes and now I have a ticket for $25?? so, how's
that work??? He told me he and his friends have been here since thursday and
were able to steal a bunch of wristbands, I checked his out with some people
walking by and they were the same, so I paid him. I went back to the car and
told the Conn. kids what just happened and directed them to this kid, I
hadn't even finished my beer before they all came back with wristbands. They
all wanted to go in immediately but here I am with a 30pack and no place to
hide it..so, I just thank them for the ride and watch them go.
I start walking, my bag is heavy and weighing me down, the sun is hot and
unforgiving. I need to find a way in and make a plan. I follow the flow of
people and pass by these peace-keepers who tell me to cover my beer, which I
do, and I keep walking. Pretty soon I'm on a road with tents all around me. I
thought I was in a camp ground outside the festival when some kid asked me
what I had under the towel. I told him it was my beer, he replied "why are
you hiding your beer , this is woodstock! " "I'm in? " I asked amazed and he
just laughed and said I was all set. so here I am in woodstock with beer
without even knowing it. I regretted paying the $25..the security was a
joke...why even build a wall? I kept walking towards one of the main stages
looking for a place to camp...there were so many people, so many
tents...every inch of grass was occupied. I finally found a hole of green in
a sea of tents and I set up camp one row back from the landing strip. My
first thought, after I set up was, I've got to find someone I know to secure
a ride home. My friend, Julie Duffy, was there working for Westwood One, she
couldn't give me a ride but she could possibly get me a backstage pass, which
means FREE BEER, so off I went alone in the mass of screaming idiots. It's a
strange feeling being alone surrounded by so many people. I feel like an
astronaut, caught up in an alien culture, observing rituals undetected do to
my disguise. I look like the rest of them but I still don't fit in. All these
dumb ass jock guys screaming "show us your tits" makes me sick, How and why
that mentality is tolerated is beyond me, but it's not only tolerated it's
encouraged as if screaming that shit makes you more of a man. I think it's a
true sign of weakness.
I keep seeing familiar features in the faces of
strangers, if these people are not family related they must come from the
same tribe. I have to stop myself several times because the people I
recognize turn out to be someone else. Everyone travels in packs..I feel like
I'm the only one all alone. I move thru the crowd like a ghost. No one
notices as i cross their path. I feel like a cheetah in the tall grass,
prowling without disturbing a blade. Limp Bizkit is on stage and I make up to
the red cross gate which was stage left. It's about as close as I wanted to
get, the crowd was going off. There were so many people it was unbelievable
...to play in front of such a large crowd..that's all into it must be the
biggest buzz. It's also a great responsibility ..a sea of people hanging on
your every word...dancing to all the songs and singing along, a lot of shit
can happen. I'm thinking how sick it is when the first bleeding girl gets
carried by me. She had a bloody nose and was crying, it didn't look too bad
but I'm sure she was shaken up. Then the next girl gets carried by me
pouring blood, a giant crimson gash cuts down here forehead..that's a lot of
stitches...she's in a daze and the blood keeps coming. I'm thinking..wow,
people are really getting hurt. The music stops and I think the band is
trying to calm people down but I can't really hear too well. so I don't know
what's going on except that Limp Bizkit was tearing the place up. I'm just
standing in the middle of al this chaos when I get spotted. "what the hell
are you doing here?" it's Tara, she works with Steve Morse who writes for the
Boston Globe. I tell her I thumbed out there that day and I just go in for
$25, she gets a kick out of it and directs me over to Steve who is towering
over all the kids, myself included. He pulled out his notebook and asked for
a quote. I said something about leaving the real world and entering another
mental dimension. It was woodstock but not the 69 version of peace and love...
this was the 99 version of sex and drugs, no one here cared about
politics or a revolutionary counter culture. It was just a chance to party
real hard. Not that the first woodstock was full of activists but they were
breaking new ground with personal freedoms and they did question what America
was all about. The Vietnam war did portray America as an aggressor with
questionable motives. The Tonkin gulf episode was fabricated and the Hippie
generation called them on it. Today the majority dwells in apathy they know
it's a scam and don't give a damn. Realistically, what can one do? i feel
powerless too, but you gotta try because when it comes to die at least you'll
know you gave it you're best effort. It's got to start somewhere. We are the
cancer and it's up to us to be the answer, so it's got to start here. The
sooner the better before it's too late. You don't have to be an "expert" to
see the weather has taken a drastic turn for the worse. Sure, we've always
had tornados but they would drop down in Kansas not New Hampshire, maybe they
would, I'm no expert but it appears to me the number of tornados are on the
rise, the number of earthquakes are on the rise, the number of floods, the
number of hurricanes. As the rate for natural disasters rises so does the
death toll.
The one fact I know for sure is the ozone is depleting, I never
burned in the sun but summer after summer I burn, the greenhouse effect is in
full effect....and as the global temperature rises ..the coast gets consumed
and the eye of the hurricane is created with greater frequency. The powers
that be are fully aware of the dire situation of our atmosphere yet they
stall and tell us that it can't be proven. Chicken little was right,,,the sky
is falling and the kids today at woodstock know it and are powerless. They
don't have the hope of 69' ..they know they're doomed. It was another mental
dimension alright, a mental dimension of desperation. A desperate need to
have fun before it's all done. With my quote in place, I grab Tara's cell
phone and reach out for Julie Duffy, I heard rumors that cell phones wouldn't
work at woodstock but I had no real trouble getting thru...No real trouble
except for the static, Limp Bizkit was playing and I could barely hear, but I
was happy to make the connection. "Hey J Duff, what's up ..this is RIV and I
made it in!" Luckily she was real close by and we made the rendezvous at the
red cross gate and within minutes I was face to face with Julie Duffy. She
gave me a big hug and then handed me an artist all access backstage pass but
only after I promised not to cause any trouble....WHO ME??? Trouble??? so
after swearing I'd be on my best behaviour she hooked me up. Just like that I
was backstage at woodstock drinking free beer. I hung out and watched the
rest of Limp Bizkit's set as they carried in more injured kids. Too many
idiots moshing with no skills, no honor and no regard can lead to a big
bloody mess.
I make my way thru and get backstage, I head for the busses
where the bands are hanging out. Security stops me ..checks my pass..and
allows me to proceed with my mission. At the entrance of the band area they
have a big piece of wood commemorating Woodstock 99' and all the bands sign it.
I was real tempted but I promised to be good and fought off the urge. That's
when Rage's bass player, Tim, walked by and I stop him , give him a cd and
shake his hand. He's cool..looks at the CD and thanks me before walking away.
Now let me fill you readers in on what it's like backstage in the band area.
You'd think it would be a crazy party with members of different bands hanging
out carrying on with a bunch of VIPs, hot girls and professional mayhem
makers like myself, but it was positively subdued. Boring in fact, nobody
hanging out and the few that were had that unapproachable air to them. This
was my third or fourth time back in the land area and it felt weird to walk
around back there because no one was friendly. I was to leave thinking I got
the job done, I got the TREE cd to RAGE when I saw Zach talking to a black
woman with dreads. I walk up, interrupt their conversation and give him a cd,
I ask him if he's ever heard of us..he says no..I tell him everyone thinks we
are ripping him off but i assure him it's not true, I then pardon myself and
leave but not before I tell him he should take TREE on tour. I get the hell
out of there and hang a left over to the Westwood One tent..some techs are
drinking keg beer so I join them. One guy tells me how he got a girl
backstage with his pass. I wasn't impressed so he went on to explain that it
was his backstage pass to a blow job. I still wasn't impressed but humoured
him by drinking tons of beer and telling stupid stories about myself and my
friends.
Meanwhile Metallica are rocking out so I journey over and watch some
of their set. They are the last band for saturday night and the third i've
seen since i've arrived. It sucks to try and watch a band play with 50,000
people in your way. Sure, I'd love to play to that many people but it would
mean you couldn't be playing in small rock clubs anymore. I think that's
where the best shows are, it must kind of suck for bands like Metallica to
forfeit the small intimate shows forever but I'm sure with the money they're
making, they'll survive ..Metallica does about a dozen encores and finally
call it quits. I have a few more beers at Westwood One..tell them about the
secret rave party and I decide to head back to my tent. I can't get over how
big this place is. I can't even see the second stage and as I walk by the
Rave hanger there's got to be at least 10,000 pulsating to the drone. So many
people, all fucked up, and I still haven't seen one fight. I'm surprised no
one has fucked with me, everyone seems to be having a wild time and keeping
it positive. I get back to my tent and have a seat in my neighbors chair. I
put my TREE on my tent..like a banner..and had completely forgotten about it
until this kid comes walking up and asks if I'm in TREE.
I answer in affirmative and offer him a seat. It turns out the seats are his
and his tent is next to mine, he came out with a couple of friends and
they're all from worcester. Finally, some fellow massholes to drink with, I
offer a beer and light up some green and we kick back.
I tell him of my
adventure and he tells me of his..it's getting kind of cold so I light a
small fire out of cardboard and trash and let it smoulder. Every time the
flames rise I step them out allowing the coals to glow. I do this to attract
as little attention to our warmth as possible. People randomly stop by and
get warm. We talk ..smoke butts and they leave to be replaces by someone new.
It lasts for about an hour or so until a security patrol spots our fun and
sprays it down, putting it out for good. I take it as a sign and retire to my
tent for some much needed shut eye. I woke up the next day sweating bullets,
I crawl outside and the worcester kids are already up drinking and smoking. I
need water and finish off what I had. I eat two granny smith apples and eat a
bagel I share the rest of my bagels and grab a beer. The sun is doing what it
does best and beats the heat down, it's not even 10 in the morning ..I
already feel oppressed. I realign the TREE bed sheet banner so it stretches
from my tent to their's creating a pocket of shade in which to kick back in
and start drinking. It wasn't my idea but I soon found my beers on ice with
one in my hand. Hey, I was the only one with beer so I had to share. I took
two out and hid them for later cuz that's the nature of the beast. A bunch of
people kept stopping by, it was great..it was my first tent party at
woodstock with complete strangers. |