The "WOODSTOCK EPISODE" 1999

I have never had a problem with drinking or hanging out with people I don't know. I've been doing it since I was a kid and I've had plenty of practice waking up in the morning hungover, hot and dehydrated far from my home. The guys were cool..the girls were beautiful and I had a lot of fun but I knew I had to make a move or I'd end up drunk too early in the day and be reduced to an obnoxious drunk by night. We smoked out and finished the beer, there's still plenty of vodka and whiskey, but I can't indulge in the hard liquor..it makes me LOCO. The girls are looking hot and they're only sixteen years old. I have to get the hell out of here and some people in my own age group. no disrespect to the kids..I just got to spread out and I say later..then jump ship...back into the sea of people. More like an ocean of people..crowds stretched as far as I could see and today was the last day and I still needed to find a ride home. I wander around for a while. tents are like blades of grass..it looks like a giant refugee camp..tarps and trash bags make up a makeshift maze. I bump into some kids selling kind..I check it out and it looks good but I don't want the whole thing. I flag down a stranger and convince him to split it with me,,,with the deal done, I'm out before the pigs set upon the obvious. I was getting hungry so I decided to see what kind of food situation was going on backstage. This pass is great..I move from general population to upper elite with the greatest of ease. I'll approach anyone on either side of the gate with the same attitude and options. I know I snaked in but I could go back there and put on a big act as if i were king shit or even better I could show it off in general population and wow the kids with status but I wouldn't do that.,it would be pathetic..hey, I'm no better or worse than anyone else. I would never let that get to my head ..that would be elitism..and elitism is the first step to fascism. I get back stage and watch Westwood One interview Elvis Costello. I got a coffee and bagel and looked on as he got swarmed by non ticket holders looking for autographs. i walk back into the band area but no one is hanging around. kids of all ages are on the other side of the gate partying their minds out but back here I'm lucky to catch anyone sipping a beer.

I run into the black lady with dreads that was talking to Zach the night before..she said hello so i introduced myself. She told me she was there working the Mumia Abu Jamal case trying to get artists to speak out on his behalf. We talk about Mumia's Black Panther roots and how the FBI, through the use of Contelpro (counter intelligence program) sabotaged and assassinated the people involved with the movement. Oh yes, in America you have the freedom to say whatever you want but if people start listening and you start making sense you are eliminate with the utmost discretion. We talked about move how Mumia wrote and spoke out as a voice to the mainstream media in their behalf. How John Africa had inspired Mumia, an inspiration that keeps him sane to this day as he wastes away in a cell....waiting for the word. We talked about his books "Live from Death Row" and "Death Blossoms" and I have to encourage all who read this to read his books !! We talked how he was set up by the corrupt Philadelphia police, how can an unconscious man confess?? Mumia had a .38 the bullet that killed the cop was a .45. I don't doubt a set up, with his history he's had a file since 15yrs old, he was an effective speaker against injustice, so they set him up and took him out. It must be embarrassing for them when he survived his gun shot wound. He still speaks of freedom from behind the bars with more passion than those who claim to walk free. I told her I was down and gave her my last cd telling her if there was anything we or I could do...call!! No one does nothing as we share the kindness besides hide behind petty sneers. I'm starving and she leads me to the food tent and I strap on the ol' feed bag and eat a days worth. I am stuffed and feel the need to do some serious kicking back. i say goodby to my new friend and wander into the only real building..they have cake and coffee and in one room it's set up like a living room with a couch , and comfy chairs ..a tv set is on with Elvis Costello playing live on stage. I get hassled by security for some reason and make it in to a comfy chair in front of the monitor. J Duff stops by and say hi and poof just like magic she's off again running the show.

I hang and talk to beautiful women who are watching the show. we watch via satellite a performance that is only 100 yards away. it's kind of wild to think that the signal that's coming on the tube has gone out to space and then back with no real time delay. It's the best seats at woodstock to watch the bands play live. I pass out, face in hand, with my shades on, Jewel, I think, is on the tube and now the couches are full of new beautiful women, whom I address in a casually intoxicated manner. Wow, what a power nap, I needed that..I was wondering how long I was there when J Duff pulls up an starts laughing at me saying "you're still here"..ya, power nap for success, it's what I always say. She gets more food and I eat heartily again as if I hadn't eaten all day. Now coffee me up with about five cups and I'm back to speed. I thank the lovely Julie Duffy as security hassles me again, and I take off back into population. I head back to my tent with my pockets stuffed with cans of beer and soda. I get back and there is a message for me on my TREE bed sheet banner saying if I need a ride follow the landstrip back and we're right there, signed Vicky. The worcester kids are gone but some other kids are hanging out, they said she was there an hour ago. I hand out beverages and follow the landing strip until I hear someone yell my name. It's Vicky and Brett from Everett and they have come to my rescue, not only do I get a ride home but they have a nice big campsite with lights and chairs and cans of cold beers and doobies...lots of big doobies, I move my tent over and celebrate my luck, I scored a ride home..no more worries..no more wonder..I feel like I got my second wind, Godsmack is playing over at the far stage so a couple of us journey off to check it out. We get over there and the crowd is massive. I'm content to watch at a distance and enjoy my view without spilling brew, the others take off to get a better look. I'm tired of the crowd..walking thru a crowd for a long period of time makes me feel like I'm tripping and I get a little edgy besides even if they could get to the stage thru all these people the show would be over by the time they got there. But man, godsmack has really blown up, I knew they were big in MASS ..this is evidence of everywhere. I still remember when Sully played drums for Stripmind and now he sings..Good for him..he didn't give up and he got it now if only some of that would trickle off. On the way back to camp I met some kids from Lynn with a squirt gun, a big pump up kind that sprays a lot of water. They were spraying people down that walked by. I was surprised to see that no one cared. I asked if I could use it and they let me. Just to see what would happen I sprayed people right in the face or the headshot at least. I was nailing them and still no one cared, they were grateful to get cooled off i guess.

I heard Robbie Krieger from the Doors fame play some Doors song with some current band, I don't know...it was as cool as it could have been but you can't rehash the past sometimes. Back at camp nobody is around so I figure I'd walk around maybe head backstage tell J Duff that I got a ride home. I get over there and she's real busy so I sit down with my back against the fence and wait with head down. Moments later I'm surrounded by at least five guys in deep conversation, they don't notice me and I ignore them until i hear familiar voices and look up..Standing around me silhouetted by the late afternoon sun was the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a perfect opportunity to shamelessly self promote, but I gave my last CD to the Mumia cause..oh well....I look up and catch Flea's eye and throw them the horns "you guys rock" is the best thing I could come up with....damn,..I feel like a nervous kid that would come up to me and say that. I guess it's a big circle..it all comes around and none of us are above it. They just look at me in silence which makes me feel like an even bigger idiot. At that second they seemed to be noticed by more backstage fans than myself and they run for cover before they have to talk to any of these people. Suddenly I don't feel so stupid and decide to get the fuck out of there before i say or do something stupid..I'm fired up when I bump into Bradley J, a WBCN DJ, he asks what I'm up to and I give a quick run down but not before we grab a couple of beers and toast to woodstock 99'. We shot the shit for a while and have a couple laughs. I've lost track of whose playing where but it's not that enjoyable watching a band play in such a great crowd anyway so it's lost it's appeal. I do want to check out Reveille at the up n coming stage but that's not until later. Bradley J and I hang out until Westwood One has finished doing their thing...Julie Duffy gets on set for some goofy interview shots and then introduces me to everyone, and i mean everyone she works with. I tell her I got a ride home tomorrow and everything has wrapped up very nicely. She is exhausted and needs to relax so I hang for a little longer and jet. I don't expect to see her again and we say our goodbyes. Back in general population I no longer search the crowd for familiar faces, the need for a lift home has been handled and now i can enjoy the rest of the night.

I go back to the tent and hang with the Everett posse. I must thank them because it wasn't just a ride home..I felt like the little begger boy they let in. I hang until i hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers and decide to watch their set from a far..of course....These guys have been at if for a long time and I've been into them since "Uplift Mofo Party Plan" ..I like them a lot..but I don't dig the new stuff as much as the old. Not that it's not good .I like the songs..it's got a slower feel to it..like rainy day style...It's cool just doesn't rock like they used to but than again ..who can...I'm not innocent here either times passes and changes us all a little so little we don't even notice. There's a rumor going around about a special tribute to Jimi Hendrix with special guests or guests performing...speculations run from prince to pete townsend..oh the suspense of it all...I watch the Peppers rock out and remember to check out Reveille. I walk over to the up n coming stage and happy to see it's not so packed that I can walk up close and watch the band. I use my pass to go behind the stage and look for my buddy Keith Bennet, sure enough there he is on stage working..I walk over to say what's up and go back to watching the band. I spot Mistress Carrie from behind, her purple hair gives her away every time. I sneak up on her and give her a big hug. She's great even way out here she gets swarmed by more fans than just me. We talk a bit, she tells me she's waiting to get the word from Sevendust for a party. A party..at last..it takes sevendust to start the party...I was hanging out behind the wrong stage..I saw them play on tv when i was backstage after my pass out. I kinda know those guys so I'd love to go hang out. Reveille ends and mistress carrie, Lyle, Maryann and Hugo are still waiting for the word when I decide to bust out and check out the tribute to Hendrix, I cut backstage to make the most time , the security has gotten stricter...double checking my pass....it must be the special guest request I laugh to myself. I cut around the building and get my first look at the fires. I saw some small fires earlier but these were big. The Red Hot Chili Peppers stop playing and an announcer comes over the P.A pleading with the crowd to settle down and put out the fires. I take out the old pentax K1000 and head for the biggest blaze. I can feel the energy in the air as I enter the running mass of people. mob rules now..mob rules and kids get their first taste of what it's like. I snap a couple shots wondering where the cops were or fire engines at least ..ten minutes ...twenty minutes pass still nothing. I'm shooting photos of kids tearing down a vendor tent when a MTV camera guy next to me says "Lookout here they come" I turn and see two columns of tan uniformed police charge right into the kids tearing down the tent..billy clubs a swinging. Those kids scatter and the cops charge off in another direction at a trot hitting their clubs against the ground in unison. It's an unnerving sight it's an unnerving sound ..I hadn't worried about my personal well being until now. I watch as the cops avoid the biggest congregation of kids that surround burning trailer trucks. The cops run by bonfire after bonfire. Where the hell are they going I think to myself as I watch them run off into the darkness. I follow, the cops stop at the vendor's tents and set up shop. They're here to protect the precious contents of the tents while the fires rage.

I was amazed to see the police protect the property before they protect the people, amazed to see the cops doing their job but only backwards from how I'd like to see it all done. I walk back over to the biggest fire, now tractor trailers are burning and pretzels and soda bottles litter the skies, crashing down on the heads of the kids. I'm standing around taking it all in when Julie Duffy emerges from the darkness.."I knew I'd find you here" "oh yeah, this is what's really happening"..we laugh and watch the fires get fed..kids get tribal and drums beat to the sound of crackling flames. A propane tank or two explode but no one seems to notice or care. This could get dangerous..someone could get hurt..but only due to idiocy. No one was fighting or anything..kids were revved up and there was plenty of property damage going on but after the prices the venders were charging..it was an opportunity to redistribute the wealth and even at these loses the vendors suffer. I still believe they had to have made a healthy profit exploiting the kids.The cops come in force now and the fire trucks bring up the rear. Julie Duffy , her friend and I decided to head back to TV Land (backstage) .The cops set up a skirmish line and we have to pass thru to get back. ALl of the sudden we are the only ones behind the line, cops on 4x4s fly up and yell at us then fly off. We get to the line..show our passes..Julie says a couple magic words and the cops let us thru..we go to the backstage Media center or TV Land as those in the know go by. Back in TV land Julie Duff and I climb up on a camper and watch the chaos ensue. Suddenly a cry goes up , kids are in the perimeter ..LOOK OUT kids without passes are backstage....I actually see people panic..it's funny to me that these people are afraid of some kids running by their trailer ..as if the kids might light them on fire too. Bradley J is back there hanging with Nik Carter and a bunch of other WBCN personnel. I say hello to everyone and drink down a warm Michelob..it's time for me to go back out there..I have to get back to camp and catch my ride. No one knows if the cops are going to let people spend the night at their campsites or does everyone have to hit the road. To their disbelief I tell them I'm stealing all the beer and going back out there..with beer in pocket, a cigarette behind each ear..I bid Julie Duffy a final farewell and go for it. I'm way behind enemy lines now..cops on 4x4 patrol ....I move thru shadows from cover to cover without getting noticed.. I brave a couple of photos and keep moving. I can see the police skirmish line ahead of me. I just out flank them and I'm back in general population...kids are beating barrels and whatever they can get their hands on..both sides stare at each other but nothing happens when it looks like it would I beat a hasty retreat back to camp to find all my Everett friends still there. We walk around and come across a glow stick war and a number of other bon fires..the fires are mostly trash..some idiot even tries to put a port-a- potty in one..that would have smelled nice...The night sky was full of smoke and we decided to head back.Back at camp we drank a little more and I cut out early..passed out in my wet smelly tent..In the morning it looked like it rained camping gear over the place...tents and sleeping bags everywhere. It was such a fucking waste but I couldn't collect anything ..I was lucky to have a ride...we broke camp..while the Everett guys got their trucks and drove right up to the site..It was over...they should have never called it Woodstock!

Sincerely,

RIVER

p.s....opinions and attitudes are all mine ...agree or disagree at your own free will!! Make sure you check out all the photos that go along with this report.......