A couple of kids are interviewed and it’s interesting to hear the way they see the world. This happens periodically through the film as it steps away from the music and puts the audience front and center. One girl has lost her sister and is concerned about getting her home in time for work.
Fifties cover band Sha Na Na seems like an odd choice on the line-up, but their silliness is an extension of the fun and joy within music, so why not? What’s even odder is learning they actually appeared before Jimi Hendrix came out on the last day.
Storm clouds blow in, and the wind whips. The organizers have to repeatedly ask people to move away from towers for safety. A chant of “No Rain” begins but doesn’t work. Some leave the concert area, some use it as a chance to bathe, and one guy claims “”the man” seeded the clouds to ruin the show. The majority embrace the weather and play in the mud.
When Arlo Guthrie performs “Coming Into Los Angeles,” the visuals show people smoking pot and even a few cameramen take part. Yet, not everyone is on drugs. Some do kundalini yoga in its place, which one man compares to smoking DMT.
Crosby Stills Nash (& Young, who refused to be filmed) are playing their second gig together and do a great job on “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” Ten Years After plays a great blues-based rock medley including bits from “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” “Whole Shakin’ Goin On.” They tear it up and go to the Interfuckingmission on a high note.
During Jefferson Airplane’s performances, the U.S. Army is seen bringing in medical teams to help out. A man reveals a kid overdosed on heroin, and another was run over. To balance that out, a child was born. Governor Nelson Rockefeller declares the region a disaster area, and the camera captures a girl freaking out over too many people around her but she can’t leave.
John Sebastian sings “Younger Generation” set to footage of children at the show, many running around naked. Country Joe McDonald leads the crowd in the anti-Vietnam War song “I-Feel-like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag.”
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Excellent review Bicho, and I 100% concur that people should experience this.
-Glen
2 - doug
Haven't seen this in ages. Extras sound interesting. Wish the kids had got me this for father's day