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WOODSTOCK CONFIDENTIAL

WOODSTOCK CONFIDENTIAL

James Mitchell
5/5 ( ratings)
Read Download
As Purchasing Agent for 1969's Woodstock Festival, Jim Mitchell's had to ensure that enough food, water, medical care, security, transportation and musical talent were on hand to pull of the definitive cultural event of the '60s.
This is his story.
EXCERPT FROM BOOK
Thursday night, August 14, 1969 through Monday morning, August 18, 1969.
Fifty years later, it's hard to remember in detail those final days before the Festival began. There were endless tasks, continuing emergencies, someone always demanding my attention. Everything became harder and harder to do, even just staying upright.
Getting to the site was becoming increasingly difficult because by Monday before the Festival, there were already people in the area. By Tuesday and Wednesday, we knew we were facing a potential disaster and were trying our best to avert chaos. My concern was getting enough material to the site to prevent mayhem from breaking out.
The Hog Farm kitchen was already to the point where most of their supplies were being used up as they had become the only functioning food source and I was having a hard time finding more groceries as everything for miles around was being used up.
Our water distribution system was breaking down everywhere and our overworked staff was reaching a state of utter exhaustion and frustration. Everyone was working at breakneck speed, still trying to do the best possible job. Our list of unaccomplished tasks was growing longer as we implemented a sort of triage attitude towards everything on our "to do" lists. We had to look at each job and determine if we could do it or if the job had to be crossed off. For a while we tried to explain why something couldn't happen and then we just stopped trying to explain.
Our focus was on basic life support and to provide a focus for the crowds of people that just kept growing. There was power to the stage and they had managed to get the sound system up and running. The idea of using a turntable to shift acts was deemed not possible. Lights were hung and follow spots were hoisted to the towers and the activity on the stage seemed to provide a focus for the crowd as they followed the stage crews frantic work.
In the production trailers, the phones were ringing off the hooks. In the office back in White Lake, the press queries were pouring in along with frantic calls from people looking for those who were at the site. Calls from various State agencies wanting to know what was going on, could they help, and a whole range of "you've got to be kidding!" inquiries. John and Joel were sure they were going to jail and facing financial ruin. Take care of one problem and there were dozens more waiting for action. And the rain just kept coming down.
Chris was desperately trying to complete the performer's pavilion and refused to give up and admit there was no way to get it all assembled. Somewhere along the line we figured that we had to have a way from one backstage area to another and the only way to solve the problem was to bridge the road.
So we assigned a crew to build a bridge. No drawings, no lists of materials, no schedule of assembly, just get the damn thing built out of what we had on hand. I forget who actually got the job, but they were part of our NYU/Fillmore crew, some students who were familiar with getting a job done with "found" materials.
Pages
87
Format
Kindle Edition
Publisher
ZATOPEK WORKS
Release
May 26, 2019

WOODSTOCK CONFIDENTIAL

James Mitchell
5/5 ( ratings)
Read Download
As Purchasing Agent for 1969's Woodstock Festival, Jim Mitchell's had to ensure that enough food, water, medical care, security, transportation and musical talent were on hand to pull of the definitive cultural event of the '60s.
This is his story.
EXCERPT FROM BOOK
Thursday night, August 14, 1969 through Monday morning, August 18, 1969.
Fifty years later, it's hard to remember in detail those final days before the Festival began. There were endless tasks, continuing emergencies, someone always demanding my attention. Everything became harder and harder to do, even just staying upright.
Getting to the site was becoming increasingly difficult because by Monday before the Festival, there were already people in the area. By Tuesday and Wednesday, we knew we were facing a potential disaster and were trying our best to avert chaos. My concern was getting enough material to the site to prevent mayhem from breaking out.
The Hog Farm kitchen was already to the point where most of their supplies were being used up as they had become the only functioning food source and I was having a hard time finding more groceries as everything for miles around was being used up.
Our water distribution system was breaking down everywhere and our overworked staff was reaching a state of utter exhaustion and frustration. Everyone was working at breakneck speed, still trying to do the best possible job. Our list of unaccomplished tasks was growing longer as we implemented a sort of triage attitude towards everything on our "to do" lists. We had to look at each job and determine if we could do it or if the job had to be crossed off. For a while we tried to explain why something couldn't happen and then we just stopped trying to explain.
Our focus was on basic life support and to provide a focus for the crowds of people that just kept growing. There was power to the stage and they had managed to get the sound system up and running. The idea of using a turntable to shift acts was deemed not possible. Lights were hung and follow spots were hoisted to the towers and the activity on the stage seemed to provide a focus for the crowd as they followed the stage crews frantic work.
In the production trailers, the phones were ringing off the hooks. In the office back in White Lake, the press queries were pouring in along with frantic calls from people looking for those who were at the site. Calls from various State agencies wanting to know what was going on, could they help, and a whole range of "you've got to be kidding!" inquiries. John and Joel were sure they were going to jail and facing financial ruin. Take care of one problem and there were dozens more waiting for action. And the rain just kept coming down.
Chris was desperately trying to complete the performer's pavilion and refused to give up and admit there was no way to get it all assembled. Somewhere along the line we figured that we had to have a way from one backstage area to another and the only way to solve the problem was to bridge the road.
So we assigned a crew to build a bridge. No drawings, no lists of materials, no schedule of assembly, just get the damn thing built out of what we had on hand. I forget who actually got the job, but they were part of our NYU/Fillmore crew, some students who were familiar with getting a job done with "found" materials.
Pages
87
Format
Kindle Edition
Publisher
ZATOPEK WORKS
Release
May 26, 2019

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