1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 192



Only Noblemtl

192. Again, Summer of ’69 (16)

Eden went through security as he passed through the gate. It was absurd. No, honestly, it made him angry. All of his food and water for the three nights and four days starting from the pre-show were confiscated.

“Isn’t that too much? If you had notified us in advance, we wouldn’t have come here in such a hurry. We wouldn’t have even rented a camper van.”

“We are following the manual sent down from headquarters. As I mentioned, there is a risk of food poisoning in the summer······.”

The young men, as green as snow, repeated the same words like parrots.

The excitement that had been building up was shattered. The confiscated items were piled up like a mountain around the gate.

Eden drove the empty camper van through the gate and pressed the stop button on his portable recorder.

“Whew, okay. We’ve come this far, so let’s be positive. It’s Woodstock.”

Eden, who had calmed down, stopped the car to one side and looked at the faces of the people who had passed through the gate. The boys with their shirts off turned around and raised their middle fingers strongly toward the peace patrol and swore at them. The swearing was so strong that it was refreshing to see.

Still, thanks to getting in early, I was able to secure a pretty good spot in the camper van zone.

“Oh, I’m hungry. If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten a lot before passing through the gate.”

He decided to get out of the car with his camera and take a look around. The scorching August sun was blazing hot. It was a stroke of genius to buy a white cowboy hat at a rest stop on the way.

People who were upset at the gate gradually regained their excitement. They probably thought, since it has already come to this, let’s just enjoy it.

“It’s good to be young, haha.”

Girls wearing loose floral one-piece dresses, sleeveless T-shirts, shorts, and slippers. There were also men who had completely taken off their tops and women who boldly wore bikinis with short shorts.

Eden diligently captured the free-spirited hippie fashion of American youth on camera.

First, we needed food and water to fill our hungry stomachs.

There was an endless row of stores with signs that said “Food & Beverage.”

Water: 20 cents

Coke: 50 cents

A pint of beer: $1

Hotdog: $1

Hamburger: $1.50

Eden, who came from England, calculated the cost of living in the United States in his head. He tilted his head, wondering if it was really that expensive.

“You’re selling water for money? Does that make sense?”

“You guys are really rich. You sell water for money.”

“I’d rather be beaten to death than pay for water. It’s so hot outside, let’s just have a cold beer!”

“Good!”

They were the boys who had been swearing at the peace patrol at the gate. They looked young, but they hadn’t been subjected to any inspection or anything.

Eden began to have an ominous feeling that something was wrong.

* * *

I put on a big hat and sunglasses and looked around the event venue. The tent village was set up in a place with many large trees. People were pitching tents under the cool shade and tying hammocks to the trees.

“A salad made with fresh fruits and vegetables grown right in our garden!”

“Try Bethel’s most famous hand-made burger for only 50 cents!”

“Refreshing lemonade squeezed from organic, pesticide-free lemons for just 10 cents!”

“We also have French fries and chicken!”

Bethel Merchants Association President Elliott was making his way around the food court, greeting restaurant owners.

“Elliot.”

“James, can I just wander around like this?”

“Everyone is wearing cowboy hats and sunglasses, haha.”

Elliot was dressed exactly the same, only his hat was a different color.

“That’s right, haha. James’s idea worked really well. The restaurant owners lowered their prices a bit, but everyone was talking about how the food was selling like hotcakes. As the union president, I feel honored.”

Everyone was carrying a water jug ​​around their neck or on their shoulder. They could fill it up at any time from a water fountain, so no one would suffer from dehydration like in ’69.

“Elliot, aren’t you just good at drawing anime? Anime stickers are selling like hotcakes.”

“Ah······ That’s absolutely not true. I just drew the character as I felt······.”

“I’m joking, haha. Actually, he’s popular because he’s unique. But a lot of people buy the team logos. It’s all thanks to Elliot.”

He smiled shyly.

“Then I will meet some other merchants.”

“Yes, Chairman. See you again.”

Elliot waved his hand at the word “Chairman” and went back to the food court.

Here and there, human rights groups, anti-war groups, and protesters held placards and peacefully delivered messages, while unknown musicians played guitar and sang. Excited hippie women danced to the music.

The atmosphere of the summer of 1969 was palpable. The number of visitors was about one-tenth of that time, but 50,000 people was still a huge number.

Fortunately, 3,000 reserve volunteers showed up. The New York National Guard had notified the national reserves. We provided them with sheriff-style hats and uniforms. The reserve commander arranged shifts to keep them from getting tired in the hot weather.

At that moment, a white-haired old man came from afar in a wheelchair with the help of volunteers. He had a huge build and a scary-looking face.

“Hello, Mr. Gerard?”

I ran to him.

“Oh, James. Long time no see, haha.”

“Gerard, if you had called me earlier, I would have come and picked you up in my car.”

Then he slowly got up from his wheelchair, leaning on his cane.

“······!”

“I can walk now. The doctor in charge told me not to overdo it, so I only got here from the gate in a wheelchair. Hehe. This kind of festival atmosphere is different from what I feel in the castle. I’ve come to a place like this before I die. I’m such a happy person.”

“Gerard, please don’t say that······.”

“It means there are too many things to do before I die. It seems like I will have to live to be over 100, hahaha!”

It was the first time in a long time that I heard his hearty laughter.

“But did you come alone?”

“No, my son’s family came with me. I guess they let me in quickly because I was feeling unwell.”

He showed me the water bottle around his neck. It had stickers of Annie, Angela, and me on it. I almost burst out laughing when I imagined him with such a stern expression putting cute stickers on it.

“Oh, James. That song. The one we filmed at my castle.”

“I’d Do Anything For You?”

“Anyway, when are we going to sing that song?”

“Our turn is last, so it’s on the 17th.”

“Okay, I got it. Now let’s go meet our beautiful granddaughters, hehe.”

Mr. Gerard smiled brightly at the thought of meeting Annie and Angela.

* * *

[ Woodstock 71 ] Day 1.

Eden woke up and got out of the camper. The California summer sun was much hotter than he had expected. Looking around, it was hard to find any shade.

Leaving the camper van zone and heading to the tent village was truly a sight to behold. From the first day, there was trash strewn everywhere, and people were building roofs on top of their tents with plywood they had ripped off from somewhere.

“oh my god······.”

Eden recorded this entire scene on camera.

As I followed the young men carrying the plywood, I saw that they were haphazardly tearing down the ‘Wall of Peace’ that had been erected around the stage. The Wall of Peace was an art piece where artists had painted pictures symbolizing peace on a fence made of plywood.

The peace patrol paid little attention to the sight.

Eden recorded everything in his notebook without fail.

On the way to the store, I heard some boys muttering.

“Oh, I’m hungry because I’ve been so tired since this morning. Should I buy that tasteless hamburger again?”

“I think buying water is the biggest waste of money.”

“Why are you buying water? You could have spent that money on beer. They don’t even do inspections here, hahaha.”

“Okay. Let’s have a drink!”

As Eden watched these events, the excitement and anticipation from yesterday completely disappeared. He had no appetite either. He bought a bottle of water and trudged back to the car.

I spread out the camper van shade and set up the table and chairs. I brought a typewriter and started writing a manuscript. I excluded personal feelings and wrote mainly based on facts.

As I was typing so intently, an announcement came on announcing a performance.

“As expected, the one who holds the 69 lineup together is Michael Lang.”

In fact, more than half of the artists who participated in Woodstock in 1969 will be on stage again. When Richie Havens announced the start, a huge cheer rang out.

Eden decided to watch the first day’s performance from afar. As the afternoon approached, mist rose from the asphalt of the car racing track. People began to sprinkle water on the floor to cool it down.

Eden also needed more water. When he went back to the store, there was a crowd of people.

“No, how can water that was 20 cents just a moment ago suddenly double in price!”

“We can’t help it because we don’t have enough supplies.”

“These guys are total scammers!”

“Hey, let’s just buy it. I’m dying of thirst.”

People were annoyed but had no choice but to buy water. Eden also had no choice but to buy five bottles of water, which had doubled in price, and return to the car.

‘Is this the reality of Woodstock······. Were only the good things reported in the newspapers and magazines······.’

Eden was fired up with a sense of mission to tell the truth.

* * *

[ Again, Summer of ’69 ] Day 1.

– Everyone, please drink water frequently even if it is inconvenient. If you feel dizzy or nauseous, please tell a nearby volunteer immediately.

“Grandpa’s voice is always the best no matter when I hear it!”

The announcement was supposed to be done by the artists in turns. As soon as Annie and Angela met Mr. Gerard, they decided to let the people hear their famous voices.

As the broadcast went out, cheers erupted outside.

“Look at this. People can tell just by hearing your voice, hahaha. Grandpa is a total star!”

“Thanks to you guys, I’m having all these experiences at this age, hehe.”

“Can’t you have your grandfather do all the announcements in the future?”

Annie acted cute, linking arms with Mr. Gerard.

“It won’t be difficult for me, but I think people would also like to listen to musicians’ broadcasts······.”

“Can’t you hear that noise outside? There wasn’t that kind of cheering when we did it. Isn’t that right, James?”

Angela joined in too.

“That’s true, but… Gerard, are you okay? It has to be done every time the band is changed during the day.”

“Anyway, I can’t go to the scene, so I have to watch it here on the monitor. It’s not that hard to just do a little bit of broadcasting while drinking some refreshing lemonade, haha.”

“Then, I have a favor to ask. But if it’s difficult, you should let me know at any time.”

“Don’t worry. Angela and I will be by your side until tomorrow.”

Annie and Angela are orphans. Annie’s aunt played the role of parents, and Angela’s was Sister Maria. However, there was a clear difference between parents who had to be strict at times and grandfathers who unconditionally loved their grandchildren.

“How nice it would be if you were really my granddaughters······.”

“We consider ourselves grandpa’s friends and granddaughters. Don’t you, Annie?”

“of course!”

The atmosphere in the production headquarters brightened up with the affectionate appearance of the three people.

“Oh, I guess it’s starting. Here comes Uncle Jack!”

Annie pointed to the monitor.

Jack came on stage in a black suit with shorts and a brown Gibson SG guitar.

– Hello everyone! Again, we sincerely welcome you to the Summer of ’69 festival!

Left, left, left!

As Jack strummed his guitar, waving his arms and shouting powerfully, a huge cheer echoed through the farm outside.

……. (continue)