I Think I Saw You at Woodstock
by David Budin

I’m going to make a very bold statement: I did not attend the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in August 1969. There, I’ve said. And that makes me just about the only white American male Baby Boomer who did not attend. I mean, if you were to take a national poll, it seems that would be the outcome.

I was living in Greenwich Village at that time and I did have a ticket and was supposed to go, but a couple of days before it began, I gave my ticket to a friend and he went, instead. Well, it wasn’t really a ticket; it was a pass, because I had agreed to go and help a couple of friends with their booth at the festival, selling Zodiac Body Oils. Except that after a few weeks of helping them make and bottle the Zodiac Body Oils, I couldn’t stand the smell for one more minute, so I decided not to go.

I wasn’t sorry at the time. After all, it rained and the festival ran out of food. And I don’t really like being outside – at all, ever. And especially when it’s raining – or snowing, or if the sun is shining. And I hate not being able to find food when I’m hungry, which is fairly often. So I was actually glad that I hadn’t gone.

But now I don’t like being the only person my age group who was not there. And the number is in the millions … out of a possible 500,000.

The fact remains, though, that I was not there. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum’s exhibit Woodstock: The 40th Anniversary. The exhibit, which opened July 3 and will remain open until November 29, includes dozens of artifacts from the festival, including famous musicians performance clothing that they wore there, plus papers – memos to and from the festival’s organizers, artists’ contracts, etc. – and posters and other advertising materials.

A lot of this stuff is surprising to see and read – how much some of the artists were paid, how little it cost to get in (that is, if you actually bought a ticket), how tiny most of the artists’ costumes were, and what was going on behind the scenes.

Jim Henke, the Rock Hall’s Vice President of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs, has said about Woodstock, “We came in as a ‘movement,’ but we came out as a ‘market.’ ”

I’m part of that market. But I’m also hoping to tap into that market when I put on a concert that is a tribute to the spirit of Woodstock – without the mud slides and without running out of food (and without selling Zodiac Body Oils) – in Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater on Friday, August 14. That’s the 40th anniversary of the day the festival began – not that date, but the same Friday in August. The concert is called Soul and Heart: A Two-Hour Festival of Folk, Blues and Pop-Gospel.

It features four acts: my group, Long Road (Cleveland’s favorite – and only – ‘60s-style folk group), the Prayer Warriors (pop-, rock- and R&B-influenced gospel), Noah Budin (inspirational – without being religious – singer-songwriter), and Rob Williams (soulful singer and incredible sax and flute player). Each group will perform individually and in surprising combinations with each other – and we’ll do a lot of songs all together. Here’s just one example: We’re doing a Beatles song that, somehow, perfectly combines Beatles music with folk, R&B, rock and gospel – folky voices with gospel voices; banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitars with funky drums, bass and keyboards.

This concert is also one of the Rock Hall’s events happening in conjunction with its Woodstock exhibit. In fact, musicians from “Soul and Heart” concert will also be performing highlights from the Cain Park concert at the Rock Hall on Sunday, August 23, as part of its “Woodstock 40th Anniversary Weekend” (August 21-23). And Rock Hall members can get tickets to the Cain Park concert for half price, just $10.

For Cain Park concert tickets, call 216-371-3000 or visit http://www.CainPark.com. For info on the Rock Hall’s Woodstock exhibit, visit http://www.rockhall.com/exhibitupcoming/woodstock-anniversary. Check out all of these events. And bring your kids. Then you can tell them how these events were similar to or different from the actual Woodstock festival.

Because you were there. Remember?

By Cool Cleveland contributor David Budin