CHAPTER 7
Saturday and Sunday

Not all of the bands at Woodstock were famous. Saturday’s music started at 12:15 in the afternoon with a little known jazz-rock group named Quill.

Another band named Santana was popular in California before the festival, but nowhere else. Lang and Kornfeld had just happened to hear one of their songs. They loved their Latin-rock sound and signed them. Carlos Santana was the group’s leader. The band had lots of energy, playing songs like “Soul Sacrifice.” Woodstock helped introduce Santana to the world. By 1970, their songs “Black Magic Woman” and “Evil Ways” would be on the charts of Billboard, a music-trend magazine that ranks songs by their sales.

More bands including Canned Heat and Mountain rocked the stage that day. Around 10:30 that night came a group many had been waiting for—the Grateful Dead. Their faithful fans sometimes call themselves Deadheads. Some who heard them thought they were great at Woodstock. Others said they weren’t as good as usual. But it wasn’t the band’s fault. It had rained, and the stage was wet. The Dead kept getting shocked by their electric guitars and microphones!

Next on the program, Creedence Clearwater Revival played rock-and-roll and blues songs including “Bad Moon Rising” and winding up with “Suzie Q.” It was 2:00 a.m., time for the concert to end. But there were still four more groups to go!

Janis Joplin performed next. She was a mega rock-and-roll star in the sixties. She had wild long hair and wore hippie clothes and dozens of bracelets. Her performances were usually intense and heartfelt. However, some thought she was not quite her best at Woodstock because she had to play so late that night.

Sly & the Family Stone didn’t get onstage till 3:30 Sunday morning. The group had a unique funky soul sound. Even though some people were sleeping, Sly got them up and clapping with songs like “Stand!” and “Dance to the Music.” He wore big rose-tinted glasses and furry white boots.

Did the music end for the night after Sly? No!

A superstar British band called The Who started at 5:00 a.m. with Roger Daltrey singing lead. He had wild wavy hair and wore a vest with long fringe that swayed in the darkness. Sometimes he would sling his microphone around on its cord. Popular guitarist Pete Townshend did his trademark leaps in the air. At one point during their show, an antiwar activist named Abbie Hoffman rushed the stage. He had been a big help in organizing the medical tent. But now he wanted to speak out to the crowd about politics. Townshend didn’t recognize him and whacked him with his guitar. Hoffman leaped offstage. But he was okay and the concert continued.

Michael Lang considered The Who the high point of the day. In all, the band performed a whopping twenty-four songs including “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me.” Their set lasted till around 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Wow!

Although loving the music, many fans were exhausted and falling asleep. That probably wasn’t good news if you were the last band to play in the lineup. Jefferson Airplane, with lead singer Grace Slick, had waited all night for their turn to perform. They were tired, too, and nervous. But they belted out their most popular songs like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.” The show ended around 10:30 Sunday morning.

Earlier that day, a call for basic supplies had gone out from Woodstock Ventures headquarters. Nearby communities, churches, and hotels pitched in and gathered food to give away, including thousands of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Max Yasgur gave free milk and butter from his dairy, and bought bread to be passed out. In a makeshift kitchen the Hog Farm cooked thousands of simple meals such as brown rice and veggies.

And by helicopter, soldiers brought in snacks including candy bars and sodas. At one point they dropped oranges and flowers down to fans on the hill. Grateful fans shared the food and tucked the flowers in their hair.

As food grew scarce, prices were being jacked up. Instead of a quarter, hot dogs were now a dollar. That night, some food trucks at the festival were burned in protest. This was the only known act of violence at the festival. Amazing, considering how big the crowd was.

Finally, most everyone went to sleep. However, the next day would bring a different kind of trouble. Storms!