Heroes of Woodstock
In case you haven't already heard it a hundred times (and as if you won't hear it at least a hundred more before summer is over) 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.
There are several reasons that this Woodstock anniversary is getting a lot of attention, not the least of which is that several of folks who played the festival in 1969 will be returning for an encore on the site of that historic weekend of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll (not to mention rain, heat and mud in great quantities.)
The date, August 15. The Bethel Woods Festival starring Heroes of Woodstock will include performances by Jefferson Starship, Big Brother & the Holding Company; Levon Helm (who played Woodstock as a member of The Band); Canned Heat; Ten Years After; "Country Joe" McDonald; Mountain featuring Leslie West and Corky Laing; and Tom Constanten (who was Grateful Dead keyboardist from '68-'70.)
The former dairy farm where as many as half a million fans were part of rock history is now the site of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. A museum and amphitheater are just up the hill from the site of the original Woodstock stage.
In 1969, a ticket good for all three days of the Woodstock festival cost $18. This time around, tickets are symbolically priced at $69, $40 and $19.69.
Woodstock 1969 photo by Derek Redmond and Paul Campbell, licensed under GNU Free Documentation License
encore
Is Jefferson Airplane with the original lineup?
The current Jefferson Starship lineup is Marty Balin (vocals, guitar); Darby Gould (vocals); Diana Mangano (vocals); Tony Morley (drums); John Ferenzik (keyboards); Anne Harris (violin)
As someone who sees the current Jefferson Starship a few times a year let me post what I believe is the most recent line-up. Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar), David Frieberg who was with Quicksilver before joining the Airplane and later JS(vocals, guitar), Slick Aquilar (guitar), Jeff Pevar (guitar and bass guitar), Chris Smith (keyboards, bass), Cathy Richardson (vocals, guitar), Donny Baldwin (drums) and Marty Balin (vocals) as a part-time member these days.
Also, Gary Duncan and David Frieberg are going to do some of the Quicksilver Messenger Service material.
Who’s in Ten Years After for this tour? My older brother and sister went to Woodstock and were Fillmore East regulars.
Brother and his pals favorite band was Canned Heat, followed closely by TYA.
With one exception, today’s TYA lineup is the same as it was back then: Ric Lee (drums), Leo Lyons (bass), Chick Churchill (keys). Joe Gooch signed on as vocalist/guitarist in 2003, replacing Alvin Lee, who is now strictly a solo act.
Wish there was interviews of the people they interviewed between band sets. Like the girl at the information booth, Or was it medical? The guy shaving in the lake, face cut to pieces. The guy cleaning the toilets. Michael Wadleigh. The ‘yoga instructor’. Wavy Gravy.
Re TYA – that one exception is the guy who sang, played lead guitar and wrote all the songs. That makes him far more than just one missing member, in my option.