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I Also, almost as predictable as the constant shouts for more (an encore is generally always given by the group as a regular part of their act) you have the stigma known as the gate crasher. Every festival has them, and every festival generally succeeds in deterring these people’s attempts. In Toronto, the practice of gate crashing had reached its organized best. An organization know as the May 4 Movement organized the international gate crash at the Toronto festival. As was to be expected, security and gate crashing didn’t mix. About 27 people were arrested, many injured by the police who used horses and wrestling, they had no guns in their holsters, and very few seemed to have clubs. Many people did get in, but the hassle that derived from the mess to make it a futile and needless waste of blood and energy. Imitation festival One really good thing that did result from this excess of people (about 2,000 to 4,000) in the stadium area on the outside was the organization by the Grateful Dead of free concerts over in Coronation park. At one point it was estimated that about 5,000 people were at this free festival. After the continued hassle with security forces and whatnot, the promoters of the festival seemd to think that it would be cool to make this festival an imitation of the Woodstock nation festival created last year. Bob Weir: Grateful Dead So what they did during the act changes was play through the huge sound speakers the Woodstock album. This really made everybody happy and gay. 1 mean here we were in the middle of a rock festival, so why not make believe that we have gone back in time and are at Woodstock, I mean what’s the difference if we think we all can dig ourselves and how cool we really are? Anyway, after suffering through all this pretense and inane tripe, we had nothing left to really enjoy except the pure essence of anything like this — music. ir what each other, but nobody else; no togetherness whatsoever, music whichjcost plenty, security which was absurd, horseshit irom the horses used by the police in crowd control, plastic grass on the field and an asphalt track is you were lucky, and very few people seemed to care what was happening at Toronto, that is until violence occured and we all know what violence freaks this country has for its respected citizenry. The children of the technocracy had once again had a meeting, omly this time they numbered only 20,000 and they blew it. negative charge from the people inhabiting the counter-culture and what ensued was sad but true. The only thing that keeps us together as a culture right now is our music and the only thing that kept Toronto from being a real waste of time and energy was the music. which will survive for a long time in ones memory, which will survive for a long time in one’s memory, the “New Riders of The Purple Sage” made a rare and very successful appearance. This group is composed of members of the Grateful Dead and some Garcia and Mickey Hart. Garcia was an absolute joy playing his steel pedal guitar. Especially on the steel pedal version of Saint Stephen. rammed oronto. r music antities, lung for all is Images of the Dead This group should prove to be a method of perpetrating one of the finest groups on the American scene. The Grateful Dead have been making faint noises of splitting up. At least it seems that Pigpen is no longer with the group. That distance which can be seen in such groups is appearing withing the Dead and yet they play on, and will do so for a long time under the guise of the Grateful Dead or the New Riders of the Purple Sage. hing for lerstand ect that as going So no matter what anybody tells you about how cool, and far out it was up on Toronto, it was about as far from Woodstock as anything could ever be. At Woodstock the people were together, the ock music redeems MUSIC FROM THE TECHNOCRATIC STATE Music is what they had all come to hear and music is what they heard. It flowed from the delicately balanced sound machines perched high atop towers entangles in a maze of electrical wire. This high energy event had cost the promoters almost $500,000 in talent fees, the array of talent that showed and played still in talent fees. The array of talent that showed and played still There were many moments in this two day montage of musical mania. Much of what happened musically is blurred after the passage of a couple of hours. Yet, those moments that do survive are ones As for the Dead, their moments in this concert will last for a long time. The images of Garcia flailing the notes from his guitar with Phil Lesh pumping away on his bass and all the other Dead meshing together for one final flurry of “Turn on Your Love Light” -re burned on a brain already numbed with fatigue, dope and constant music. nthetic atmosphere music was free and easy, the grass and woods were wet and soft, the pastures stank with cow shit, the peace officers actually kept the peace and the whole world was watching. ;k (and lad been i two or After the furious conclusion of the Dead set we had the harsh folk/western/country sound of the Band. The high point of the Band set came when the group launched into a version of ‘The Weight”. Garth Hudson the mountain organist preambled this song with a ten minute off key/on key organ solo. Robbie Robertson’s guitar work improves with age and experience. music. :ted my on filled At the Festival Express in Toronto, we had thousands of small groups digging the shit out of lat 1 had different s, I have ;tash bag Musical success ad to be Like an The other memorable set came from the newly reformed Traffic. Long since the first demise of Traffic we have seen Steve Winwood in a number of roles. He has coupled with Blind Faith, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, but he has found his way home ion, rock y line. It (on the of Hath in his old group, Traffic. Minus Dave Mason, Traffic as it stands now contains Chris Wood and Jim Oipabaldi. inber Wood playing the electric piano familiar to Mason. But then the group came together with Winwood’s vocals bouncing off the people and walls of the stadium poorly (sort of romoters oft used or trying like you see the : Traced tage that Hanley, with the lass rock if having Of particular interest was the guitar work done so little by Winwood. Always an underestimated guitarist, Winwood ranks up there with the best, his guitar is gentle and his rifling calculated. His sounds are flowing, gentle and well-meaning and seemed to stop the fatigue worn crowd from squirming and make them just sort of sit back and let the music bathe them in a night purple glow of thought and sense. ..etc. pa it up wiD have Robbie Robertson: The Band As far as the music goes, the Festival Express was the success it had claimed it would be. If it hadn’t been for the people the whole affair would have reafly pot anyone’s head in a fine, fine place. JuIm 2, 1970 . The Spectrum . Page seven
