Sam Wilmes/Staff Reporter
9/11/09
The 40th anniverary of Woodstock sparked a flowering resurgence in
commemorative events held both locally and nationwide. Through the
development of movies, festivals, TV and radio programming, the
"Summer of Love" continues to be celebrated.
In its 40th year, Woodstock maintains its relevance by inspiring
musicians, artists and the creative alike. Most recently, Woodstock
was celebrated by the release of a movie on Aug. 28, titled "Taking
Woodstock," directed by Ang Lee.
The film captures Woodstock from another point of view. Instead of
recreating a story from one random hippie out of hundreds of
thousands, the story focused on Elliot Tiber, played by comedian
Demetri Martin.
The film is based off the book Tiber wrote, which was about the
experience he had during Woodstock. Tiber at the time was the
president of Chamber of Commerce in Bethel, NY. His parents owned a
motel that was foreclosing and desperately needed money and his help,
which led Tiber into meeting with Michael Lang, the creator of Woodstock.
Tiber's trips, struggles and achievements are the general focus of
the film. Capturing his point of view of the festival, making the
film not really about the music but the effect it had on his life and
others during that time, including conservatives, Vietnam veterans
and the hippies themselves.
Here in Charleston, the concept of Woodstock has been admired and
even taught to students on campus.
Mark Rubel, an Eastern instructor and director of recording, is one
of the professors for the Evolution of Jazz and Rock course, in which
he teaches the rock portion of the course.
The Woodstock portion, Rubel said "Is the story of how it developed,
how few people they thought they had and how many people they ended
up with and how they had to fight the city council and move it to
another location and then how they thought it would turn out, the
road of trying to get there."
Rubel didn't attend the festival, although he says he remembers
wanting to go even though he wasn't even a teenager at the time.
"I was visiting my grandmother, and I couldn't imagine driving with
my grandmother and then walking the rest. It would probably make a
good movie but probably not good for her," Rubel said.
Woodstock also partly inspired the Woodchuck Festival in Charleston
Aug. 28-30. Woodchuck was a community-organized festival that took
place in a clearing of a forest.Event coordinators sold wristbands
for $15 for the entire weekend and $10 for a night to watch live
local bands perform.
All the money raised over the three days of the festival was donated
to three charities, Hope Women's Center, St. Vincent DePaul and Youth
With a Vision.
This was the second Woodchuck festival to take place in Charleston,
the last being in April for one night. Community efforts and the
Woodchuck Committee, made up of students and local musicians, decided
to coordinate the event close to the anniversary of Woodstock to
commemorate a time where music and love for one another was free.
"We worked together and there was no jealousy, we all have one
connection. Everyone wanted to get to meet and get a chance to meet
each other and other musicians," Scott Chaplinski, a student and
event coordinator for Woodchuck said.
"A chance to give back and promote local music is what Woodchuck was
all about, similar to its predecessor," Chaplinski said. "We're all
musicians, but we had help from Mac's Uptowner, the manager of Roc's
and other local musicians."
The purpose of these concerts is not to recreate a landmark time but
to capture the essence of a utopia. Everyone at these festivals is
there for the same reason, to listen to music and basically have a
good time. Lang said in the documentary, "The point is that it's
happened and it's working."
The anniversary drummed up many dedications from all media
publications such as Eastern's own WEIU-FM, which played bands that
performed at Woodstock, along with many other radio stations.
Television shows also took notice in the anniversary, such as the
History Channel, which aired its own documentary of the festival.
Music festivals such as the Coachella Music and Arts Festival,
Rothbury and Bonnaroo also provide a Woodstock feel, and they have
previously cited the 1969 festival as inspiration. But unlike
Woodstock, the experience comes at a considerably higher price. The
Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign, Sept. 16-20, will also provide
students with a Woodstock-like experience at $60 for a weekend pass.
Woodstock took place 40 years ago, and some who experienced it or
live vicariously through documentaries and books may have a hard time
using words to explain it. However, it has been decades and it still
has made an impact on our society, from a town in New York all the
way to a little town in Illinois.
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Sam Wilmes can be reached at 581-7942 or at smwilmes@eiu.edu
.
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