On december 6th of 1969, one of the most infamous rock concerts took place although it ended up to be one of the worst events in hippie history. One of the things that this event such a disaster was the fact that it was free and over 300, 000 people attended this major event. The concert took place at Altamont Speedway in Northern California. The event took place here, and not in san Francisco like may other concerts before this one, because of the orgainizers were expecting people to come by the crap loads. The concert was actually moved to the Altamont speedway only 20 hours before the concerts. The event was headlined and organized by the famous rock band, The Rolling Stones.
The concert also featured Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Nash, Stills, and Young with the Grateful Dead scheduled, although they declined shortly before playing because of the increasing violence and choas occuring in the Massive audience. Probably one of the main reasons for all chaos that took place was, in most people's opinion, because of the unusual security hired by the Rolling Stones. An idea suggested by The Grateful dead, the Hells Angels California chapter ,led by Ralph "Sonny" Barger,"one percenter" motorcycle gang was paid $500 in beer to stand around the stage and make sure the audience stays in line. The Hell's Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones as security for several reasons. The Grateful Dead had a long-standing relationship with the Angels and had used them for security on several occasion without incident. The Stones had used the Hell's Angels for security in London over the summer for one of their free concerts in Hyde Park. The Hell's Angels in London, however, were Jagger-type lookalikes, who were for the most part harmless, not like the American Angels, who were notorious for their violent nature and excessive drug use. At Altamont, the Angels acted just like they always did, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and dropping acid. Most would say that the Angels probably abused more drugs than anyone else. There were no other security forces except the Hell's Angels, so if they got out of line, there would be no stopping them. 
The worst happened. A homocide and three accidental deaths with two involving a hit and run car accident, and one involving a guy drowning in an irragation canal occured. People were openly doing drugs, four births reportedly took place and the Hells Angels were seen throwing beer cans at people and hitting the audience with their so call signature weapons, pool sticks. The stage was also way too low for the massive event and according to many, it should have been monsterous. In a attempt to kill the band member, Jagger, a man with a gun was stabbed repeadly by a member of the hells Angels. Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles shot footage of the event and turned the stuff they shot it into a documentary called Gimme Shelter (1970).
The concert also featured Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Nash, Stills, and Young with the Grateful Dead scheduled, although they declined shortly before playing because of the increasing violence and choas occuring in the Massive audience. Probably one of the main reasons for all chaos that took place was, in most people's opinion, because of the unusual security hired by the Rolling Stones. An idea suggested by The Grateful dead, the Hells Angels California chapter ,led by Ralph "Sonny" Barger,"one percenter" motorcycle gang was paid $500 in beer to stand around the stage and make sure the audience stays in line. The Hell's Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones as security for several reasons. The Grateful Dead had a long-standing relationship with the Angels and had used them for security on several occasion without incident. The Stones had used the Hell's Angels for security in London over the summer for one of their free concerts in Hyde Park. The Hell's Angels in London, however, were Jagger-type lookalikes, who were for the most part harmless, not like the American Angels, who were notorious for their violent nature and excessive drug use. At Altamont, the Angels acted just like they always did, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and dropping acid. Most would say that the Angels probably abused more drugs than anyone else. There were no other security forces except the Hell's Angels, so if they got out of line, there would be no stopping them. The worst happened. A homocide and three accidental deaths with two involving a hit and run car accident, and one involving a guy drowning in an irragation canal occured. People were openly doing drugs, four births reportedly took place and the Hells Angels were seen throwing beer cans at people and hitting the audience with their so call signature weapons, pool sticks. The stage was also way too low for the massive event and according to many, it should have been monsterous. In a attempt to kill the band member, Jagger, a man with a gun was stabbed repeadly by a member of the hells Angels. Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles shot footage of the event and turned the stuff they shot it into a documentary called Gimme Shelter (1970).
Many speculated that this event would be a "Woodstock," which was another major festival that took place that some would say "denoted the flowering of one phase of the youth culture, but thankfully, it was the opposite. Many would say that the incident at Altamont marked the end of the 60's. Altamont is regarded as the warning of what might happen if Woodstock is taken too literally. All the violence, drugs, and chaos showed what hippies were and that they are nothing but a bunch a dirty people.
A very shortsighted view of Altamont Woodstock
ReplyDeletethe 60's and of course hippies. I'm assuming
comming from a very short sighted person.
Wake up and smell the coffee
Maybe group your work together and write some more not bad though. Also you should title each group. That would help people comment on one certain part and not the whole thing.
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