Altamont Free Concert
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The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was an infamous rock concert held on December 6, 1969, at the then-disused Altamont Speedway in Northern California, between Tracy and Livermore. Headlined and organized by the The Rolling Stones, it also featured, in order of performance: Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, with the Stones taking the stage as the final act.[1] The Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform between CSNY and the Stones, but canceled at the last minute owing to the increasingly disorganized developments at the venue[citation needed]. Approximately 300,000 people attended the concert, and some speculated it would be "Woodstock West." Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin shot footage of the concert and incorporated it into a subsequent documentary film entitled Gimme Shelter.
The event is best known for having been marred by violence, including one homicide and three accidental deaths (two caused by a hit-and-run car accident and one by drowning in an "Irrigation Canal").
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[edit] Planning
The concert originally was scheduled to be held at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. However, a previously-scheduled San Francisco 49ers football game the weekend of December 6-7 made that venue impractical, and the permits were never issued for the concert or were revoked after the fact. This was a result of Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones announcing in a press conference that his band would be performing at the event: they were to be a surprise appearance. (Their American Tour of 1969 had recently concluded.)
With the public revelation that the Stones would be performing, San Francisco city officials feared a repeat of the crowd control problems that had occurred at Woodstock. Accusations have arisen that Jagger made this announcement to ensure a large crowd for a planned concert movie. The venue was then changed to the Sears Point Raceway, but after a dispute with the owner of Sears Point, Filmways, Inc., over film distribution rights, the festival was moved to the Altamont Raceway at the suggestion of its then-owner, local businessman Dick Carter. The concert was to take place on Saturday, Dec. 6; the location was switched on the night of Thursday, Dec. 4. This resulted in numerous logistical problems. Most importantly, facilities such as portable toilets and medical tents were lacking in number. The stage, which was only four feet high, was surrounded by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, led by Oakland chapter head Ralph 'Sonny' Barger, who acted as bouncers.[2] The sound system was hardly sufficient for such a large audience.
[edit] Hells Angels
By some accounts, the Angels were hired to be security by the Rolling Stones on recommendation from the Grateful Dead for $500 worth of beer, a story Carter and Barger both vehemently denied. According to Stones' road manager Sam Cutler, "the only agreement there ever was...the Angels would make sure nobody fucked with the generators, but that was the extent of it. But there was no 'They're going to be the police force' or anything like that. That's all bollocks."[3] Hells Angel member Sweet William recalled this exchange between himself and Cutler at a meeting prior to the concert, where Cutler had asked them to do security:
- "We don't police things. We're not a security force. We go to concerts to enjoy ourselves and have fun."
- "Well, what about helping people out - you know, giving directions and things?"
- "Sure, we can do that."
When Cutler asked how they would like to be paid, William replied, "we like beer."[4] Other accounts verify that the initial arrangement was for the Angels to watch over the equipment, but that Cutler later moved the Angels, and their beer, near the stage in order to settle them down or to protect the stage.
Ever since Ken Kesey had invited the Hells Angels to one of his outdoor Acid Tests, the bikers had been perceived by the hippies as akin to "noble savages".[5] They had provided security at Grateful Dead shows in the past without reported violence. Further, the Rolling Stones may have been misled by their experience with a British contingent of self-described "Hells Angels", a peaceful group of admirers of American biker-gear, who had been present at a free concert the Stones had given earlier that year in Hyde Park, London.[5]
Crowd management proved to be difficult. Many spectators were injured and four died. Over the course of the day, the Hells Angels became increasingly agitated and violent. In addition, at least one witness stated that the group of Angels at the concert were relatively young and inexperienced and that "their leaders weren't there". [6] The Angels used weighted sawed-off pool cues in order to control the crowd, or aimed at troublemakers with their bikes at full throttle, causing serious injuries.[5] After one of the Angels' motor bikes was knocked over, the Angels became even more aggressive, even toward the performers onstage. Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was knocked unconscious following an altercation with an Angel on stage, as seen in the documentary film Gimme Shelter.[7] The Grateful Dead refused to play following the Balin incident, and left the venue.
The organizers hoped to ease tensions in the crowd by having the Stones perform early, but it was hours before the Stones took the stage. Accusations that Mick Jagger did not want to take the stage during daylight hours due to the filming of the concert have been voiced in the past, but in commentary on the official Gimme Shelter DVD, it is reported that Stones bassist Bill Wyman was having difficulties reaching the venue.
[edit] The death of Meredith Hunter
Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old black man, became involved in an altercation with some Hells Angels and drew a long-barreled revolver. It is clear that Hunter drew his weapon before he was stabbed the first time. He was stabbed five times in total and kicked to death during the Rolling Stones' performance. His graphic death near the stage was clearly captured on film by three separate cameras. The killer, Alan Passaro, was arrested and tried for murder in the summer of 1972, but was acquitted after a jury concluded he acted in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a handgun, drew it, and allegedly pointed it at the stage. It was also alleged that Hunter was under the influence of methamphetamine.
Footage from Gimme Shelter shows that while the Rolling Stones were ending "Under My Thumb," Hunter was approaching the stage and drawing his gun; Passaro subsequently parried the gun with his left hand and stabbed Hunter in the upper back with his right. The same footage also gives a glimpse of audience members and some of the Angels on the Stones' stage at the time. This incident is detailed in Rolling Stone.[8]
The Rolling Stones had to interrupt their performance numerous times. Unaware that Hunter's stabbing was fatal, the Stones decided to continue to prevent a possible riot.
There have been rumors, over the years, that a second, unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and, as a result, the police considered the case still open. On 25 May 2005, however, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing. [9]
[edit] Reactions
Various news agencies reported the event as a "drug-induced riot."[cite this quote]
The Altamont concert is often contrasted to the Woodstock festival that took place four months earlier, and is sometimes said to mark the end of the hippie era, of the innocence embodied by Woodstock, or the de facto end of the 1960s. Critics called the tragedy the "Death of the Woodstock Nation"[cite this quote] and all future rock concerts were banned at the site.
Several Grateful Dead songs were written about — or in response to — what lyricist Robert Hunter called "the Altamont affair," including "New Speedway Boogie" (featuring the line "One way or another, this darkness got to give") and "Mason's Children." Both songs were written and recorded during sessions for the early 1970 album Workingman's Dead, but "Mason's Children" was viewed as too "popular" stylistically and was consequently not included on the album. A later Dead song, "My Brother Esau," contains the line "My brother Esau killed a hunter / Back in 1969," was known to be a commentary on the Viet Nam war, but some believe it to be a reference to the death of Meredith Hunter.[citation needed] It is rumoured that Don McLean took moral exception to Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones, allegedly referencing the incident in his song "American Pie," through the following verses: "Oh, and as I watched him on the stage / my hands were clenched in fists of rage. No angel born in hell /could break that satan's spell. And as the flames climbed high into the night, / to light the sacrificial rite / I saw Satan laughing with delight / the day the music died." McLean has never confirmed this and there are several other popular theories. The verse is also thought by some to have been about Jim Morrison of The Doors.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Wyman, p. 352
- ^ Gimme Shelter
- ^ McNally, p. 344
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ a b c Miller, James. Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977. Simon & Schuster (1999), pp. 275-77. ISBN 0-684-80873-0.
- ^ Unidentified witness, possibly Paul Kantner, quoted in Negativland's "How Radio Was Done: Episode 36". Over the Edge April 20, 2007, audio stream accessed 2007-08-28.
- ^ Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, directors. Gimme Shelter[1]
- ^ Burks, John, "Rock & Roll's Worst Day: The aftermath of Altamont", Rolling Stone, 1970-02-07, URL retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ USA TODAY, Investigators close decades old Altamont killing case
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- McNally, Dennis. A Long Strange Trip: the Inside History of the Grateful Dead (First Edition), 2002. ISBN 0-7679-1185-7
- Wyman, Bill. Rolling with the Stones (First Edition), 2002. ISBN 0-7894-8967-8
- Storm thwarted Mick Jagger murder attempt Telegraph, UK, Sunday, 2 Mar. 2008
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