It was three days of mud, drugs, traffic jams, and overflowing toilets. And, yeah, a little peace, love, and legendary music. The 1969 Woodstock festival remains one of the most iconic events in music history. Yet, as the decades pass, those who were there start to see it all through rose-colored glasses. But that doesn't mean that the festival was all dancing, holding hands, and daisy crowns. These are some of the messed up things that happened at Woodstock...
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00:00The Woodstock Festival of 1969 is remembered as a cultural landmark of music, peace and unity.
00:07Yet the reality was far from idyllic.
00:09Over three chaotic days, attendees endured endless traffic jams, ankle-deep mud, scarce supplies,
00:16rampant drug use and unsanitary conditions with overflowing toilets.
00:20While it's often romanticized as a harmonious celebration of love and music,
00:24the experience wasn't all flower crowns and kumbayas.
00:27Beneath the nostalgia lies a messier story, marked by the festival's many challenges and mishaps.
00:33The medical team at Woodstock was initially prepared for around 50,000 attendees,
00:38but the crowd surged to nearly 500,000.
00:42By the end of the weekend, the team had treated an astonishing variety of injuries and conditions.
00:47According to the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, there were 797 cases of bad trips,
00:5323 epileptic seizures, 57 instances of heat exposure and 176 asthma attacks.
01:00Foot injuries were also prevalent, with 938 lacerations, 135 punctures and 346 other random injuries,
01:09highlighting the importance of wearing shoes.
01:12In addition, CNN reported a woman falling from stage scaffolding and breaking her back.
01:17Despite the chaos, the medical team managed the situation efficiently.
01:21Remarkably, only two fatalities were reported, one from an overdose and the other from a tractor accident.
01:27Against the backdrop of half a million people, these incidents were relatively few,
01:32and many lived to share the unforgettable experience.
01:35Woodstock was renowned for its music and mud, but drugs were equally central to its story.
01:41Substances weren't just sold, they were often laced into food or drinks and given away,
01:46catching unsuspecting festival-goers off guard.
01:49Woodstock described the chaotic scene to the Times-Herald Record,
01:52highlighting the pervasive presence of unregulated drug use throughout the event.
01:56Outside the tent, they were giving out electric Kool-Aid, laced with whatever.
02:00A lot of the kids hurt with this stuff were just thirsty, they didn't have any choice.
02:04Woodstock organizer Michael Lang admitted exercising caution with everything he ate or drank at the festival,
02:10aware that laced food and beverages were widespread among the attendees.
02:14He recalled,
02:19Modern stadiums typically provide one restroom for every 45 to 50 seats,
02:24but Woodstock's facilities were far less accommodating,
02:27with just one port-a-potty for every 833 attendees.
02:32ThoughtCo reports that lines stretched for an hour,
02:35and the overwhelmed toilets spilled raw sewage into the mud,
02:38creating a foul mix that flowed downhill into the crowd.
02:42As a result, a messy, unsanitary situation
02:45that became one of the festival's most infamous challenges.
02:49Many considered The Grateful Dead one of the festival's weakest performances.
02:53Even Jerry Garcia's friend, Phil Cigana, shared with the Times-Herald Record
02:57that the band's set was a letdown for many attendees.
03:01It was the worst show of theirs I'd ever seen.
03:03The conditions were less than ideal for a concert,
03:06with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart recalling to Goldmine,
03:09It was a very terrible moment for us.
03:11The stage was collapsing. It was raining.
03:13Jerry Garcia and Bob were getting shocked at the microphones.
03:16Woodstock was originally planned for Wallkill, New York,
03:19with tickets priced at $18 for three days or $7 per day.
03:24However, with the event's scale sparking concern,
03:27Wallkill residents passed a law banning the concert,
03:30forcing organizers to scramble for a new location just six weeks before the festival.
03:35A dairy farmer in Bethel offered his land,
03:37and construction crews rushed to complete the stage,
03:40parking lots, concession stands, and even a children's playground.
03:44But ticketing wasn't a priority.
03:46Before they could set up proper controls,
03:4850,000 attendees had already arrived,
03:51setting up camp right by the stage.
03:53At that point, organizers abandoned the idea of charging for entry.
03:57Woodstock became a free festival,
03:59a choice that cemented its legendary status,
04:01but left the organizers facing financial disaster.
04:05The massive scale of Woodstock scared off established food vendors,
04:09leaving the organizers to rely on a small group called Food for Love,
04:13who lacked experience in handling such events.
04:15By Saturday, the vendors had run out of food
04:18and resorted to quadrupling hot dog prices from $0.25 to $1.
04:22Frustrated by the long waits and inflated prices,
04:25some attendees set two of their concession stands ablaze.
04:29Fortunately, the Hog Farm Collective stepped in to save the day,
04:32distributing thousands of cups of granola to the hungry crowd.
04:35Their efforts kept the festival from descending into total chaos
04:38and ensured attendees didn't go entirely without food amidst the turmoil.
04:43The traffic around Woodstock was a nightmare,
04:46resembling the chaos of the Walking Dead's opening scene.
04:49Politico ranks it as one of the top 10 worst traffic jams in history,
04:53with cars backed up for 10 miles on the New York Thruway
04:56throughout the entire festival.
04:58As congestion worsened, some festival-goers gave up on their vehicles,
05:02walking the rest of the way and transforming the freeway into a sprawling parking lot.
05:06Helicopters were even used to fly in some performers.
05:09Meanwhile, local residents found themselves trapped,
05:12unable to access their driveways
05:14due to the massive number of abandoned cars blocking the roads.