Celebration of Life

Discussion in 'Back to the Garden' started by redflip, Jun 14, 2004.

  1. Deltamusic

    Deltamusic Member

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    This link may may have already been posted. If not here it is.

    :cheers2:

    Celebration of Life in Louisiana near the town of McCrea,July 1971. This video was taken with a Super 8mm film camera. The festival was postponed for three days while the promoters wallowed in legal mire.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBtSyVC3VT4
     
  2. J.Seay

    J.Seay Member

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    I was there. Drove down from Little Rock with George Kirby and Mark Schaefer in mark's dark blue bug. We snuck in basically. I remember the mud and the heat and the music. We were there for only 3 or 4 days
     
  3. huggyguy2u

    huggyguy2u Member

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    Yup, I was there. I hitched from just north of Boston all the way down with my buddy Tony. We had some good stories to tell. We were on our way to live with his brother in CA and we thought we stop at the festival before we continued on with our journey. I remember we paid the bikers $6 apiece to sneak in along by the river. We spent most of our time trippin. I remember lying under a sheet of plastic in the rain and watching the drops of water hit the plastic in front of my face and exploding in into colors like watching fireworks. I also managed to work my way back stage when someone asked for volunteers to help. I've got a few stories! I also have my original phamplet listing places to buy tickets and the "supposed list of bands that were going to play" As we all know most of them never showed up. I'd love to chat with anyone about the experience and would love to have any info that would lead me to pics, stories, music, and film about this event.
     
  4. huggyguy2u

    huggyguy2u Member

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    http://s324.photobucket.com/albums/k360/huggyguy/?action=view&current=CelebrationofLifebandlist.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k360/huggyguy/CelebrationofLifebandlist.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]
     
  5. huggyguy2u

    huggyguy2u Member

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    <a href="http://s324.photobucket.com/albums/k360/huggyguy/?action=view&current=CelebrationofLifecover.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k360/huggyguy/CelebrationofLifecover.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
     
  6. huggyguy2u

    huggyguy2u Member

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  7. bonedaddy1015

    bonedaddy1015 Guest

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    I live in New Roads, LA same parish as McCrea. A bud of mine still has an orig. Poster. About 5 years ago I had spoken to the artist of the poster and she told me there was never a copyright on that poster. She told me if I was to get the orig. reprinted to please send her one, hers was old and folded over a few times. I am tracking my bud down now in Denham Springs, LA to see if he still has the poster. If he does I will have some printed. I have also found this web site that sells photo's of the poster.

    http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullRecord.asp?id=54175

    I also have a place to score a lot of the old B/W photos that were taken by local law enforcement, I just found out about these, my dad was a deputy during the festival. Did y'all also know the cafe scene of Easy Rider was shot in Morganza LA. in 1968. Trying to get location shots from the cafe owners, they had quite a few pics on the walls in the cafe.
     
  8. SmilingMyra

    SmilingMyra Guest

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    I didnt go but know musicians who played there & still have posters.
     
  9. huggyguy2u

    huggyguy2u Member

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    Well I don't know if you were able to view the phamplet I posted but I do have it posted on my page. The bands that are underlined are the ones I remember seeing. I can't tell if any of the other bands played or not. The ones that stand out in my mind are It's a Beautiful Day, Ballin Jack, and Chambers Bros. http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5381645890
     
  10. J.Seay

    J.Seay Member

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    I don't see the pamphlet, is it possible to post it on something that I don't have to sign up for?
     
  11. pkauch

    pkauch Guest

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    Any chance you might post a photo of the celebration of life t-shirt?
     
  12. pamelawats

    pamelawats Guest

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    I just came across this site, small world. I was there for what seemed an eternity. I went there with three other people from NY.We first went to New Orleans. We were all supposed to work there. When we got there, we were told that the concert had an injunction, and that a new site was being looked for. We left New Orleans with about 100 other workers, mostly from California, and some of the organizers to a KOA in Slidel. The owners of the KOA let us use their office as a communication center. After a day or two, we got the site and the concert was on again. We went to the site and another injunction was put into place. It was decided to set up the stage, and in order to eat you had to work. I worked as part of the security detail to keep people away from the stage. No one cared about going to the stage and just partied where they were. There were probably only a couple of hundred people in the crowd, but stragglers were sneaking in from the road outside.

    Finally after getting burned out on the speed they gave us to stay awake I went to one of the Medical Areas to volunteer there. My first night there I had to keep a person awake so he wouldn't nod out and die from a methadone overdose. I can't remember how long it was from my first day as a medic until the music started, but it was mostly filled with first aid type of problems. Once the music started, things got exciting. A young woman fell of a car and sprained her ankle. She was in the Medical tent when they brought in a person who OD'd on methadone. The Drs couldn't revive him and he died. It turned out that the girl with the sprained ankle used to go out with the person who had died, but didn't know he was even there. Another person got bit on the end of his penis by a Black Widow spider while using a port-o-san.

    The music was OK, but after being at Strawberry Fields in Canada, and Powder Ridge and Mountaindale in the US, I noticed a big difference in this concert. There was more violence, maybe due to the difference nthe type of drugs being used. I saw a lot more downs being used along with a lot more alcohol being used. There was still a lot of "up" drugs like acid and speed, but the attitude was different. More people using methadone and drinking Jack Daniels, leading to a lot more fights than I had seen in othe concerts. It seemed that the Woodstock Age was over.
     
  13. baron5096

    baron5096 Guest

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    Summer of '71 in sweltering hot Florida, Titusville to be exact. Rumor has it that there is a Rock Festival in LA, 1000 miles away. Out goes my thumb as I begin the journey to the celebration of life. With a backpack and little money a friend with a van full of wine made me his retail salesman. With little food and water in the area and no money in my pocket, it was the best opportunity to keep you hydrated and me with a little change. During my week at the festival I met a girl from Orlando, probably about 18. We hooked up and travelled back to the French Quarter in NOLA. I stayed and she left and I lost her contact info. If she ever hits this site I'd like to say hello again after all these years. If anyone has any old newsreel footage or photos please let me know. I heard that I was on the 6pm news. It would be my only souvenir of that wonderful festival. Darrell Nelson baron5096@aol.com :peace:
     
  14. Iremember

    Iremember Member

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    I was a 19 yr.old kid from Alabama, who along with my cousin who had just gotten out of the Marines, traveled all night to get to the festival on a 650 Triumph Bonneville. We had very little money, no tickets and no idea of how to get in.(along with that problem was what to do with my bike, with the bikers there on Harleys, I was afraid they'd mess with me for riding a Trump instead of a Hog) I went back up the dirt road to the little country store and talked the lady into letting me put my motorcycle in her shed until I could order parts for it from Baton Rouge after the festival.(there was nothing wrong with it...i lied) I then went back down to the festival and swam the river/canal and snuck past the Galloping Gooses (security<rolling my eyes>) and got a pass from promoters and took it over the leeve/entrance and gave it to my cousin(he couldn't swim very well, and the river was very swift... yeah, a Marine at that) then once again swam the river.( I do know several people drowned in the river, but I had been a lifeguard in Panama City, Fl. the summer before,and thought I was indistructable)My plan was to sell enough THC to cover any expenses, only one problem with that...I had the drugs hidden in a pair of binoculars and covered with plastic to keep the water out...I lost them and the dope in that river, bummer.) Lucky for us cuz had the weed and some acid stashed on him. After that the music and drugs and naked people become a blurred memory, I just know it was very hot, dusty, and dirty...but I do remember the trip home, I blew up my motorcycle( too stoned to notice the oil line was rubbing on the frame and lost the oil...motor locked up)

    As the 40th anniversary of Woodstock approaches and the hype around it, I was reminded of our 'little' festival in Louisana in the summer of '71. It was my last outdoor overnight festival, but the memories remain.
     
  15. Iremember

    Iremember Member

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    As I read others memories of that festival and descriptions of events, I find that memories and pictures keep popping up in my head. I do remember some fights, especially involving the bikers; I think a GG biker stabbed another guy for not paying him to pass from the river. (I just waited til they were distracted and made a run for it, into the crowd). I remember when Melanie sang, we all did the candles, that was cool. I think Stephen Stills twisted his ankle getting out of a helicopter and was killing the pain with a fifth of Jack Daniels. Neugent seemed angry, but didn't play too long.
    Also there was over to the left of the stage, back towards the canal, a group of volunteers mashing watermellons and some other fruit with their feet in a kids swimming pool, into a refreshing and nutritious drink.( i'm sure no one spiked it...lol)
    And the long pipes that extended from the water tanker trucks, and all the chicks trying to wash their hair. I remember filling up Boones Farm wine bottles with water and carrying them around to try to keep from dehydrating. I still have a picture in my mind of all the blistered breasts and butts.
    When my cousin and I got to his parents house in Mobile, Al. they said the news reported that there was only about 50,000 people there...I disagree, I've been to numerous events that had large crowds(SEC football, Atlanta International Pop Festival, sporting events) and there were more that 50K there...more like 150,000. It was too bad that there were problems with bands and promoters and some didn't show, but the ones that did were good...I think, though I really don't remember, I think we sometimes mix up the concerts in our minds. Like the people who were saying Joplin and Hendrix were there; I remember for a long time I told people that Grand Funk Railroad debuted there, but I was confusing Celebration of Life with Atlanta. I know the drugs didn't have anything to do with that mental mixup.:D
     
  16. smarrga1

    smarrga1 Guest

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    I ran across these posts about the Celebration of Life. I was there for @ 8 days or so. I was traveling w/ a friend & various hitchhikers. Met some guy in New Orleans in the Quarter who said he was a recruiter for the festival. We volunteered to work "at anything" so as not to have to pay the $28 or so it took to get in. He gave us his name, etc. When we got to the site, small miracles, the guy wasn't blowing smoke, but actually got us in. We worked in the "trip" tents pretty much every night. I worked the medical tent 1 night and the trip tent behind the stage one night (that was bad!), but the rest of the time I worked trip tents in the main area.
    I do remember the orange sunshine. Don't know if it was the sunshine or not, but one of the drugs being circulated had strychnine in it. Did some pretty exotic things to guy's penises! The first guy I worked w/ in the tent was brought in by his buddies. He was stark naked w/ a massive erection. He tried to "relieve" his misery all night to no available. He yelled "fuck, fuck, fuck...cherry pop, pop, pop!" until the wee hours of the morning. About the only thing we had to give those not in mortal danger was chamomile tea. Smelled & looked like boiled cow shit. When he woke up finally & saw he was naked the guy refused to leave the tent until we found him some clothes.
    One of the guys I was w/ had to work w/ one of the biker "security" guys who had OD'd on heroin. Tommy spent most of the night stomping on the guy's instep, gouging his eyes, and slamming him in the chest w/ his fist. Said it was payback 'cause those guys did some pretty lousy stuff while there. Thankfully the biker didn't remember a thing the next day.
    Our tent was 3 blankets I sewed together. It lasted until the rain and then collapsed in a heap to a big round of applause from everyone around our campsite.. Do you remember the Boone's Farm? Can't drink it to this day (not that I would want to) because for many days that was all we had to drink.
    The last night of the festival (I think it was the last night) we didn't work because we wanted to hear Melanie. Went out into the crowd to get a decent seat. Folks around us recognized us from working in the tents and passed us some of the best smokes I've ever had! I heard Melanie and then wound up hours later face down in the field, slept like a baby protected by the gentle spirit of all those good souls around me! I fear those days will never happen again.
    Anyway it's been great reading the memories of others. Helps me remember so much I had forgotten. If you're out there & want to share your memories I would love to hear from you.
     
  17. martygas1

    martygas1 Member

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    I was 15 at the time and made the last night . we saw Melony and don't remember the others. It was the greatest show on earth.
    would like to hear from others who were there. I lived in Innis at the time.
     
  18. ok_sure

    ok_sure Member

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    Was Melanie there the night it rained really hard? There were candles and I was on really good acid...LOL. I remember Ted in the morning...whenever. :) hehe
     
  19. cadman

    cadman Guest

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    I was in a several van caravan that drove up from West Palm Beach, Fla. I remember a few things from way back then. We camped out on the levy one nite. I saw the bloated dead cow laying in the bog on the way in. The arts and crafts that were there were really good. I also have a couple of funny stories. It took me along time to shed my clothes and alot of my buddies were getting a good chuckle from that. After I finally did, I was down by the river talking to a couple of well endowed young ladies, when two good ole boys in a rowboat w/ a motor caming putting up stream. they had a few cases of soda and were enticing the girls to swim out to get one. When the girls got out to the boat, the good ole boys would hold the sodas up high so the girls would have to come up out of the water - hence the boys got a good look. Well when they got by us, the boys were leaning over the same side of the boat and it flipped over and sank. I thought one of them was gonna drown. As it was they lost the boat, motor, soda, and one of them lost his false teeth. The other funny was when a news crew was filming the mud people. There was a girl backing down toward the mud people as she was being filmed narrating the news report. From where we were we could see what was about to happen. The mud people were talking among themselves and looking over at the film crew every so often. all of a sudden they got up enmasse and grabbed the news crew and threw them into the mud hole. The only music I remember was the repeated (repeatedly repeated) Rolling Stones. I think it was the only recorded music that they had!! Every time I hear Wild Horses I think of the festival. I also recall John Sebastian on stage and this girl in front of us continuously yelling "Yoo hoo john - john sebastian do you believe in magic"
    All in all I have fond memories - what I can remember that is.
     
  20. A Bear

    A Bear Member

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    I was only there a couple of daze but it was the experience of a lifetime. Micro-dot, window pane, and Orange Sunshine was new to me (at the time) and we quickly became good friends. I walked the delta and crossed the river on a sand bar just as Blood Rock began playing DOA. The girl leading the way had removed all her clothes to keep them dry and said she had been doing this all night to sneak people in. My wife and I stripped, held our clothes with our arms stretched over our heads, and proceeded to follow her.

    Early in the morning I remember Nugent swinging on a rope, high above the stage, and yelling at God to come down and get him. I don't recall him screaming at the crowd to awaken them, although he might have, but I do recall (vividly) how he placed his guitar on the stage and bowed to it while on his knees. "This is my God," he said, "and the only God I worship." He then picked up his guitar and proceeded to stir the crowd with a biting tribute to Hendrix and Joplin by playing the Star Spangled Banner with his teeth. The masses lit candles just as the sun began to rise and the scene became (almost} spiritual in retrospect. I couldn't believe what I had just seen because at that moment, I 'was' completely straight. I didn't try my first time hit of 'sunshine' until later in the day. I honestly thought somebody had laced the breakfast potted meat. How else could I explain it? That's probably why I saw the Dukes play several more times at the Watch Tower in Thibodaux. I had to reaffirm how mad the man really was. And make no mistake he was, is, and always will be, but you gotta love him if you like rock and roll -or bow hunting.

    I often reminisce the Celebration of Life. The music of Blood Rock and The Amboy Dukes, the hot air balloon that landed near the stage, the Swami who spoke around noontime, the hundreds of bare breasted women, the naked bathers, the acid booth and smiling faces. I saw a man drown that afternoon and proceeded to return home to Morgan City, Louisiana. After turning-on and tuning-in for a couple of years, there was only one thing left to do: drop-out. And that we did.

    Packed the old 66 Chevy Van and drove to Colorado in the hope of living in tranquility on top of a mountain in Granby. Strawberry Lake, Rainbow Tribe -the first gathering. Pink Floyd was supposed to be at that one as well (or so we were promised). Ah well, a story for another time, perhaps.

    Peace out and always lots of love.
     

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