Woodshock – People Still Pay Hundreds of $$ to Hang Out in the Mud

"Dude, this so rocks"

It doesn’t sound fun but for most people, gathering in a field or parking lot with thousands of others to hear music is a great way to check out some bands. Ever since I learned that a perk of digging the din that few others do is that you get the venue to yourself, I have been spoiled. No line at the bar. You can stand right in front without being hammered by overzealous fans “getting into the tunes.”

I wrote this piece on music festivals for Revue as information. I was surprised to find the Milwaukee music event, Summerfest, was such a hit. But I was even more interested in learning that the Doors played there one year, and Sly and the Family Stone another. That’s some pretty progressive booking for that time.  This Wiki entry is pretty damn good, and I had to dig a bit in Nexis to verify anything I repeated. Don’t trust Wikipedia, even with the notations.

This was one of those articles that was a real pleasure to write, maybe because it wrote itself. The only thing I thought of later on that I might have touched on is the OD tent, which is a fixture at all such events. I’d like to talk with a couple of medics who have staffed those over the years and get some stories. Maybe next year.