Woodstock 1969 Concert Site

"For the most part, it was rural country and our site at Bethel was situated on a pristine piece of alfalfa field that backed onto a beautiful lake. An incredibly bucolic, peaceful place." - Michael Lang, co-creator of the Woodstock Festival.

In 2012, the original Woodstock site has an identity crisis. It's a modern corporate concert venue pretending to be a revival of the original site. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts was built by billionaire cable TV mogul, and area native, Alan Gerry. There's obviously a lot of money flowing through here. There are workers and activity everywhere. And fences and guard shacks. There are signs that say 'No...' every 30 feet - like 'No Entry', 'No Parking', and 'No Trespassing'. There might as well be a sign that says 'No Peace and Quiet Either'. It feels a bit like a medium security prison. Or a private compound, which it is. The original site is off-limits with a fence built around it and each gate either has a lock or guard shack. I guess it's all done in the name of preservation but preserved for whom? Alan Gerry?

I wouldn't expect concerts to be held on the original stage and hillside. But they were. Gerry held two tribute concerts in 1998 and 1999. They were called 'Day In The Garden' concerts because Gerry wasn't allowed to use the name 'Woodstock'. The land was altered to build a new stage. But I think I would have preferred that nothing be built on the site at all. The Bethel Woods compound just doesn't have the same friendly and peaceful feel that you'd think would be generated from the original Woodstock Festival. It feels too much like Gerry is cashing in on the Woodstock legacy. I wonder what HE thought of it in 1969. And it's clear that the Bethel town would just as well bury all memories of it too. I bet if they could take themselves off Google Maps they would.

The local area has all but erased the impact of the Woodstock Festival. I went there expecting a touristy feel with hippie head shops, watermelon stands, and people in tie dies and sandals. But there's not much of that anymore. Maybe it was the rain on the day of my visit. But there are very few permanent Woodstock heritage sites left. The area is more of a depressing farm community feeling the effects of a recession. Maybe that's the way it always was, which makes the addition of a huge concert pavilion all the more a curiosity. It seems they will take the tax dollars but scoff at the rest.

The original site was once owned by dairy farmer Max Yasgur. Yasgur sold the farm long ago and every subsequent owner has butted heads with the Bethel leadership and lost. When Phish fans wanted to camp on the Yasgur farm, they were fined and driven away. You can't fight City Hall and now there's even a No Trespassing sign to the entrance of Yasgur's Farm.

I feel sorry for the contemporary music acts that come to play at Bethel Woods. They probably address the crowds about playing on hallowed ground and how special it is.