Atlanta greets the world
Do you have better pictures from the event to share? mystere2@bellsouth.net
Notice the extreme long hair on many of the people!
Ticket courtesy of Darrell Brooks
Here is Mz Toots taking pictures of Sweetwater, a great band featuring a cello. The interplay between the two main vocalists, Nanci Nevins and the flute playing Albert Moore, were magical and full of love like a jazzed out Jefferson Airplane.
Here is Sweetwater
We really had like Sweetwater at Miami Pop and now they were even better.
In those days there were unique individuals you seemed to see everywhere. One we called Starman when we saw him selling metal twirling star toys at the Miami Pop Festival. He is to stage left above.
Here he is again
Local favorites The Allman Brothers had been signed by a phony promoter and were not allowed inside when they arrived. Yet later the announcer said a band driving by on I-75 had been stopped with the traffic, so they had asked to play. They were Grand Funk Railroad.
Fire trucks sprayed the crowd to cool the air. People got wet, some naked, some muddy. We camped in our bus with friends around a communal pot and pot under a few pecan trees. Everyone welcomed the sunset. Joe Cocker poured out his soul. We planned to leave, but saw a leather jacket proclaiming- “I came from England to see Led Zeppelin”. We are ever grateful we decided to stay to hear this unknown band.
Little did we know what the next day would hold...TheGrateful Dead!
My brother was working onstage back then. I think he worked all the Florida Festivals and a lot of Miami rock shows. He called me and said I could have all the free tickets I wanted. I was 19 and just out of high school. All I had to do was bring my friends. Well, out of this whole town, about 140 miles from the Speedway, only three wanted to go.
When we got there, my brother had left four "all-access" passes ( I think they were called backstage passes at the time). We got to meet and talk with so many performers, it really was a blur, although I do remember talking with Janis Joplin (very distinctly).
We got there right as Dave Brubeck (with Thelonius Monk?) was playing. We were woefully short-handed on everything except wine and beer (very little food). All weekend we traded beer and wine for weed.
I remember going to look for food and seeing all these "No Hippies Allowed" signs. We were more like political Yippies than Hippies, but, lol, I don't think the way we looked convinced the locals we were not Hippies (I wore my first leather headband that weekend). Finally, we found a place to eat and a store about thirty or forty miles away). Ended up missing Tommy James and the Shondells we were told.
The band I remember most was Johnny Winter. Credence Clearwater Revival put on a show that was good, but it seemed liked they played every song like it appeared on the record. I enjoyed Spirit and Canned Heat, mainly because there were sort of like legends to us. As a matter of fact, I really can't recall a bad performer. Oh yea, the Staple Singers blew us away, and I really liked Booker T.
There was a pond and quite of few people were swimming naked.
Saturday, because of my brother, I got to read a couple of announcements on stage. That was kind of weird.
We heard about the Dead at Piedmont Park, but left Sunday for some reason.
At the SC/GA line on the way back, we pulled over into the rest area with four girls from the Festival ( I forgot how we flagged each other down). We swam a while in the lake, and they invited us to Charlottesville VA, but we went home, dazed and confused and never the same again.
Too bad the country became more repressive and everything just sort of faded away.- Joe from Greenville SC
attended the festival...loved all the people I met...everyone was sharing water melons ...and their shade. camped out in peach orchid. swear I saw big bird walk by the van....It was very HOT there but the people were wonderful...wish I coul relive it over again. I was also on 14 street . Middle earth head shop & the Catacombs. Did a little typing on Speckled Bird. Wonder if anyone remembers me? I remember you. and love you. Jesus was at the Catacombs in 68. So very meek & sincere. (well, we tried...didn't we!) TWIGS
Ohmigosh. I was there too. My boyfriend and a dozen others came from Miami. I don't think we all had tickets, but that didn't stop us from attending one great concert. It was HOT. PG&E played Wade in the Water (?) in the afternoon and water would have been good then... All the bands were fantastic, great music, and great memories. I came home broke, exhausted, and sunburned. Told my parents I stayed with a school friend over the weekend - HA.
We know "Starman" has Reverend Star and he was a regular at the love-ins and concerts in Miami at the time.
billym
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I was around to see Starman in the Miami area. I was told he was a UM student. At Atlanta a huge local cop was trying to direct traffic in the hot sun. Starman, with only a cloth diaper on prances up to him. The cop then went and sat down in the shade. Starman with his wand then did a great job of directing traffic Chefneon@myspace.com
I went to the concert & had a really great time. I befrended people with a Uhaul set up as a sales booth of posters & funstuff and slept a few short hours under their truck. I awoke to Creedence CW playing around 2am I think. Got up & went to the front wiht my can of Ranch Style Beans opened & shared them with too many people on the way to the front to see. I have some pics that I will dig up soon of the firetruck & waterparty etc. PEACE www.neonjohn.com
