The lineup on day two (August 16, 1969) included:
Country Joe McDonald - convinced to play an acoustic set for the crowd while Santana set up. Joe remembers: "I said I didn't have a guitar. I didn't even have a guitar pick, just a matchbook cover. They gave me a rope for a strap." This set is most well known for the "Fish Cheer:" ... "Give me a F! Give me a U! Give me a C!....." (page 206)
Santana - Booked at the bargain price of $1500, Santana gave one of the more memorable performances at Woodstock (notable - Soul Sacrifice with Michael Shrieve's awesome drum solo). Relatively unknown at the time, the group was the first to really get people up, dancing and sliding around in the mud (pages 88, 207-208).
John Sebastian - Remembered for his outfit, a pare of tye-dyed Levi's jeans and jacket, Sebastian played what he considered the worst performance of his life. While on stage under the influence of acid, he conversed with the audience like they were old friend. Michael Lang remarks "...I thought it was wonderful how he embraced that huge audience as family, reinforcing the idea of our gathering as a new community." (pages 208-209)
Keff Hartley Band - playing a mix of jazz, blues and rock, this British band went on stage around 4:45 pm. Their set list included the tunes "Spanish Fly," "She's Gone," "Too Much Thinkin'," "Believe In You," "Rock Me Baby," and a medley of "Sinnin' For You (Intro)/Leaving Trunk/Just to Cry/Sinnin' for You." (page 212 and woodstock.wikia.com)
Incredible String Band - this Scottish psychedelic-folk band took the stage Saturday after waiting for a break in the rain. They featured a banjo, guitar, oud, mandolin and keyboards, which they had stashed in a VW bus the day before to try and keep the moisture off it. (pages 185 and 212)
Canned Heat - well known for their iconic song "Going Up the Country" featured in the Woodstock movie, it has become a type of anthem for the festival. The band took the stage around 7:30 pm and played though sunset. They improvised a jam later entitled "the Woodstock Boogie" (~30 min. jam) and closed with "On the Road Again." (page 213)
Mountain - the band brought roasted chickens with them to the gig, and shared them backstage with Janis Joplin and her band, while they all drank champagne. Also a newer band, their music was a little harder blues than Canned Heat, and not to be outdone, they came up with their own improvised jam entitled "For Yasgur's Farm."
Grateful Dead - a mythical performance for years that the band kept from being released until recently (also available in bootlegs), a combination of weather and LSD provided their undoing at Woodstock. Their equipment was so heavy that it collapsed the stage wheels (which would allow the stage to be rotated to help with equipment set up for each band). Thier set did not go very well, due to constant shocks from their guitars (one throwing Bob Weir back 8 to 10 feet to his amplifier). As Jerry Garcia groaned "Jeez, we were awful! We were just plumb atrocious! I was high and I saw blue balls of electricity bouncing across the stage and leaping onto my guitar when I touched the strings....But our performance onstage was musically a total disaster that is best left forgotten." (pages 216-218)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence was a bit nervous to take the stage after the Deads set, but their string of recent hits at the time, such as "Born of the Bayou," "Green River," "Bad Moon Rising," "Proud Mary," "I Put a Spell on You," with a finale of "Suzie Q" were a hit with the crowd. Unfortunately John Sebastian over heard John Fogerty coming off the stage and said "Well, you guys really screwed that one up."
Janis Joplin - playing barefoot, with her new band who had only played with her a few times, she sang hard and with passion. Music journalist Ellen Sander wrote "Janis Joplin danced with them as if they were one, they shouted back at her, they wouldn't let her off until they'd drained off every drop of her energy." (pages 217-218)
Sly and the Family Stone - in their fabulously flashy outfits, they played a high energy popular set under purple lights, starting around 3:30 am. They encouraged the crowd to sing along with them during their song "I Want to Take You Higher," where Ellen Sander also remembers "Grace Slick and Janis Joplin were dancing together, their eyes tightly shut and their fist clenched and their bodies whipping around." Carlos Santana thought that Sly Stone played the best set of his life noting that Sly literally had "steam ... coming out of his Afro." (pages 218-219)
The Who - Taking the stage around 5 am, they played songs from their rock opera Tommy. The set is well remembered for Abbie Hoffman crashing the stage right after the song "Pinball Wizard" and protesting to the crowd "I think this is a pile of shit! While John Sinclair rots in prison..." when BAM!! Pete Townshend (who was not thrilled to be playing Woodstock) whacked Hoffman in the head with his guitar and yelled: "Fuck off! Fuck off my fucking stage!" To which Hoffman jumps up, leaps off stage and was not seen again by Lang for the rest of the Festival. Townshend went on to add" "...The next fucking person who walks across this stage is going to get fucking killed!" The crowd cheers, to which he responds "You can laugh, but I mean it!" The finale "Naked Eye" took place at sunrise (around 6:05 am). (pages 219-221)
Jefferson Airplane - Grace Slick woke any who were sleeping that Sunday morning with a proclamation of "Alright friends, you have seen the heavy groups, now you'll see morning maniac music, believe me, yeah..." around 8 am. She recalls "We'd been up all night and I sang the goddamned songs with my eyes closed, sort of half asleep and half singing. We probably could have played better if we'd been more awake, but part of the charm of rock and roll is that sometimes you're ragged." (page 222)
Mountain - the band brought roasted chickens with them to the gig, and shared them backstage with Janis Joplin and her band, while they all drank champagne. Also a newer band, their music was a little harder blues than Canned Heat, and not to be outdone, they came up with their own improvised jam entitled "For Yasgur's Farm."
Grateful Dead - a mythical performance for years that the band kept from being released until recently (also available in bootlegs), a combination of weather and LSD provided their undoing at Woodstock. Their equipment was so heavy that it collapsed the stage wheels (which would allow the stage to be rotated to help with equipment set up for each band). Thier set did not go very well, due to constant shocks from their guitars (one throwing Bob Weir back 8 to 10 feet to his amplifier). As Jerry Garcia groaned "Jeez, we were awful! We were just plumb atrocious! I was high and I saw blue balls of electricity bouncing across the stage and leaping onto my guitar when I touched the strings....But our performance onstage was musically a total disaster that is best left forgotten." (pages 216-218)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence was a bit nervous to take the stage after the Deads set, but their string of recent hits at the time, such as "Born of the Bayou," "Green River," "Bad Moon Rising," "Proud Mary," "I Put a Spell on You," with a finale of "Suzie Q" were a hit with the crowd. Unfortunately John Sebastian over heard John Fogerty coming off the stage and said "Well, you guys really screwed that one up."
Janis Joplin - playing barefoot, with her new band who had only played with her a few times, she sang hard and with passion. Music journalist Ellen Sander wrote "Janis Joplin danced with them as if they were one, they shouted back at her, they wouldn't let her off until they'd drained off every drop of her energy." (pages 217-218)
Sly and the Family Stone - in their fabulously flashy outfits, they played a high energy popular set under purple lights, starting around 3:30 am. They encouraged the crowd to sing along with them during their song "I Want to Take You Higher," where Ellen Sander also remembers "Grace Slick and Janis Joplin were dancing together, their eyes tightly shut and their fist clenched and their bodies whipping around." Carlos Santana thought that Sly Stone played the best set of his life noting that Sly literally had "steam ... coming out of his Afro." (pages 218-219)
The Who - Taking the stage around 5 am, they played songs from their rock opera Tommy. The set is well remembered for Abbie Hoffman crashing the stage right after the song "Pinball Wizard" and protesting to the crowd "I think this is a pile of shit! While John Sinclair rots in prison..." when BAM!! Pete Townshend (who was not thrilled to be playing Woodstock) whacked Hoffman in the head with his guitar and yelled: "Fuck off! Fuck off my fucking stage!" To which Hoffman jumps up, leaps off stage and was not seen again by Lang for the rest of the Festival. Townshend went on to add" "...The next fucking person who walks across this stage is going to get fucking killed!" The crowd cheers, to which he responds "You can laugh, but I mean it!" The finale "Naked Eye" took place at sunrise (around 6:05 am). (pages 219-221)
Jefferson Airplane - Grace Slick woke any who were sleeping that Sunday morning with a proclamation of "Alright friends, you have seen the heavy groups, now you'll see morning maniac music, believe me, yeah..." around 8 am. She recalls "We'd been up all night and I sang the goddamned songs with my eyes closed, sort of half asleep and half singing. We probably could have played better if we'd been more awake, but part of the charm of rock and roll is that sometimes you're ragged." (page 222)
Images of John Sebastian - morrisonhotelgallery.com; Janis Joplin - Woodstock69.com; Grace Slick from Rockstore.net
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