which was sabotaged by weather and
technical problems. For one thing, the
Dead’s equipment was exceptionally
heavy, which strained the stability of
the stage almost to the point of collapse.
What’s more, the rains came once again,
causing some frightening electrical dif-
ficulties: Garcia and Weir both experi-
enced jarring shocks when touching
their electric guitars or approaching
the mics—Weir, in fact, was thrown
across the stage at one point. With con-
stant interruptions between numbers,
one as long as 10 minutes, the Deadto be heroin. Hite turned blue, col-
lapsed, and died later that evening at 38.
Nevertheless, Canned Heat persisted.
De la Parra kept the band going, with
numerous personnel changes; he and
Taylor are both in the current lineup.
Later in 2019 Canned Heat is expected
to tour Germany.
Mountain
9–10 PM
A seminal influence on heavy metal
and hard rock, Mountain was one of
the great Woodstock success stories.
The creation of guitarist and vocal-
ist Leslie West and Cream producer
Felix Pappalardi, a guitarist, Mountain
had only three gigs under its belt when
it signed on to appear at Woodstock.
Joining West and Pappalardi were
drummer Norman “N.D.” Smart and
Steve Knight, a keyboard player who
was a Woodstock native. “They were
another new face and the crowd loved
them,” Lang wrote. “Especially on
standards like ‘Stormy Monday’ and a
[Cream bassist] Jack Bruce epic, ‘Theme
from an Imaginary Western.’ ” All told,
the newcomers did nine songs, includ-
ing an ode to the festival they dubbed
“For Yasgur’s Farm.” It was a star-mak-
ing—and earsplitting—appearance. “I
think I had the most amplifiers of any-
body there,” West remembered. “It was
paralyzing because that stage, that set-
ting, was some kind of natural amphi-
theater. The sound was so loud and
shocking that I got scared. But once I
started playing, I just kept going because
I was afraid to stop.”
AFTER WOODSTOCK: Their festival turn
made Mountain famous overnight. The
band toured extensively, disbanded in
1972—West blamed it on drug use and
road weariness—and briefly re-formed
two years later. In 1983 Pappalardi, 41,
was shot to death by his wife, Gail, in
their New York City apartment. West
reunited Mountain on and off over
the years until 2010. West, who had his
lower right leg amputated because of
severe complications from diabetes in
2011, still performs solo at the age of 73.
Grateful Dead
10–10:45 PM
The Dead—Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir,
Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan,
Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart—
came up during the rise of the San
Francisco counterculture movement
and first gained notice as the house
band for writer Ken Kesey’s LSD parties.
Certainly, no band more exemplifies the
psychedelic ’60s or has inspired a more
devoted cohort of fans. But Deadheads
may have been disappointed with their
heroes’ performance at Woodstock,