Woodstock (by Joni Mitchell)

Music to set the mood...
Our most recent adventure took place in Woodstock, New York, but had absolutely nothing to do with Joni Mitchell despite the title of this post!

February 21st, 2020.
We woke early, around 5:00am, knowing we had a long, exciting day ahead of us. The sky was still asleep, dark and deep with dreams as we hopped into my car (whose name is Peter) and set off! One of the necessities of our adventures is always seeing the sunrise, no matter the destination. Whether it be one hour away or six, our main goal stays the same: see the new day take shape.
The road nearly lulled us back to sleep as the horizon slowly crawled out from the night. The sunrise that morning was a flame of orange and yellow, dedicating no time to the familiar pastels to show themselves. The day came upon the earth suddenly, as do two kids with fire in their eyes and freedom in their hearts.
We headed straight for Woodstock, saving the fun little stops for the way home. Despite being an early Friday morning, our fear of traffic was meaningless and we shared the road with close to no one. This is one of the perks of heading west...get as far away as you can from Boston.
The drive took a short three hours, and we occupied our time with our favorite music and admiring what we could from inside the car. We watched towns get smaller and felt our imaginations grow bigger. Mountains began taking shape against the blue morning sky as we crossed the Rip Van Winkle bridge overlooking the Hudson River. The water was endless, encompassed by tree tops the size of broccoli florets and sweet violet petals. Everything of the earth lay right below us, over 100 feet away.
 Thirty minutes of singing and laughing later, we took the exit into Woodstock from the highway and let the excitement begin to flow. We had been looking forward to this for quite a while.
Small houses were scattered along the winding road that stretched on for another nine miles. We blasted appropriate tunes and listened as Richard Manuel sang stories about the South.
A sharp turn onto Rock City Road brought us straight into the heart of the town.
At last, we reached our main destination, and Woodstock Cemetery's gates stood tall, beckoning us to enter. Pulling in, the gravel road felt foreign beneath my car's tires, but we soon got accustomed to the dips and lumps that laid about. We had no idea where the specific graves were that we were looking for, but we figured we'd be able to locate them in the somewhat small cemetery.
 As we ascended a hill, we locked eyes with the first one to the right: Levon Helm's. There stood a wooden fence with a large headstone in front. I parked the car, turned it off, and we both made our way over to the beloved musician's resting place.
The fence was decked out in music notes from "Life is a Carnival" and a carving of Big Pink, where Bob Dylan and The Band recorded and practiced. Drum sticks, 45's, and painted stones decorated the ground around us. We stayed silent for a few moments, letting ourselves process just what we were seeing. Here lay one of our greatest musical inspirations!

The second musician from the same musical group also rested in this cemetery with his friend. His name was Rick Danko, and it took us an oddly long time to find his grave which was just at the bottom of a hill. Levon's grave overlooked Rick's and it comforted me to imagine them being together again. 

Evan and I had brought some instruments with the intention of playing for each band member. We strummed for a bit, and privately exchanged words with each headstone, hoping that the spirits of those who lay beneath were listening. I cried a fair amount, letting myself feel every possible emotion I had for these men that we admire so greatly. It must mean something in this world if just the sight of a musician's grave makes your eyes well up and heart melt into a pool of nothingness. I don't believe anyone will ever understand my eternal love for certain artists, and I bet the same goes for Evan. The only certainty in life is the way we feel, words will never make sense. 

Rick Danko

Levon Helm

Here's some VERY BRIEF history on The Band!

Members: Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson.

In the mid to late 1960's, The Band actually played with Bob Dylan. This caused incredible anger from fans who would stage walk-outs after booing the performers. They hated the fact that the group was using electric instruments which caused Bob Dylan to "lose" some of that folk sound. The poor guy just wanted to do what he felt like doing, but fans HATED it. This eventually led to Levon Helm leaving the band for a short period. 

The group moved to Woodstock, New York into a pink house known simply as Big Pink. They began working on sessions which later became known as The Basement Tapes. None of these songs would be heard until almost a decade later! (And trust me, they're beautiful). 

Levon Helm returned upon hearing the recordings and eventually their album Music From Big Pink was released in 1968. This album CHANGED people, nobody had ever heard anything like this before. There were no words to describe what exactly was being played. 

Fun fact that many people don't know about: The Band actually played at the Woodstock festival in 1969, but their set was never released! People speculate this is because Robbie Robertson's microphone was turned up too high, and his voice was too prominent. He was never really a singer, and mainly just wrote lyrics and played guitar. But...who really knows the reasoning behind it?Maybe, if we're lucky, the recordings will be released in the future! 

On November 25, 1976 The Band played together for the last time. This performance is known as The Last Waltz, and showcased many different musicians playing alongside The Band. The show was documented and turned into a movie simply called The Last Waltz. 

However, the Band did reunite for a tour in 1983, only without guitarist Robbie Robertson. 

Fast forward to 1986, The Band was of course still successful. Sadly, on March 4th of that same year Richard Manuel ended his life early one morning following a performance. His death shocked the group, especially Rick Danko who just couldn't believe Richard would ever feel that way. Richard had been involved in a lot of drug use and addiction, which only worsened his mental health. 

The heart-breaking death of Richard didn't stop The Band, though. In 1993 they released Jericho, their first album in 16 years! Two more albums followed: High on the Hog in 1996, and Jubilation in 1998 which marked their 30th anniversary!

Only a year later in 1999, Rick Danko passed away in his sleep from heart failure on December 10th. Rick suffered from past drug addiction and alcoholism, and this ultimately led to his death. 

In the late 1990's, Levon Helm had been diagnosed with throat cancer. This never stopped him, and he continued to perform until his condition became fatal. Levon passed away on April 19th, 2012, never once giving up on the music that shaped his life. 

The Band's surviving members are guitarist Robbie Robertson, and organist, keyboardist, and saxophonist Garth Hudson. The Band's legacy will forever live on, and continue to change the lives of those who really listen. Their music and voices are part of this earth until the end of time. 

If you'd like more information on the band, visit their website! 

From left to right: Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Robbie Robertson.

Big Pink was just five minutes from Woodstock Cemetery, and we were eager to visit. Having spent over an hour at the graves, we knew it was time to say goodbye and head to the house. 

The drive was sun-lit and gave me the most peace I'd felt in a long time. I could see why they chose to live in Woodstock with Overlook Mountain standing against the open sky. Just being there was surreal. 

We turned onto the dirt road that Big Pink resided on and were surrounded by pines on either side. The road was short, bumpy, and stood atop a sheer cliff that cascaded down to the left. At the end there were a few other houses scattered far apart from each other, but Big Pink stood magnificently in the midst of New York's forest. 

My photo of Big Pink.

The Band at Big Pink.

It felt so strange to be at the place we'd only seen in photos. I half expected to see The Band standing out front or relaxing in the yard like they used to do. We snapped some photos, and walked around the house a bit. All the windows looking into the basement were locked up with curtains drawn. They each had a surveillance camera pointing at us, but we knew why. The basement was where they recorded and practiced a long time ago, so all the heavy duty protection made sense. Memories that formed a musical revolution were made down there. 

We stayed for less than a half hour, not wanting to disturb the surrounding residents, and made our way back towards the center of town so we could climb Overlook Mountain. 

The two and a half mile ascend was somewhat easy due to the trail being an old road. The hardest part about it was not slipping on the ice and snow that hid the pavement from sight. 

The mountain used to have a hotel on the top that operated in the late 1800's and fell victim to multiple fires. Only the skeletal remains are left. 

The trees hid the views, but the hotel was hauntingly extravagant. 

 After our climb, we ventured around town a bit, taking in all the music stores and "head shops" that littered the main street. 

Around 1:00, we began making our way home, with a certain historical stop in mind! 

On July 21, 1970, the band Chicago played at Tanglewood music center in Lenox, MA. This concert became known as one of their best performances in history, and is what launched the group into stardom. The band wasn't supposed to perform that night, but ended up doing so after multiple artists cancelled, including Jimi Hendrix! 

25 or 6 to 4 at Tanglewood, 1970. 

Tanglewood was only about an hour from Woodstock, but it felt so much shorter. Once we reached Lenox, Evan and I were making jokes like "do you think Chicago drove on this same road," and "where do you think they went after the show?" 

Tanglewood's gates were quaint among the open fields of Western MA and we drove right in, giddy with anticipation. We knew we weren't going to be able to go inside, but just the fact that we were at the very spot where Chicago gave their best performance was enough. There were a few cars in the parking lot and American flags stood tall, casting shadows over us. The venue was large, and not very exciting, but when you're fans as big as us, you come to realize how much the little things mean to you. Evan and I had probably watched videos of the Tanglewood concert dozens of times. When I say we're big fans, I mean it. We got out of the car, snapped a few photos, and with the fear of security coming to question us, we didn't stay much longer. 

We took Jacob's Ladder home so we could avoid the mess of the highway. The road was empty, and had some of the most beautiful views. We blasted the music we loved, letting it pour out of the windows and into the world. This beat taking any other way home. 

Our music-fueled adventure personally gave me some of the best experiences I've had while exploring. It's not every day you get to see the places where your musical heroes made history. I know we'll return to these destinations again soon because we're learning more and more every day. Lately, I've been reflecting on this adventure, the idea of influence continuing to cross my mind. It's unreal how strangers can mean so much to you just through music, I never used to care about it when I was 12 or 13 years old and preferred silence. And it wasn't until the right kind of music started happening to me that I realized a love within me that I never thought I had. 

So, thank you to all the bands that I carry with me daily. YOU are the reason I believe in myself and continue trekking forward. I may not always have a destination, but I know the kind of person I want to be in the end. 

ALWAYS let music happen to you. 

-Avery