Jimi Hendrix
at Monterey
Every year, music promoters try to put on a festival that comes close to Woodstock '69 or the Monterey Pop Music Festival of '67. Every year they fail. A concert can be one of the greatest experience in a person's life. Concerts can be a great way for a musician to gain exposure to the public. In a history-making concert, the artist isn't the only aspect people remember. This article explains some key points and strategies for putting on a history-making concert.
Instructions
Previous Legendary Concerts
1. Learn from previous festivals. Woodstock '69 is probably the most famous concert. It was billed as "three days of peace and music." The promoters weren't very experienced but still managed to put on a great festival.
2. Take notes from the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. It was the first major rock concert that would go on to become legendary. It introduced Jimi Hendrix and The Who on a national scale.
3. Use The Rolling Stones concert at Altamont to know what not to do. It showed how a major music festival can be disastrous if it's carried out the wrong way. Although, the Altamont concert made history, it's considered more notorious than famous. Many things went wrong. The most important aspect was their security. Do not use the Hell's Angels to provide security! The stage was also placed inproperly. If the stage was higher, like it was at Woodstock, no one would be trying to climb on stage.
4. Do not use a name of a previous concert and expect to go just as well as the original. The reattempts at Woodstock in '94 and '99 didn't come close. Woodstock '99 became a disaster because of the artists that played, the overpricing on everything, and the general atmosphere of an abundance of advertisements from corporate sponsors.
Putting it All Together
5. Choose the right venue for your concert. A large open area is highly suggested. You want to make people as comfortable as possible there. A venue close to large cities is an advantage.
6. Pick the right time. Again, you need to make people comfortable, so choose the time of year when the weather is just right. It was cold at Altamont; the concert was held in December. And of course, it should be held over the weekend.
7. Hype up the concert in the music underground. You need to get a lot of publicity without making it seem like that's your goal. Spreading news of the concert by word of mouth will get more people than showing cheesy commercials on MTV. You don't want the publicity from corporate sponsors. That can really kill the vibe.
8. Create a good vibe. You have got to have a good attitude about the concert from the moment you think of it until it's over. In the KSAN radio broadcast after Altamont, a listener pointed out that "there was no feeling towards each other" in the crowd. She explained how people were just there for the music and didn't care if a fellow concert-goer was having a bad trip on LSD.
9. Do not be a sell out. Don't lose your principles for money. Making money can not be the primary goal of the concert. It has been the mistake most recent concerts. The music and the fact that you are reaching out to people is the most important thing. No one is going to love your concert if they are going to be paying $9 for a bottle of water.
The Music and Your Goals
10. Pick the right bands for concert. If you want a concert about peace and love, you can't book bands that sing about hate. Try booking bands with a mellow side so your concert doesn't get out of control.
11. Find unknown acts with the potential to be great. Jimi Hendrix and The Who were relatively unknown in the United States when they played Monterey. You need a good mixture of unknown acts and ones that are already established.
12. Make an impact. Making your goals heard around the world is the most important thing. At Woodstock '69, people were there to show how much peace and love there was in the world. They did just that. Hundreds of thousands of people showed up to listen to music.
Tags: Jimi Hendrix, most important, your concert, Altamont concert, close Woodstock, corporate sponsors