Up the road from where John Lee Hooker found bewilderment in the scholarly approach to the blues, is Tanglewood, a veritable Valhalla for the classical music set, and the occasional locale of bodice-ripping rock ‘n roll.
During the Great Pivot,* the Boston Symphony lured the legendary Bill Graham away from the City to produce summertime concerts in the country, and although Graham is revered for his bi-coastal Fillmores, he put on a couple Tanglewood shows that merit the attention of anyone who cares to know what it was like before the men with green eye shades took over.
my missed opportunity
During 1969, after dropping out of college in the spring, then flunking the draft physical in June, I was all set for Woodstock, until the offer of a trip to San Francisco fell in my lap. Since it makes more sense to consume music a couple bands at a time, not all at once, it was not with a heavy heart that I unloaded my 3-day pass to the Aquarian Exposition, and hied to the Left coast.
Besides scoring a job in Yosemite National Park, I also got turned on to Santana, a local band with a boss new album. When I was back east for Christmas, I couldn’t wait to turn on my friends to my awesome discovery! Duh!!!!!!! was everybody’s response, we saw them at Woodstock.
* The Great Pivot, for all intents and purposes, is the Nixon presidency – before was the Sixties, after is something dark and sinister.