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ROCKFEST ARCHIVE INDEX |
EXCERPT ON THE 1970 POWDER RIDGE ROCK FESTIVAL FROM “AQUARIUS RISING: THE ROCK FESTIVAL YEARS” BY ROBERT SANTELLI, 1980 By Saturday afternoon Powder Ridge had become less of a music festival and more of an enormous drug orgy. Every manufactured chemical concoction and natural ingredient known to alter consciousness seemed to be present. In the camping area walkways became known as Acid Alley, High Street, and Pot Boulevard. More drugs were sold out in the open at Powder Ridge than at any previous festival, and more people per capita used them, especially such chemical psychedelic ones as LSD, speed and STP.  Captialism at Powder Ridge. Photo by David Gahr On Sunday a group of dealers held an auction attended by over two hundred festival goers. "What do I hear for this unmatched ounce of the best marijuana Colombia has to offer?" "Who has the true psychedelic mind that can handle grooving to the colors and fascinations of this pure, organic mescaline?" "Name your product and name your price. We got reds, uppers, downers, speed, acid and specially priced peyote buttons, Don't be bashful. . . . Name your product and name your price!" "Hey, man, how much for a hit of acid, man? "Seventy-five cents, but since it's Sunday and I'm checkin' out of here, I'll give you two tabs for a buck." "Right on, man." Bulletin boards listed prices. Hawkers stuck cardboard placards with a listing of their drugs for sale around their necks. What they didn't list, though, were notices that much of the acid being sold was impure and resulted in bad trips and freak-outs. Dr. Abruzzi told reporters afterward that the lack of music was the dominant reason so many young people resorted to drugs at Powder Ridge. He mentioned that when Melanie played, the number of kids who needed medical attention because of overdoses or bad trips was less than 50. Later on in the weekend he and his team were treating almost that number every hour. At one instance the medical tent had over 150 kids suffering from bad trips. The freak-out problem would not have been so severe if much of the acid hadn't been laced with strychnine or mescaline. Furthermore, there was no centralized means of making the young people aware of the situation other than word of mouth. Had there been a coordinated communications system, many festivalgoers might not have attempted questionable drugs and the bad-trip predicament would have been reduced. But such an effort was exceedingly difficult without continuous electricity to power the sound system. The Powder Ridge Ski Resort remained in youthful hands until most of the festivalgoers grew tired of turning on. After Sunday evening the exodus from the slope began in earnest. Some, however, did not make it as planned. State police checked cars on the way out and ultimately arrested 237 people on drug charges. The big issue that remained after the Zemel brothers finally regained control of their resort was the refunding to ticket holders of the twenty dollars they had shelled out for admission to the festival. Spokesmen for the Middleton Arts group told the press that refunds were not necessary since the promoters had just signed an agreement with Yankee Stadium officials granting them permission to stage a two-day concert there. The deal fell through, and the promoters searched for another possible site. They next contacted officials at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C. Before any lease was finalized the promoters stated that 20,000 of the stadium's 45,000 seats would be used for those with Powder Ridge tickets. The remaining seats were to be sold to other rock fans for $10 per ticket. There was no logic in the fairness, since Powder Ridge ticket holders had spent twenty dollars for their tickets, while others would have to pay only half that amount to see the same show. When Middleton Arts was denied use of RFK Stadium, the promoters tried to lease a one-thousand-acre mountain site in Laurel Spring, North Carolina. But Allegheny County officials emphatically issued an order stating that no rock event was going to be held anywhere in the county. Meanwhile the Internal Revenue Service filed a $204,000 tax levy against the Powder Ridge group, and chief promoter Raymond Filiberti was indicted by a grand jury on perjury charges. The press strongly hinted of a possible Mafia link with Filiberti and the others in Middleton Arts, but no connections were ever confirmed. An interesting aspect of the situation was that no money was ever refunded to Powder Ridge ticket holders, and someone - no one ever learned exactly who - was a half-million dollars richer. <<< BACK INDEX >>>
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