Rolling Stones At Altamont thoughts

Sorry, but curiosity gets the better of me sometimes: if there was nowhere to go, and people were, essentially, trapped where they were, how did people use the restroom? What were the facilities like?

PS Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

I'm filing that under, "Stuff I Don't Wanna Know."

 

Uh, yeah, I know. Just a weird thought I had. Carry on!

 

I've met quite a few people over the years who attended local and well-known festivals like Sky River, Monterey, Woodstock, Altamont, etc. If we talked about it to any extent it was usually who they saw, what songs were played, etc. and less about the bigger cultural picture of the event itself. I mean, we were living it at the time. I've met a few attendees from Altamont but nothing major comes to mind, the gist being that most people were scarcely aware of what had happened front & center. The usual stories about long lines, the sound fluctuating, occasional strung out idiot making a scene, etc. Personal anecdotal stories are now all over with the rise of the internet. I remember on one anniversary a California paper had an article on Altamont and there were many many posters responding with their own personal recollections.

I remember talking to a cop (this is long ago) about policing at these rock festivals and he had some really interesting perspectives. When the subject of Altamont came up what stuck out was him saying (to the effect) in a crowd or public situation, where some messed up dude pulls a weapon, people usually scatter... screaming...panic etc. yet there, a biker launched right into the situation hand-to-hand. Call 'em what you will he said but cowardice is not one of their weaknesses. Who knows what Hunter was intending to do. Was he going to empty his gun at the performers and crowd? Was it just a (stupid) bluff? We'll never know. A biker took on a guy with a gun without hesitation.

 

Go, as in nowhere to hide.

It was a one day/afternoon thing, it wasn't hot and there really wasn't anything to drink in our neighborhood; maybe just a few bota bags. Bottled water hadn't been invented yet and we were there to see/hear the bands, not to picnic or find a portable toilet and stand in line.

 

In the film, it appears that Passaro takes Hunter down almost instantly after Hunter drew his weapon. He must have sussed out the situation instantly - young kid, has gun, probably doesn't know how to use it, is messed up on drugs and therefore not as fast as Passaro. As horrific as it was, there's no telling what would have happened had Passaro not jumped on Hunter.

 

Don't forget that they'd already had a run-in with Hunter earlier in the show, so he was definitely on the Angel's radar, and in that lime green suit and hat, he wasn't heard to keep an eye on.

 

What isn't clear is what happened before Hunter comes into frame in the film. Some of the accounts suggest he had already gotten into some sort of fight and had been stabbed. Alas, that wasn't captured on film (or if it was, it wasn't in the final cut). So it's not entirely clear if Hunter drew the gun first, or if he had already been beaten and/or stabbed. From that Rolling Stone piece:

According to Rolling Stone's eyewitness account, the incident began at stage left, with an Angel grabbing Hunter's head, then punching him, then chasing him into the crowd, then knifing him in the back, as Hunter ran. It would be at this point that Hunter would appear back in the crowd, about to pull his gun. Which is what happens. Sheriff's detectives investigating the killing believe -- based partly upon photos subpoenaed from Rolling Stone -- that Hunter was at stage left, and was chased back to where the Maysles cameras pick him up.​

Also, listening to the (more or less) complete audio, it's interesting how the stage comments have been edited in the film. That is, I think some some people might have a different impression if they heard all of the comments, and in context.

 

I posted earlier that the first guy looks like he's morphing into The Wolfman, but actually, he's not a threat to anyone. In fact, IIRC, he gets manhandled off the stage by the second guy, who is far, far, scarier, at least to me. That look he's giving Jagger with his beady, bloodshot eyes speaks volumes.

 

Note that RS says killing happened during Sympathy. Wrong, of course.

 

Hang on, is Passaro emerging as a hero from this scenario? It certainly seems that he dealt with the situation expertly and efficiently...

 

Yes, everyone should at least read the transcript - Jagger especially comes off a lot worse in the film because of the editing, IMO

 

From Livermore Heritage Guild:
"Dick Carter told the Herald in 1979 that forty-three law-
suits were filed against him related to the Altamont con-
cert (but one resident said that just one rancher ever reco-
vered damages). Young American Enterprises, the orga-
nizer of the concert, had a $1 million insurance policy,
but neglected to transfer it from Sears Point to Altamont.
Carter said that the two checks that he received from the
Rolling Stones bounced and that the Stones claimed that
their promoter had taken all of the money."

 

I wouldn't go that far - read lukpac's post after mine. We really don't know what caused the incident. If Hunter was jumping around waving his gun or something and got attacked by the Angels, that's one thing, but if they started beating on him because he was black and flamboyant and wore a big green hat and that provoked him into foolishly pulling his gun, that would be quite another. Some statements (at least in this thread, can't remember the sources) have suggested that Hunter had pulled his gun and was pointing it in the direction of the stage, while the film seems to indicate that he had no sooner drew the gun that he had a knife in his back. A couple of things are certain though: Hunter's fate was sealed the moment he drew a gun, and Passaro had no fear of a teenage kid with a gun.

 

I call bunk...the Stones made some serious bank on the '69 tour (they were criticized for having ticket prices that were too high) and they had distanced themselves from Klein by then...someone is not telling the truth here...

 

I'd always read he got into an altercation with an Angel or two earlier in the show, something to do with them making a pass at his girl or something of that nature. He was whacked on drugs and was stewing about it. His girl tried to calm him down but he snapped and decided to charge back and get revenge on whoever he blamed (was it the Stones? The Angels? Someone else? Who knows?) and thus, the altercation in question where Passaro took him down.

For the record, the details of his injuries in Booth's book make for grisly reading, as told by a witness he interviewed shortly after.

 

Well, that would be Dick Carter, then.

Note: I wonder who Carter thinks is the Stones? Remember, Klein disavows anything to do with Cutler. Maybe Carter received checks from Cutler, as he was tour manager? Maybe Carter's lying?

Further note: do you have an opinion as to whether Cutler is representing The Stones?

 

Cutler was a weird one...he had barely known the Stones before Hyde Park, and then on the '69 US tour he's the tour manager running the show. Very weird. He comes across in Booth's book as pretty ineffective and certainly not someone the Stones took seriously as an authority figure.

 

As far as Klein goes, I don't think that is true. The Stones fired him in 1970 and RS magazine speaks to him as Stones management. (I posted a couple if times on Klein and nobody's offered a comment until your post).

 

Well, that's not what I mean. As you say, he was hired as tour manager. To me that means he's a representative of The Stones, as far as this particular tour and its arrangements. If he calls venues and permitting offices, etc, he is doing this on behalf of The Stones. If he hired The Angels, he's acting as an agent of The Stones. If you look back at my "blame" synopsis, it is Cutler who deflects blame from Jagger and says that he is the one who made the arrangements. (And the way it is being addressed sounds, to me, as in his capacity as an agent of The Stones).

 

Crazy. As many times as I've watched the movie, I didn't recognize that as a still. It looks like a different, more panoramic view.

 

It would appear there's actually a *hair* more to the right side of the frame in the film, at least based on what's up on YouTube, but it is otherwise identical to the photo above from a framing perspective.

That said, the photo above is significantly lighter than what's on YouTube (and probably the DVD/Blu-ray, although I haven't compared), which gives more shadow detail (and the left side of the frame is mostly pretty dark).

But definitely the same frame. 1:25:05 here:

 

Indeed. He was stabbed five times, if my information is correct?

 

Likely…