The Altamont Disaster

It was a massive disaster from the beginning. They should have seen it from afar and put an end to it before it even started. 300 thousand drug induced people flocked to the Altamont raceway in California. The concert was free and was said to be the Woodstock of the west. The main card and most of the violence happen during The Rolling Stones set. Most people connect Altamont with just The Stones while dismissing the others that were on the card as well such as Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and The Flying Burrito Brothers. The Grateful Dead were also set to be on the card but backed out after hearing of the extreme violence that was taking place in the crowd. The concert was filmed for a later Stones documentary titled Gimmie Shelter. The Stones hired The Hells Angels as security which might have been a huge mistake considering their don't give a shit attitude. As soon as one person pushed forward towards the stage there was no problem about pushing back. Which lead to a accidental death to a young man. Three other deaths also happen during the concert, two from a hit and run by a car and the other by drowning in a river bank. Four child births were recorded at the event as well. But the most famous and widely talked about incident was the death of Meredeth Hunter, who was murdered in front of the stage after trying to get on stage. Altamont has gone down in history as the biggest mistake in rock and roll history and is synonymous with rage, anger, death and pain. Sympathy For The Devil is the perfect song for this concert. He seemed to be in the crowd that night with the concert goers. At the end of the video you can see The Hells Angels dragging a lifeless body onto the stage while Mick keeps repeating "get down, get on down" and it still sends chills through the spine of me and I am sure many others.