Id go all Pacific Balearica… albeit the other side of the water aka Japan. Here’s two lesser known classics.
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Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice”?
Sly’s “I Want To Take You Higher”?
Richie Havens’ “Freedom”?
The mind boggles. Keep an eye for her brother!
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Soul Sacrifice Was my immediate thought too.
I know some attendees who like Funkadelic so maybe some stuff off of Maggot Brain.
Keep the bride happy. Take heed of @JonathanE 's tale of woe - the poor guy is clearly scarred for life, in case you couldn’t tell!
Having said that, the requirement to ‘work some Woodstock vibes’ into your set isn’t too prescriptive and sounds as though it might not require a full-on Woodstock tribute act.
With regards to what might constitute a ‘Woodstock vibe’, you might consider some Ravi Shankar. Sorry to say that I can’t recommend any specific ragas, but this track (from a mid-60s hippy-sploitation flick) is pretty accessible and has a cool spoken-word intro:
Assuming we’re still talking about the early evening cocktail part of your set, I’d consider addressing the psychedelic vibe early on.
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And some Richie Havens. This is pretty accessible - it’s one of 2 versions done by Havens (I prefer this one from a hippy rock-opera film called Catch My Soul):
And this has to be the quintessential summer of love track - this version is a fairly obvious choice, but there are so many different ones to choose from (I have about 30 different versions of the soundtrack, from soul to jazz to psychedelic rock to disco):
And everyone knows the actual track ‘Woodstock’, surely? Again, lots of different versions. This one has a really nice dreamy quality:
Edit: and maybe some Rotary Connection or Minnie Riperton?
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Thanks for the suggestion.
Yeah this is still earlier in the night, and I’ll be able to get psychedelic then. From my experience you can get away with a lot more during cocktail hours than people realize, if you’re really good at at atmosphere. I’ve played a lot of Mancuso/Loft and northern soul tracks during cocktail hours for super boring and mainstream people. In fact it’s my only time to be able to play a lot of slower tempo music I love.
Later in the night will be a lot more straightforward lol. 90s and 2000s hit parade .
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That wasn’t half as bad as the brown acid at Woodstock, which wasn’t “specifically too good” when it came to scarring me for life. However, I’ve still got some on hand if you want the complete Woodstock experience! Although you’ll have to supply your own torrential rain pouring down, mud, blocked traffic, helicopters, and post-event lawyers. I once had the opportunity to ask Carlos Santana about why the Sly Stone set had never been released in full. He just muttered about all the blood-thirsty lawyers. Of course, now it has been as has the Santana and Jefferson Airplane sets along with the Hendrix strangeness.
(Seriously, I wasn’t at Woodstock. However, when the film came out, I was a wayward student at Ipswich Civic College. The theatre had boxes at the back of the stalls. My little band of delinquents rented one and attempted to recreate the event as the film played. Good times.)
Anyway, music!
I played this one at my own wedding, which was just up the road from Bowen at Whistler. The awesome Rico Rodriguez with a gorgeous version of “Wonderful World.”
Please note, my CD has a considerably more attractive cover.
Here’s one of the great ‘60s anthems. The Youngbloods with “Get Together.”
And this appears to be them doing it at Woodstock, which wasn’t in the film and I previously was unaware of.*
And now for something completely different! I just stumbled on this this afternoon, but it’s got a nice “the more we are together, the happier we shall be” chant, which is about as hippy as you can get - and there are other songs with the same thing, not that I can remember any of them at this precise moment. It’s the brown acid fucking me up again. I should stick with the Sunshine.
Wganda Kenya (from Colombia aka Coolombia) with “Canto a Lo Largo.”
- EDIT: No, it’s not The Youngbloods playing live at Woodstock. Just scenes from the film cut to the track. Sorry about that.
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Here’s Richie Havens apparently performing “Strawberry Fields” at Woodstock.
I prefer the album version however, which I think this is despite appearances.
From the all-round damn fabulous Richard P. Havens, 1983 album, with a load of other solid tracks. I’m going to be buried with my copy!
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I make no apologies if this is too obvious for some people - it still sounds good, the Jesse Jackson spoken segments give out a positive message that connects with people at events like this, and it sounds as though it fits with the direction you’ll be heading in later in the evening.
Interesting. It’s quite a different sound to what I was expecting. Having said that, I’ve only got the Jama Rico album which still has the production sound that I associate with late Specials.
I live on Vancouver Island and this is still the PNW. It’s not just an American focused term, although it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Americans thought that……
Aaaaaanyway,
A newer nickname for the Gulf Islands (all the islands, including Bowen Island, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, where the city of Vancouver is located……a bit confusing for people who don’t live here and or know the geography) that is catching on is “The Canadian Riviera”.
As for the music, I’ll leave that up to you. All the tunes I’ve seen here are winners that would likey all fly, though you never do know if you’re not familiar with the crowd.
Good luck and have fun. It’s a beautiful place to have an event!!
Holler if you need DJ backup! LOL
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Woodstock Vibes requests from a non music head, for me, would equate to anything from the late 60’s and early 70’s pop lexicon. I’d personally not go into the Woodstock OST or anything too deep in that direction. Doors, Hendrix, Santana, Mama’s & The Papa’s, Zombie’s, etc would be my guess.
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I agree. The tracks that have been recommended are gonna work , but not because the bride said Woodstock, they’ll work because most of the social circle are music heads (I think the bride and I are the only two people not in a band/working on material right now.). But the bride means The Doors, Jefferson airplane, etc.
Think this late period Ryuichi might suit the mood a bit better, it’s like Japanese R&B.
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Yes, there’s no real argument from me about calling Vancouver Island, or Bowen, a Pacific Northwest island. Might as well go along with established nomenclature. It has been interesting to me driving up to Vancouver. As you get north of Bellingham, everything gets more and more sort of edgy feeling, wilder even and more scraggly like you’re heading into nowhere, the back of beyond. Then you cross the border and you’re suddenly in fairly highly developed suburbia even as you have to deal with the Fraser River, which is mighty indeed. Vancouver, of course, is a major metropolis, a global city with all that implies, good and bad.
I’m prepared to make more of an argument about the southern edge of the Pacific Northwest. I’ve known people in Humboldt, northern California, claim they live in the Pacific Northwest. That doesn’t make much sense to me, Emerald Triangle or no Emerald Triangle. Personally, I feel you don’t get into the Pacific Northwest until you’re across the Columbia and into Washington. No doubt many Oregonians will think I’m out of my tree. The bounds of Cascadia are a different matter and the sooner we’re all free of the federal US and Canadian governments the better.
Please note, by the way, that I’m not an American despite having lived in the USA for fifty years next month. I just have a keen interest in political, cultural, and natural geography - and a lot of opinions.
This crossed my brainpan as the day unfolded.
Nothing ever wrong with true love. I may like the second, duet version, better than the original.
Nice , definitely a vibe some people there are gonna like
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Has the great event happened? How did it go? Did you record your set? Gonna post it?
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