Monterey Pop

Three days, one stage, nearly 30 iconic bands, close to 100 hours of footage, and one outstanding film.

 

On a summer weekend in June 1967, the legend of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix began. It took just three hot days at the Monterey stadium for 27 artists to spark a counterculture and give birth to the California dream.

Before Woodstock came into being, one hundred thousand people at the Monterey International Pop Festival, fueled by psychedelic sounds, formed a hippie commune. The “Summer of Love” was in full swing. Scott McKenzie suggested the dress code in his song: “Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.” People were ditching their formal, restrictive clothes to gather barefoot but in bell-bottoms, adorned with ethnic beads and flowers in their hair, amidst clouds of smoke, not yet knowing
what was to come.

We find the answer in the very first seconds of the film Monterey Pop. An enthusiastic hippie delivers a spoiler to the camera: “It’s going to be like New Year’s Eve, Easter
and Christmas all rolled into one!” Oscar winner D. A. Pennebaker captured the almost levitating “flower children,” the psychedelic sounds, and the atmosphere of change through the camera’s lens.

The film Monterey Pop was intended to be just a TV program, but American policymakers weren’t ready for such a dose of rebellion. Fortunately, thanks to the film’s digital restoration, we’ll see that Pennebaker’s work is not just a record of concerts, but also a portrait of the entire counterculture generation of the 1960s—its energy, freedom, wildness, and artistic revolution.

Before Jimi Hendrix defies the laws of gravity with his unconventional playing style, then kisses and sets his guitar on fire, we’ll immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of days marked by change. Someone will paint flowers on the faces of the festivalgoers, someone else will feed a dog, and yet another will write “Peace and Love” on a poster. Moments later, Janis Joplin will make her debut, mesmerizing the audience enough to later become a legend.

 

Some set the stage ablaze, others injured their foot (The Who’s drummer), and still others moved the audience to tears.

 

Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” went down in history thanks to the concert being filmed. We’ll also see Simon and Garfunkel and The Mamas and the Papas on stage, and the entire event will culminate in a musical mantra performed by Ravi Shankar.

The film Monterey Pop is a true game-changer in the world of documentary cinema, thanks to its live sound recording. Pennebaker’s camera captures both the performances on stage and the audience’s reactions and festival life with exceptional intimacy.

After all, the film’s director is responsible for creating documentaries about Bob Dylan and David Bowie.

 

There were artists who regretted not attending the festival and not taking part in this revolutionary countercultural upheaval. Viewers must not repeat that mistake!