Woodstock '69

When I moved to The OC at age 21, Susie-Q was my first roommate. We worked together at the Hotel, she in Reservations, and I in Convention Services. We shared the apartment, in which I still reside today. I first met Susie-Q at our previous jobs, working at the central reservations call center for the same hotel chain that employs us today. Both wanting to leave the small rural town which I like to refer to as, The Tundra, we secured jobs at a massive hotel (third largest on the west coast) in Anaheim, across the street from Disneyland. The Tundra is actually Hemet, California, and it’s probably not as bad as I make it out to be, however, I can’t help but immediately think of hillbillies and druggies the instant Hemet is mentioned.

I learned a lot by living with Susie-Q, the girl’s got stories to tell ya – she’s lived several life times, in her young life. We have a lot in common, there’s about a 10 year age gap but you would never know. Our tenure as roommates, for me was like going to college, if college was fantabulous and my major was all things cool. She taught me all about old Hollywood (from Charlie Chaplain and Mary Pickford to Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, and everything in between). We’ve been on many a grave tour at all of the famed cemeteries and visited all of the infamous murder sites you’ve heard about.

She also educated me about music, teaching me about artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. So needless to say, when she called a couple of weeks back to ask if I wanted to go with her to a tribute to Woodstock, I jumped at the opportunity.

The event is called Woodstock at Irvine Lake ’69, and it is the coolest thing ever! It is truly like Woodstock, only in Irvine and on a smaller scale. It’s an all day event; imagine a green field with bunch of modern day barefoot hippies on their blankets sporting bell bottoms, tie-dyes, peace signs, etc – or not wearing much at all, we saw a lot of skin. I might have been the only guy wearing a shirt. Tribute bands covering Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who take turns on one stage, while vendors all around the perimeter cater to the crowd. A vendor selling kaleidoscopes made sure she mentioned her products were “friends of acid”. The psychic caught my eye but I was bummed that I didn’t get a chance to sit with her. Mama Pearl, the Janis Joplin tribute band, was my favorite, I think everyone else in attendance agreed. They rocked! The lead singer Christina Vierra sounds and performs just like Janis. It was so much fun and it was a total trip, it felt like for that day, I went back in time to that very moment in history. It’s an annual event so Susie-Q and I plan on going back next summer.