FREE TAKING WOODSTOCK: A TRUE STORY OF A RIOT, A CONCERT AND A LIFE PDF Elliott Tiber,Tom Monte | 296 pages | 15 Oct 2009 | Square One Publishers | 9780757003332 | English | Garden City Park, NY, United States Taking Woodstock - Wikipedia It was published in by Square One Publishers, Inc. It was released in August Tiber is portrayed in the movie by Demetri Martin. The book describes Tiber's involvement, as a young gay man, with the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, and his key role in bringing the Woodstock festival to Bethel, New York. Tiber begins by describing his early years, and his awakening sexuality and alienation from his parents. His father, who was born in Austriaand his mother was from Russia. His father was a roofer. Tiber attended a Brooklyn yeshiva. Inwhile Tiber was attending college, his parents bought a dilapidated boarding house in White Lake, which is located at the intersection of Route 55 and 17Ba major intersection in White Lake, which is in the town of Bethel, New York. The area, part of the Borscht Beltwas in decline in the s, and his parents struggled to meet their mortgage a Concert and a Life. The property was soon expanded into a motel. A Concert and a Life chose to live in New York City and spend his weekends with his parents in Bethel. After graduating from college, Tiber got an apartment in Greenwich Village and became a display designer and decorator at the W. Sloane department store on New York's Fifth Avenue. He also painted murals at upscale New York apartment buildings. Tiber is gay, and he lived what he describes as a double life, pretending to be straight during his weekends helping his parents in Bethel, while living an openly gay life in New York City. The book describes the difficulties and traumas experienced by gays in the s and s. He describes being beaten up and robbed by youths who targeted him because of his homosexuality. Hudson is described as lying nude and comatose at an upscale party, where he was subjected to sexual acts by guests. Gays tended to quietly accept their fate at the time, Tiber says, but that all changed after a Concert and a Life Stonewall riotswhich occurred at a bar in Greenwich Village on June 28, Tiber describes being present at the Stonewall bar as the riots commenced, and he describes the experience as a liberating one that changed his life. A Concert and a Life became president of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, and he unsuccessfully sought a New York City clientele by inviting an acting troupe Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot the motel, and establishing an "underground cinema. Every year, Tiber sponsored a Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot festival at which six to ten local bands would perform. As head of the chamber of commerce, he had the authority to grant himself an official town permit allowing him to conduct the annual music and arts festival. When Tiber learned that the town of Walkill had decided not to allow the Woodstock festival to be held there, Tiber telephoned Woodstock Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot Michael Lang and told him that he had a valid permit to hold a rock festival, and fifteen acres to hold it in. Lang flew over immediately in a helicopter and met with him. Lang was unimpressed with the motel property, so, according to Tiber's account, he told him about Yasgur's farm, which was located nearby, and drove with him to meet with Yasgur. The book describes how the El Monaco became the headquarters for the Woodstock organizers, and how Tiber became the exclusive ticket agent for the festival and held a press conference at the motel. He describes in detail the strong opposition to the festival from local residents, some of whom created a human wall to try to stop young people from coming to the festival. Tiber claims in the book that he was approached on several occasions by underworld characters, some of whom made threats, and that he and his parents had to physically fend them off, with the help of a transvestite named Velma. He also describes rowing out into the middle of White Lake, near the festival site, to pay off underworld characters. Tiber was only able to a Concert and a Life to the festival once, during which he had an LSD trip, and describes how the entire experience of Woodstock changed his life. Tiber left Bethel shortly after the festival and became a set designer for movie studios in California. His father died shortly afterwards and his mother died in The motel became an Italian restaurant and was later torn down. Lang has disputed Tiber's account of the initial meeting with Max Yasgur, and said that he was introduced to Yasgur by a real estate salesman Tiber referred him to. Lang says that the salesman drove Lang, without Tiber, to Yasgur's farm. Sam Yasgur, son of Max Yasgur, agrees with Lang's version, and says that his Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, who is still alive, says Max did not know Tiber. Publishers Weekly called the book an "occasionally improbable yet thoroughly entertaining tale. The Los Angeles Times reported that "Tiber thrust his autobiography 'Taking Woodstock' into Lee's hands and pitched himself and his book as a kind of bookend to The Ice StormLee's film about suburbanites wrestling with the hangover of the s. Lee said, "It seems like it's random occurrence, but that randomness happens all the time. I chose to do it and I connect with the material. I think that's fate. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from Taking Woodstock book. Retrieved Los Angeles Times. Woodstock Festival. List of performances and events. Michael Lang John P. Hidden categories: CS1 errors: empty a Concert and a Life parameters. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Add links. Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival[4] and opened in New York and Los Angeles on August 26,before its wide theatrical release two days later. It received mixed reviews and was a box office failure. A hippie theater troupe, The Earthlight Players, rents the barn, but can hardly pay any rent. Due to financial trouble, the motel may have to be closed, but Elliot pleads with the local bank not to foreclose on the mortgage and Sonia delivers a tirade about her struggles as a Russian refugee. The family is given until the end of the summer to pay up. When he hears that the organizers of the Woodstock Festival face opposition Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot the originally planned location, he offers his permit and the motel accommodations to organizer Michael Lang Jonathan Groff. Elliot comes to agreement about the fee for the motel more smoothly. Initial objections by his mother quickly disappear when she sees the cash paid in advance. Elliot and Yasgur encounter a little bit of expected opposition. The local diner refuses to serve Elliot anymore, inspectors target the motel and only his for building code violations, and some local boys paint a swastika and hate words on the motel. However, resistance quickly dissolves in the tidal wave of peace and love and commerce brought to the area. The Tiber family works hard serving the massive influx of visitors and become wealthy in the process. A cross-dressing veteran, Vilma Liev Schreiberis hired as a security guard. Elliot also struggles with hiding his homosexuality from his family, when he connects romantically with one of the event organizers staying at the motel. On the first day of the concert, Elliot, his father, and Vilma hear the music begin in the distance. Elliot's father, transformed and enlivened by all the new life a Concert and a Life town, tells Elliot to go and see the concert. Elliot hitches a ride through the peaceful traffic jam on the back of a benevolent state trooper's motorcycle and arrives at the event. Elliot has trouble relaxing at first, but gradually melts into a psychedelic union with them. When they finally emerge after sundown, Elliot watches the vast crowd and brilliant lights of the distant concert ripple with harmonious hallucinatory visuals that swell into serene white light. Elliot returns home from his liberating experience and has breakfast with his parents. He suggests to his mother that they now have enough money to replace him, but she cannot bear to let him have his freedom. Elliot storms out, facetiously suggesting his mom eat the hash brownies Vilma has just offered. After another beautiful day at the festival, during which his friend the Vietnam veteran, Billy Emile Hirschappears Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot overcome his post-traumatic stress disorderElliot returns home to find his parents laughing and cavorting hysterically, having eaten Vilma's hash brownies. The once-brittle family particularly Sonia is united in joy and delirious affection. Elliot is upset that his mother hid this from him while he put his own savings into helping his parents. After the final day of the concert, Elliot decides to move to California as he packs up his things and says farewell to his father, after his father encourages him to strike out on his own.