I remember working a weekend music fest in '79. As the first night was folk, we had a lot of old hippies there with their kids kickin' back smokin' a little weed no problem with them. I head off to my cot late 3 AM. or so and notice that of the people that are still up a lot of them are just acting goofy, staggering around looking stunned. I was like "Screw it, that's security's problem" and went to the top of the hill to sack out. We had soundchecks and things to do as the next day was going to be a long one.
I roll out about eight, get something to eat and get down to the stage about nine. The place looks like a bomb went off, people are laid out everywhere. I ask one of the security guards what the Hell was going on? He goes, "Quaaludes. They hit about two and it's been wild!" I go over to where the light board and PA system are set up stepping over over bodies. I get there and my partner in crime says, "You want me to wake 'em up?" I say, "Nothin' is gonna wake them up." Wrong. He plugs a line in, cranks it and gets the feedback squeal of all time through two huge stacks of speakers. That bunch jumped like a paramedic had just shocked them with a set of paddles. After my ears quit ringing, I go "You could have blown the sound system!" He goes, "Ancient audio engineer trick, Grasshopper."
I get down to the stage and start helping out. When I look up the hill, I see this old hippie staggering down one side of edge of the seating area on the other side is very pretty girl of about 19 in the same shape. They keep coming down the hill staggering getting closer and closer together. They get to about 15 feet in front of the stage and collide head on. The hippie goes flopping the beer mud at the foot of the stage, the girl goes flopping on her back and her bikini top pops off. We're all standing on the stage in disbelief of what we'd just seen and amazed by the young lady's wares. I look at one of the security guards and say, "Keep a close eye on her, it's hard to tell what these stoned sh!t's will try to do to her when they see her like that." He's looking at her bug-eyed and says, "You don't have to worry about that!" I'm thinking "I'm gonna have to worry about you now."
We get set up and I head back up to where the boards are set up. On my way up I run into a woman I know. I ask if she's got a spare shirt. She asks why. I say there's a half naked girl down there and I've got Big Bob keeping an eye on her. She goes, "Oh sh!t! I'll be right back to get her." She got a shirt on her before Big Bob could make his move on his unconscious love and she and friend got her up the hill to some shade. As for the hippie he laid out in that baking sun and drying mud in on Memorial Day weekend, temps in the mid 90's, in no shade from 9:30 in the morning until well after the sun went down. We were setting up for the next to last band when I noticed he was gone. A little shower had blown through about 10 pm. and I guess that revived him? I saw him heading out the next morning burnt to a crisp inside and out drinking beer and ready to roll
That was a crazy day, there were more little kids running around that place unattended than I ever saw in my life due to their parents being ripped out of their gourds. I took four lost small kids to their folks and their friends and all they were able to do were mumble at me. I told the kids to come with me and took them over to a vendors tent that I knew had kids their age. They asked who and where their parents were. I said, "That bunch of hippies over there who played that awful dulcimer music Saturday night. Believe me they're in no shape to leave." They agreed and when one of the dulcimer bangers came to, I let her know where her kids were. She didn't seem too concerned and went wandering off. She rounded them up a couple of hours later.
The next day, everyone is gone and the entire park was trashed. The promoter flew the coop, at least he paid us, and us working shmucks were stuck to deal with a bunch of angry county workers, park management, and deputy sheriffs. The promoter had made all these promises to them, but didn't bother to hire people to clean up. I thought we were either getting our asses kicked, going to jail or both, but one of the off duty cops who'd worked security at the gate backed us up and calmed things down. He'd seen all the crap we had to go through herding hippies, stoners, and lost children and just trying to keep a lid on the thing. I haven't worked or been to an outdoor music festival since.