Security at the festival was in the hands of the San Francisco chapter of the Hell s Angels. Who actually hired the Angels still remains unclear, but whoever did is guilty of more than just bad planning. Some of the same performers who were glorified in Woodstock are seen as remarkably out of touch and frighteningly impotent when it comes to diffusing a bad incident or helping their endangered fans. In Woodstock the promoters bragged that the music never stopped. A few months later at Altamont the promoters, some of whom were the same anointed heads we saw glorified in Woodstock , can t even keep the music going.
Every song is interrupted by a spurt of violence in the audience.
Their pleas are useless. And in times of trouble, so are they. I doubt it. But I think Gimme Shelter does have conviction. And it has strong religious meaning.