When folk legend Joan Baez took the stage at Woodstock forty years ago next month, it was 1:00 in the morning. At Thursday night's sold out concert at Boardinghouse Park, Baez kicked things off at a much more respectable 8:30PM, to the delight of the hippie turned grandparent crowd. As audience members made their way back to their seats, the excitement and anticipation grew feverish and a woman in front of me summed it up perfectly when she uttered, "She's here!" as she caught a glimpse of Baez off to the side of the stage. Joan Baez: political activist; the voice of the 60's folk movement; an icon. In Lowell. While most of the crowd left their tie dye t-shirts at home, Baez strolled onto the stage looking very hip in a pair of bell bottom jeans, her smile as radiant as ever, her calming presence a wonder to behold. Easing into Lily of the West, Baez and her four piece band of seasoned players set the tone for the evening reworking the traditional folk song into a breezy blue grass tune. Though she may not have the three octave voice she once had, she had complete control of the remaining two, singing with a heartfelt conviction from the start.
Between songs Baez acknowledged the enthusiastic audience, appreciative of the cheers and applause. She talked about Woodstock and how people's lives were forever altered by that infamous weekend. In a bizarre moment, however, a woman to the side of the stage began laughing hysterically while Joan tuned her guitar. As Baez and the rest of the audience tried to imagine anything that could possibly be that funny, the outbursts continued, Baez addressing the crowd, "At Woodstock they warned us not to take the brown acid." Another hysterical cackle, at which point Baez, with perfect comic timing quipped, "Too late."
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