The Charlotte Observer du lieu suivant : Charlotte, North Carolina • 12

12A THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sun August 11 1974 Observer Photo By DON STURKEY Sardine-Packed Hook Fans Jain The Charlotte Motor Speedway In Cabarrus County Saturday For Concert Rock Festival At Speedway Comes On Like Woodstock Continued from Page 1A stretched out on the grass waving to people as they passed No one paid him any aotention Except for the highway patrolman who tried to keep traffic clear outside by authorizing cars to he towed away the presence of law enforcement officials was negligible The most visible officials were rescue squad members and ambulance crews One rock fan toppled from the roof of a resi rmm building landed on the grass 30 to 40 feet below and was quickly carted off by one of the ambulances whose sirens were as constant as lihe music IT WAS reminiscent of (he heyday of rock festivals which began with Woodstock in and continued for the next two years The crowd Saturday far overshadowed the 75000 people who attended the Love Valley IN CURIOUS contrast to the participants was a group of speedway officials and their friends gathered in the VIP room high above the track Well dressed and mostly middle-aged tuey stared through binoculars at the crowd "I just can't believe there's a speedway under there" one official said As the less well known acts began their sets early in the afternoon the music seemed almost incidental Many didn't notice when a live act finished and its show was replaced by recorded music while another group set up Many concentrated on drinking and smoking pot They sat elbow to elbow tent to lent blanket touching blanket Except for trips to the portable toilet or the concession stand where hot dogs cost 60 cents and soft drinks were 50 cents most stayed immobile the entire afternoon and swayed in place to the music rock festival in Iredell County in 1970 The Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners went to court late last month to try to ihalt the concert but District Judge Hal Walker denied their request July 31 saying that the commissioners had "failed in satisfying the court that injury to the public generally is threatened" The concert promoted by Slan Kaplan president of WAYS radio in Charlotte and Larry Pressley a Charlotte promoter was nationally advertised in Rolling Stone magazine and on radio as far away as Florida Cars at the concert bore license plates from all over the nation and taxi companies in Charlotte said their business was heavy from Douglas Airport and Charlotte's two bus stations to the speedway From the concert stage Saturday it was like looking into a pit filled with a million faces pounding their clenched fists into the air as if to shove the throbbing music (higher and higher THE CROWD communicated with a language of clenched fists jabbing nods of the head and banners wth the names of schools hometowns and fraternities As dusk settled over lie speedway one young man near the asphait track removed his shaggy jeans to the encouragement of the lans who offered him pretzels sips of beer and puffs from their joints "I've heard of singing for your supper" one red-faced woman said "But this is something else Many people ignored his nudity one of the few incidents of nakedness "Everybody's high on something" one concert-goer said "It could hp drugs booze sex music or the happening but ev-( rybody's high" Overhead two helicopters shuttled constantly back and forth between the concert site and the Coliseum Downtowner Motor Inn on Independence Boulevard where the promoters had rented all 154 rooms for the musicians their crews and others associated with the concert By late Saturday the elements in the crowd who had crashed the gates had turned more mellow Some had passed out Others became attentive to the top acts like the Marshall Tucker Band and Emerson Lake and Palmer Last month when Sheriff Roberts warned that the size of the crowd would make it impossible for his deputies to cover he predicted "There will be drunks fights shootings and cuttings" DRUNKS there were in abundance but except for the gate crashing there apparently were no fights cuttings or shootings at least not by mid-evening Saturday Promoter Larry Pressley watching from the VIP room said "We had more people than we anticipated so we weren't as equipped as we would have liked to have been but the production of the acts) has been strong all along the crowd was really good when you're talking about 150000 people they were well behaved as a group" As darkness fell over the track fireworks exploded over the crowd in a flash of sound and color A Confederate flag puffed its stars and bars in a light breeze Beneath there was no room to move only eyes looking toward the stage unblinking with the music Near the gate as the Allman Brothers took the stage to end the concert the crowds were beginning to drift away one youth his eyes narrowed to slits sat silently by the road a sign around his neck reading "Ride Needed to Vermont" Observer Photo Bv PHIL DRAKE Prices Were Right Business Was Brisk pills money exchange hands at rock concert Crashers Win Big Battle At The Gate By ALLEN COWAN Observer Writer "The kids told us all week they weren't going to pay and that's exactly what happened" Ray Berry owner of Charlotte's Security Dogs Inc was angry Saturday afternoon His 140 dogs and their trainers had been overrun by thou- tov cocktails bottles and bricks" Berry said tli" rihl (sporadic Instances of fence rracb rig kept Berry's meij bucy Bit1 the worst episode oc curred about am Saturdav About 8000 youths gathered in front of the main entrance and stormed the gates Berrv said they were beaten back five times and rock fans alreadv insde pelted security guards and ticket takers with bottles and caps "We nearly got killed said Jim Correll a Duke Power employe who was working as a ticket taker at the main gate He said one friend required nine stitches over his eye and that another suffered a head cut When efforts to collect the $15 admission ended some youths posed as ticket takers collected tickets then headed for Ihe parking areas to sell them at discounts to unwafj latecomers BUT THK gate-crashers had won and Ihe action was over "This was our fifth show with dogs and this was the worst far" Berry said "Nothing touched ti'ns We made a lot of money but I dntihl if we'd ever do a show of this magnitude again" sands of rock fans determined to crash the double fence surrounding Charlotte Motor Speedway Two of his dogs were trampled to death he said and 10 of his men were injured though none apparently reported to Cabarrus Memorial Hospital for treatment as they tried to hold off youths swarming over and through the fences BY NOON Saturday Berry had pulled his men and dogs out and efforts to collect from concert-goers stopped "We just pulled our people off" Berry said "We could no longer do anything It was a matter of too many people getting hurt" The first skirmish Berry said occurred about 8 pm Friday when about 2000 youths charged the double fence line on the speedway's backside "The initial charge was repulsed" he said but within 10 mnutes the outer fence had given way He said his men "heal the crap out of them" that "several hundred (youths) were bitten by dogs two of bis dogs were kiUed and that 30 of bis men required medical attention "They were throwing Molo- ISSBafcT I tS? IP 1- WV1 Observer Photo By PHIL DRAKE Observer Pnoto Bv PHIL DRAKE Late Arrivals On Highway 29 parked cars mile away Rock Fans Who 1 Have $15 Ticket Found Another Way To Enter iey pulled (town sections of fence around ihe Charlotte Motor Speedway.