The US Festival was a milestone in the history of rock music.

It lasted for only two years – 1982 and 1983 – but the shows laid the groundwork for today’s enormous, week-long festivals: Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Coachella among them.

The US Festival was three days – not of peace and music, but of unrelenting, searing heat.

There were nearly a hundred arrests, 35 drug overdoses and 1 death…

Hardly Monterey Pop, to say the least. The US festival was a “for-profit” concert, but both events lost a combined total of more than 12 million dollars.

It all began with an idea from Apple computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, who wanted to put on an event that would spotlight both music and technology. He wanted to do it up right.

An estimated crowd of 425,000 took part in the festivities that year. I was lucky enough to attend all three days of the original US Festival way back in 1982, along with three former high school classmates whose names I only vaguely recall: a couple of Brians and a Scott, maybe. We were all stoners who hung out together just to get high and listen to music. We didn’t have much else in common, really. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I had just turned 19 and I was totally down for it.

Steve Wozniak is of course the creator of the Apple computer. He was disillusioned by the lack of idealism from the “Me” generation of the hedonistic 70s which had just passed. Wozniak intended for the US Festivals to bring about a new era of community-based living, combining green technology and rock music.

Needless to say, he failed miserably. The 80s turned out to be the beginning of the end for America…

But I digress.

Wozniak – with help from rock promoter icon Bill Graham – organized the festivals, held on Labor Day weekend 1982. The second event – which I did not attend – was over Memorial Day weekend in 1983, followed by a final concert one week later.

Wozniak funded the creation of a new open-air music venue and the construction of an enormous state-of-the-art temporary stage at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore, California, a remote part of San Bernardino County.

Devore is nestled in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, on the way to Las Vegas. The exit off Highway 15 was easy to miss back in 1982 (the site is now home to San Manuel Amphitheater, the largest permanent outdoor music venue in the USA).

My stoner buddies and I camped out in a lime-green VW Westfalia van, complete with one of those pop-up camper tents on top, which I actually got to sleep in.

Somehow we got hooked up with one of those lonely guys who latch onto strangers and impose themselves in the most insidious way. This dude had obviously come alone and he was bound and determined to be our fricken ‘buddy’ for the entire weekend. He told us to call him ‘Rico.’ He was one of the most annoying people I’ve ever met. Paunchy, sweaty and smarmy: he was clueless to an impressive degree. He’d let us insult him to his face to ingratiate himself.

“Hey, Rico, you’re a big, fat idiot!”

“Huh, huh yeah, I am a big fat idiot! You’re right, man. Huh, huh…”*

(*This was an actual conversation.)

He stayed within ten feet of us the entire time: a pudgy, less interesting Ratso Rizzo. We could not get rid of him no matter how hard we tried.

In any case, the facilities at Glen Helen Regional Park were fairly sparse, and all the trees had been bulldozed so there wasn’t much shade to be found. Lots of people got sunburned – including me. There were a few vendor tents and rows of porta-pottys and metal sinks, but that was about it.

So, on with the show! These are my recollections.

Friday, September 3

Gang of Four

Hard driving, really serious looking cockney people. They never smiled once. Good set, though. Pounding, throbbing beats. They did a great version of What We All Want. Highlight was I Love A Man In A Uniform.

The Ramones

They were really going for it and you could tell. The band was energized: young and lean and gunning for the SoCal demographic. Even though they’d already done the movie Rock N Roll High School, they were a cult band to many west coast fans. They rocked. Fast and hard; one song after another. California Sun took on a special significance. A classic set by a classic band.

The English Beat

Tight and energetic. Dave Wakeling and Rankin Roger were both charming. Roger was quite athletic. Dave just stood out front and sang. Save it For Later and opener Mirror In The Bathroom were excellent.

Oingo Boingo

Probably the best set of the day. Danny Elfman was super animated and really working the crowd like the master he is. His shocking orange hair was cropped short and he wore a white wife-beater. The man was totally in control of the stage. One of the tightest bands I’ve ever seen live. A transcendent performance from a really intuitive band. Elfman, of course, went on to write the music for a gazillion Tim Burton movies…and plenty more besides. Best performance: On the Outside.

The B-52s

As night fell it finally began to cool down and the full effect of the huge video screens became evident. The B-52s were one of my favorite bands and they rocked the house. I wasn’t expecting to see a horn section augmenting the band, but they pulled it off. Ricky was in shorts and Fred came out wearing an enormous cowboy hat. He was in top form. Cindy was wearing a giant wig that almost covered her entire face! Both girls looked fabulous and they sang beautifully. Highlights for me: Mesopotamia and Rock Lobster.

During the break we watched a satellite uplink from the Soviet Union on the video screens. It was a big deal back then, trust me. (Spoken in Robert Plant voice): “Does anybody remember…the Soviet Union?”

Following a short intermission:

Talking Heads

Hard to follow the 52s, but their music was so inspired and different that it didn’t matter. I was really looking forward to their set. Ever since Remain In Light I had been a diehard fan. Brian Eno’s production was brilliant. Tina Weymouth looked lovely as usual and she was in fine form, shaking her head and concentrating on the beat of husband Chris. The band was augmented by a team of multi-instrumentalists on percussion, guitar and bass at various stages. David Byrne wore the big suit, and he was a captivating performer. Highlight was a rare, non-Heads song called My Big Hands from The Catherine Wheel soundtrack. Did not expect that at all, and it was far better than the studio version on the LP, which I owned. Great set all the way through. Once In A Lifetime had the crowd on its feet.

But the night wasn’t over yet.

The Police

This was right before the acrimonious breakup, and although it wasn’t obvious to the gathered throng how much they loathed each other at the time, there was definitely a lot of tension in the air. The Police may have been going through the motions on stage but they were still better than most bands. Sting marched in place; Andy bounced up and down and Stewart gyrated behind his kit. Invisible Sun sticks out as a really powerful moment. Closed with So Lonely: brought down the house.

Saturday, September 4

I was really worn out from the night before. The heat was unrelenting and I was already dehydrated. Saturday afternoon was low energy for me. But I was young and indestructible. The show went on.

The first big act of the day was Dave Edmunds…

Meh. Good, solid set. Nothing to write home about. Lots of comments about the weather…”Cor, it’s bloody hot…”

Eddie Money

Had a great band, but he tried way too hard. He kept trying to get some sort of audience participation but it was 112 friggin’ degrees and there was NO SHADE.

The Cars

Really good musicians, great songs, but one of the most boring live bands I’ve ever seen. Sad because I was totally into their music. Ric Ocasek was a hit machine.

Santana

Well, it’s fricken Carlos Santana, innit? Consistent; soulful guitar solos. Great set of the classics: Black Magic Woman, Europa plus one of my all-time favorites, Open Invitation. I’m sure he still plays most of those songs today.

The Kinks

Were on their big come back tour. Do It Again and Come Dancing were big hits for some reason as well as Destroyer, which totally ripped the riff off All Day And All Of The Night – but whatever. Ray and Dave put on a fine, tension-filled show. No fisticuffs were necessary. Not on stage, anyway. Oddly, they did not play You Really Got Me. I’m sure they were pretty tired of playing that song.

As the Kinks left the stage, nightfall was mercilessly upon us once again. We dropped acid at dusk and it was beginning to creep. The crowd became a giant, swirling mass of bright T-shirts, chalky white faces and black, dead eyes.

Pat Benatar

A little too ‘commercial’ for my tastes back then and still not a great fan today. The purple leotard was a bit too cheesy for me, I guess. I do admire her long marriage to guitarist Neil Giraldo, though. She still has an incredible voice; I gotta hand it to her. In any case, I don’t remember the set very much because I was tripping, man. Just walking around out of me head…what a sight! Taking it all in totally straight is an amazing experience. On LSD it was profoundly moving.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

I had been waiting all goddam day for this and the acid was starting to peak. It was an inspired set, and the band was really smoking. So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star was probably the best version I’ve seen. Refugee, American Girl, Even the Losers: the music felt so familiar and deeply personal yet so accessible. That’s Tom Petty for you. This was pre-Traveling Willburys. He kicked out the jams to close out the second night in style. It was loud and chaotic and hot and sweaty. The roar of the crowd was incredible!

By now I was pretty exhausted, but there was still one more day to go!! I was really looking forward to a shower, but there was none to be had. This is why I hate camping. After a day or two, I stink. So does everyone else. Especially Rico.

Sunday, September 5

Oh, my God. I just wanted it to end. The heat was killing me; I was wheezing from all the dust; tired and strung out. None of my friends were prepared to leave yet though and there was a desire to get our money’s worth, as it were…Rico notwithstanding. Still, I was not ready for…

Breakfast with the Grateful Dead

Well, how often do you get to see The Grateful Dead first thing on Sunday morning? There’s a good reason it didn’t happen very often: It doesn’t really work. I can’t say it was a bad set despite everything. Just a very disorienting experience staggering out of the campground to see…holy shit, that’s JERRY GARCIA!!! I couldn’t believe he was awake at that hour. But there you go.

I draw a complete blank on the next few acts: Jerry Jeff Walker, Hoyt Axton, Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band. No recollection whatsoever, which leads me to believe that I was unconscious. It was probably for the best because I fucking hate Jimmy Buffett. And Jerry Jeff Walker: Meh. What of it? Hoyt Axton? Who cares.

Eventually I came to in the back of the van as the shadows once again grew long in the massive camp site – which now resembled a war-torn refugee camp on the outskirts of civilization.

I stumbled back to the concert site in time to hear the second half of Jackson Browne. I wasn’t really into him at the time, so I didn’t mind too much.

Fleetwood Mac

The memories are a bit foggy due to my depleted state, but I recall being fully satisfied with their set. They did not disappoint. The big screens added a lot to the atmosphere. Fleetwood Mac was in their prime, and they played like headliners. Stevie Nicks was really hot back then. Everybody sang beautifully; Lindsay Buckingham wore a vest and a hipster hat. Until I saw the close up of his hands I didn’t realize he didn’t use a pick: he played with his fingers like Stephen Stills. He was playing that cool custom made Turner guitar, too. I was blown away by Oh Well: Peter Green could not have done it any better. Dreams and Go Your Own Way were brilliant as well, and the crowd was on its feet during several encores.

All in all, an incredible concert featuring most of my favorite bands. The next morning we braved the enormous traffic jam, dropped Rico off at the bus station and went our separate ways. I went straight for the shower.

I sure as hell will never do anything like that again.

*

The 1983 edition of the US Festival took things to an even higher level. This time around it was presented as 4 separate events: New Wave Day, Rock Day and Heavy Metal Day – featuring performances from Quiet Riot, Motley Motley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, Scorpions and a famously sloppy drunk set from Van Halen, who were paid a cool 1.5 million dollars for the privilege

For my money, though, it would have been New Wave Day. U2 played an inspired set and the Clash played their last gig with Mick Jones before Joe and Paul summarily fired him. But I really wish I could’ve seen David Bowie – who apparently put on a spectacular show. Sorry I missed it. It was back in the Serious Moonlight days, too.

Wozniak included a fourth day featuring country music the following weekend. I certainly had no interest in that…