Music and hippy vans go together, just like sunsets and the beach. Either is fine on its own but when you get both at the same time, it’s awesome. So last summer, when I heard Santana was performing outdoors at Pine Knob, I bought tickets, and stealthily managed to park right next to a vintage bright orange VW camper before the parking lot filled up. 
Judi and I arrived early for the evening show, prepared to tailgate with our cooler and chairs. Santana was playing on car audio systems and there was hint of reefer wafting in the air. I, of course, didn’t inhale, much.
We met Jim and Liz, the VW owners, who happily provided a tour of their restored camper. They were outfitted in colorful 60’s attire for the occasion. In the summers, they drive their bus to regional music festivals and camp out at the Buses on the Beach gathering near the shore of Lake Michigan. Sounds like the perfect summer getaway if you ask me.
Talking about festivals, it turns out Jim and I had seen a lot of the same bands back in the day. You couldn’t help but notice his colorful sleeve tattoos. I asked, “Is that King Crimson? I have that album on vinyl.” He confirmed it was and he also had other album covers on his arm, including Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Yes. I was impressed, what can I say? 2BukChuk knows great art when he sees it!
Although we didn’t know them, we were all at the Santana concert the year before, when Carlos collapsed on stage during a song. At first, we thought he died, but learned later he had passed out from heat exhaustion. There’s a lesson to be learned – Stay Hydrated! This year, we all wanted to see the full show. And we weren’t disappointed. I’m not interested in seeing old bands in big arenas anymore, but Santana still puts on a fantastic concert. It helps that I recognize all the songs and the Latin/rock heavy percussion combo just makes ya wanna get up and boogie like nobody’s lookin!
Seeing Jim’s bus and hearing familiar Santana songs from the Abraxas and Black Magic Woman albums took me back in time. I remember my 1969 Dodge van with the blacked-out windows, shag carpet, and mag wheels. It had speakers in all six doors and a cassette deck on the wall behind the driver’s seat. Great for road trips, camping, and going to music festivals. Music was always on, either FM radio or cassette, and I played a lot of Santana, especially on road trips. Santana was one of the first bands to produce Quadraphonic records, basically a 4-channel audio system before Surround Sound became popular. So, their audio sounds better, at least to me, and I’m sticking to my story. 
The first time I saw Santana perform live was in May of 1975. I drove my van and took along a few of my friends. The stage was outdoors on a hot, sweaty afternoon at Eastern Michigan University’s football stadium. Peter Frampton and Lynyrd Skynyrd played first, but I don’t remember too much about their part of the concert. After Santana started playing, the wind kicked up and dark clouds formed. The band rocked on while everyone danced wildly and chanted for rain. They ended their set playing Soul Sacrifice, just like they did at Woodstock. By then a huge storm was brewing.
The music built into a crescendo of sound just as thunder and lightning struck right overhead. Ka-Boom! The power and amps on stage were knocked out and a total deluge of rain pummeled us. It’s hard to explain but to this day I know something magic happened there.
I ended up selling my van later that summer, but after joining the Air Force in 1976, I bought another party van in Texas. It was a rust-free 1965 Ford Econoline panel van, painted white with a unique blue and black stripe down the side. It had side-pipes, mag wheels, and a 3 speed on the column. The interior was similar to my other van with wood paneling, bed, and carpeted floors.
An outdoor 2-day festival was held at Steiner’s Ranch in Austin on Labor Day weekend, 1976. Tickets cost $10 in advance, and we arrived a day early to camp out in the pasture for the weekend. The next day, the road into the ranch was clogged with cars for 7 miles. 56,000 people attended the show.
They just left their cars and dragged their coolers the rest of the way. A dozen cars burned up in the pasture when one of the catalytic converters caught the brush on fire. There was no way for a fire truck to respond. Imagine returning to your car to find it a burned out hulk…
Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, the Band, Steve Miller Band, Firefall and England Dan and John Ford Coley performed. It was unbelievably hot, no shade, no trees. There was only water spray available from faucets and a single-wide trailer that sold beer. On Sunday, you can’t serve alcohol in Texas until noon. By 10am, people were so hot and angry they stormed the trailer and tried to turn it over by rocking it back and forth. Wisely, and to save lives, they opened up for business. It never occurred to me to take pictures but there are some online.
Music festivals have changed. There’s a lot more control and security over these events now and most don’t allow camping, bringing your own cooler, or smoking in public areas. But if I get my hands on a vintage hippie van, you might find me camped out at the Briggs Farm Blues Festival, with Santana streaming through speakers mounted in the door panels. I’ll set a stocked cooler next to my lounge chair, put my feet up, and watch the smoke rise from logs in the fire pit. I hope there’s flush toilets and hot showers on site. My standards have changed, too!