Friday, March 16, 2012

Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life-Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte

Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life


Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte

Square One Aug 1 2007, $24.95

www.squareonepublishers.com

ISBN 9780757002939



Eliot Tiber was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to Russian-Jewish immigrants. His father earned money as a roofer while his mother ran a housewares store. He had a successful career as an interior designer in lower Manhattan while hiding his gay lifestyle from his parents. They stun him when they buy a dilapidated motel in the Catskill town of Bethel New York. Their son helps them run their motel on weekends while working his designer business in the city during the week. Elliot tossed a mobster birthday bash attended by Judy Garland and Mayor Lindsey on the Hudson River Day Line; this left him near bankrupt when the birthday boy refused to pay the tab (see Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland & Interior Decorating) as he suffers from the “Teichberg Curse”. He moves in with his parents at the motel. Elliot becomes the head of the local Chamber of Commerce and controls the yearly permit to hold music concerts. He learns of promoter Michael Lang’s need for a location to host the Woodstock Festival and arranges a permit to use Max Yasgur’s farm. The rest is history.



Obviously the highlight film is Woodstock, but there is more to this witty memoir including his part in the infamous raid of Stonewall and growing up as a homosexual in homophobic Post WWII. Written with self-deprecating shtick and hilarious hebonics, Mr. Tibor provides an enjoyable anecdotal recollection of his life (read his autobiography to learn what the “Teichberg Curse” is) with his fifteen minutes of fame being the chaos before and during Woodstock.



Harriet Klausner

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