Festival Express

After seeing the Woodstock movie for the first time, I loved it. I wished I could've been there. I thought no other documentary movie about the event could be any better. Well, that's true. But if you're craving a little more concert time with the same acts who performed at Woodstock, then look no further. Enter Festival Express...

As I watched the bands perform and then relax on the train, I felt like I was sitting right there with them. There's a scene in which Janis, Jerry Garcia and others are talking, singing and joking around. They just start behaving like a group of old friends and you feel as though you're a part of it. You feel like you're right in the middle of this. I love it! I'd never really seen footage of her like this, so I was kind of surprised when I watched it for the first time.


Festival Express was like a continuation of Woodstock. It was a train tour that occurred in 1970 across Canada and included bands such as The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band and Buddy Guy. They traveled to three cities: Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary. The idea was to not fly to each place so that the musicians would be able to experience musical creativity between each other. The other big thing about these concerts is that no one wanted to pay the admission fee to get in, therefore riots ensued at each of the locations. ($14 was the ticket price! Shoot, I would've gone!) What's so unique about this film is that it displays Janis' last performance.



For a complete list of songs in the film, click here, or visit the official site.