Peter, Paul and Mary Draw Over 12,000

by Marilyn Nason, The Post-Star, July 23, 1968

Record Audience

Peter, Paul and Mary did it last night. They drew over 12,000 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for their concert, the largest single audience in the three-year history of SPAC.

And drawing the largest crowd was only half of it. Following intermission, the thunder, lightning and rain came and nary a one of the more than 7,000 on the lawn moved, retaining their “cool” throughout as one of the most attentive, appreciative audiences ever at SPAC.

The trio, backed by an excellent bass player, sang dozens of songs, some familiar, some not, but all done in truly professional style. All three are excellent singers, with Mary Travers possessing a fabulous voice, which can switch in a wink from strong and loud to lullaby-soft with a pureness of tone most refreshing to hear among today’s younger singers.

Peter and Paul are darned good singers, too, but even better guitar players, with Paul also displaying some comic talents. The trio’s harmony is as fine as any in the business today and their songs ranged from light and bright to sad and romantic tunes.

As for the so-called protest songs – well, if protesting against injustice, war, hatred, famine are not fit topics for
protesting, then maybe someone’s set of values should be reexamined.

Because of the unusually large crowd-many on the lawn had been there since 5 p.m.-the concert was delayed in starting 15 minutes and yet late arrivals groping to their seats through nearly all of the first half.

This proved quite disturbing to those already seated and the original plan not to seat people once a performance had started should be reinstated by SPAC officials, it would seem.

Peter acknowledged a large group of young campers from Camp Algonquin in the Adirondacks, receiving much applause when he announced he used to be a counselor there. In a monologue, Paul made a good case against cigarette smoking, which he termed “the nervous stick.”

He was also especially effective in a song he wrote on request of Mayor John Lindsay for New York City called “Give a Damn”, emphasizing caring about others “is what this summer should be really all about.”

Near the close of the program, cries from the audience called for Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s campaign song, but Peter indicated he did not feel the SPAC stage, part of the state Spa Reservation complex, was the proper place for such campaigning, so agreed to sing it at the stage door after the performance for all who were interested.

He did introduce Sen. McCarthy’s niece, Mary Beth, seated in the audience. The encore, as the rain continued pouring down, became a community-sing version of “If I Had a Hammer,” a rousing, fitting closing to a fine concert.