With all the focus on the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock this summer, most stayed away from the imminent shadow of Altamont, an event possibly with more cultural significance but with absolutely zero celebration. The story by now is familiar: more than 300,000 rock fans trekked to see the free concert by the Rolling Stones, only to witness the deteriorating situation with a security force supplied by the beer-fueled Hell’s Angels, who stabbed a man, Meredith Hunter, high on meth and brandishing a revolver, in front of the stage during the Stones’ set. As Hunter died, so did the hippie dream; the paradigm shift is examined in Ethan Russell’s timely new book ‘Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties.’ Russell reads from the book, and discusses what we in the Bay Area like to forget, on Thursday, Dec. 17, at Book Passage. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 7pm. Free. 415.927.0960.Gabe Meline
.Dec. 17: Ethan Russell at Book Passage
