Jefferson Airplane might be known for peace, love, and all things hippie, but their concert on August 21, 1972, at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio, was anything but chill. What started as a typical rock show turned into a full-blown clash between fans and police, with the band right in the thick of it.
The Crowd Outside Ignites Chaos
Roughly 20,000 fans packed the stadium, but the real trouble started on a hill just outside the venue. Hundreds more, without tickets, gathered to watch the show for free. As night fell, things got rowdy. Many of the hilltop fans were drinking or doing drugs, and soon they started harassing the police…