Proof that the hippies really DID dig the Boys again by this time, after having banished them to the "square, has-beens" wasteland for a good four years or so. I think the beards helped!
It's very interesting trying to wrap my head around watching this. The footage is phenomenal and I'm so glad it exists.
C-man, I'd say your statement is only partly right!
I think a good amount of hippies were still trying their best to give the band the cold shoulder at this time. But the camera can see it changing a bit in front of us, too. It's a transitional period that got documented.
Watching the crowd react to the band is also really a trip, it almost seems like more members of the crowd "want" to dance around and enjoy the music, but perhaps some of them think they are too cool for school and wind up looking a bit standoffish.
But nevertheless some other people are dancing (it would appear to be a relatively small amount of the crowd), and that almost gives "permission" for other hipsters in the crowd to start bopping their heads and outwardly enjoy the music as well.
Around this time period, I think some young people were second-guessing what was socially acceptable to like and enjoy. I mean, I'm sure people had their tastes legitimately change anyway, and some people just didn't really dig The BBs anymore...but there was also a secondary matter of how much some people were willing to outwardly show they were enjoying music (being performed by musicians who for the last several years had largely been thought of by the hipster elite as being "squares") in the event that showing enjoyment would cause some sort of social repercussions in their elite social group.
From a social perspective and trying to understand "The BBs are unhip and very uncool" wilderness years mentality, and how that perception wound up changing and turning around, this is truly an invaluable historical document. It's almost like you can begin to see the cracks in that perception here. Also this is particularly interesting because this wasn't a "Beach Boys show", it was a festival with multiple bands, so you're seeing the reaction of many people who are just seeing the band inadvertently, who likely didn't go there for the specific reason to see The BBs play.