Woodstock 1999
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Woodstock 1999, held July 23-25, 1999 was the second music festival, after Woodstock '94, that attempted to emulate the success of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969. Like the previous concerts with the same name, it was held in upstate New York, this time in Rome, New York. The entire weekend was available on pay-per-view.
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[edit] Problems of Woodstock 1999
Woodstock '99 is possibly best remembered for reports of violence, molestation, and ultimately the fires that closed down the show.
The festival was characterized by poor planning and logistical failures at multiple levels from the start, leading to disappointment and anger among concertgoers. Ticket prices were extremely high for a festival of this type. Participants were forbidden to bring their own food or water to the show, in order to force them to buy from onsite vendors, whose merchandise many felt was grotesquely overpriced (a bag of ice sold for 15 dollars, and a bottle of water for 4).[1] MTV host Kurt Loder described the scene in the July 27, 1999 USA Today:
- It was dangerous to be around. The whole scene was scary. There were just waves of hatred bouncing around the place, (...) It was clear we had to get out of there.... It was like a concentration camp. To get in, you get frisked to make sure you're not bringing in any water or food that would prevent you from buying from their outrageously priced booths. You wallow around in garbage and human waste. There was a palpable mood of anger.").[2]
Crews were asked to work around the clock amidst what they described as demanding and threatening working conditions. There was a lack of hygiene and suitable accommodations, insufficient parking, slow transportation, and insufficient medical emergency preparedness. Lack of leadership contributed to a breakdown of security forces. In addition, the venue, a former U.S. Air Force installation (Griffiss Air Force Base), was a Superfund hazardous waste site.
Prior to the concert the promoters of the event were determined to avoid the gate-crashing that had occurred at previous festivals, and had described the site as "defensible" and proudly described the 12-foot plywood and steel fence intended to keep out those without tickets. About 500 New York State Police Troopers were hired for security. They also recruited volunteer security from New York City, many of whom walked off the job, disappearing into the crowd.
Poor sanitation and security, the lack of available water, and 100-degree heat with no available shade led to a dangerous environment. Recognizing the situation, many water and food vendors requested permission to sell their goods at lower costs, but the Woodstock organizers refused, as granting this permission would represent lost profits. This put the vendors rather than the concert organizers at risk in the event of violence.
The organizers had failed to install sufficient portable toilets for the number of attendees. Within a short time, the few facilities were unusable and overflowing onto the concert grounds. People stood in line for hours to access the fountains, until frustration impelled a few to break the pipes apart to provide water to those in the middle of the line.
Allegedly, some of the violence and looting began during Limp Bizkit's performance of the song "Break Stuff," which many critics of the concert blamed for the violence.[3]
However, other reports indicated that the violence escalated in the final hours of the concert as Red Hot Chili Peppers attempted to perform their hit "Under the Bridge". A group of peace promoters led by an independent group called Pax had distributed candles to those stopping at their booth during the day, intending them for a candlelight vigil to be held during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' performance. Instead, the crowd used them to light bonfires. The hundreds of empty plastic water bottles that littered the lawn / dance area were found to be excellent fuel for the fires.[4]
After the Red Hot Chili Peppers were finished with their set, the audience was informed about "a bit of a problem". An audio delay tower caught fire, and the fire department was called in to extinguish it. In response to this, the audience started to chant the chorus to the Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three song The Roof Is on Fire: We don't need no water, let the motherfuckers burn. Burn, motherfuckers, burn.
Back onstage for an encore, the Chili Peppers' lead singer Anthony Kiedis remarked how amazing the fires looked from the stage, comparing the scene to the film Apocalypse Now.[5] The band proceeded to play their rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire", followed by "Sir Psycho Sexy". Fires appeared in even greater numbers and intensity, apparently in response to the encouragement of Kiedis. Kiedis later stated in his autobiography that Jimi Hendrix's sister asked the Chili Peppers to play "Fire" in honor of Jimi, and that they were not playing it to encourage the crowd.
MTV, which had been providing live coverage, removed its entire crew. Many large bonfires were burning high before the band left the stage for the last time, while participants danced in circles around the fires. Looking for more fuel, some tore off panels of plywood from the supposedly inviolable security perimeter fence. ATMs were tipped over and broken into, trailers full of merchandise and equipment were forced open and burglarized, and vendor booths were looted, turned over, and set on fire. [6]
After some time, a large force of New York State Troopers, local Police, and various other law enforcement showed up. Most had crowd control gear and proceeded to form a riot-line that flushed the crowd to the northwest, away from the stage located at the eastern end of the airfield. Few in the crowd offered strong resistance and they quickly dispersed back toward the campground and out the main entrance. [7]
Police later reported that at least four rapes had occurred during the concert. [8] Seven arrests were made on the final night of the concert and, afterward, police reviewed video footage, hoping to identify and hold accountable looters who, amid the chaos, had not been arrested. Some one-dozen trailers, a small bus and a number of booths and portable toilets were burned in the fray. Six people were injured.[9]
[edit] Performers
- 2 Skinnee J's
- Alanis Morissette
- Brian Setzer Orchestra
- Bruce Hornsby
- Buckcherry
- Bush
- Collective Soul
- Counting Crows
- Gigolo Aunts
- Creed
- The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger
- Dave Matthews Band
- Djoliba
- DMX
- Elvis Costello
- Everclear
- Everlast
- Fatboy Slim
- G. Love and Special Sauce
- George Clinton & the P.Funk All-Stars
- Godsmack
- Green Day
- Guster
- Ice Cube
- Insane Clown Posse
- James Brown
- Jamiroquai
- Jewel
- John Entwistle of The Who
- Kid Rock
- Korn
- Limp Bizkit
- Lit
- Live
- Los Lobos
- Megadeth
- Marty Friedman
- Metallica
- Mickey Hart/Planet Drum
- Mike Ness
- Moby
- moe.
- Muse
- Oleander
- Our Lady Peace
- Particle
- Pull
- Rage Against the Machine
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Reveille
- Rusted Root
- Serial Joe
- Sevendust
- Sheryl Crow
- Spitfire
- String Cheese Incident
- The Chemical Brothers
- The Offspring
- The Roots
- Erykah Badu
- The Tragically Hip
- The Umbilical Brothers
- Vertical Horizon
- Willie Nelson
- Wyclef Jean with the Refugee Allstars
[edit] Cancellations
- Al Green
- Aerosmith
- Eighty-Six
- Foo Fighters
- Sugar Ray
- Jeff Beck
[edit] Album
The festival is resumed on a two-disc set, Woodstock 1999. The album features 32 performing artists, and was released on Epic Records in October 1999.
[edit] See also
- Woodstock Festival (1969)
- Woodstock '79 (1979)
- Woodstock '89 (1989)
- Woodstock '94 (1994)
- Przystanek Woodstock
[edit] References
- ^ Woodstock '99: What the Hell Happened?. U.S. Music Vault (1999-07-26). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ MTV's Loder flees out of control fest. USA Today (1999-07-27). Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ Jeff Stark (1999-07-27). What A Riot. Salon. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ Seven arrested in connection with Woodstock '99 fracas. CNN (1999-07-26). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ Steven Rochlin (1999). Woodstock 99. enjoythemusic.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ 'Not the real Woodstock; they messed up'. CNN (1999-07-26). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ Repeated Violence. The Lantern. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Bill Wyman (1999-07-29). "Three Days of Peace, Love and Rape.". Salon. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ Police investigate alleged rapes at Woodstock '99. CNN (1999-07-29). Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
Wartofsky, Alona (1999-07-27). Woodstock '99 Goes Up in Smoke. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
[edit] External links
- Gonzo's Adventures at Woodstock '99 - very little discussion of the riots
- Rakkan's Woodstock Experience
- Woodstock Museum
- Writers View of Woodstock
es:Woodstock 99 ja:ウッドストック 1999
