Flipping through the programs that our Crave network collection of shows was offering here in Canada, I came across Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage. I thought I could get a look at how things went at this particular chapter in the Woodstock saga, since I'd seen a lot about the first in the sixties and the '94 offering.
I hadn't quite realized how absolutely wildly this affair had failed. Half a million people showed up in Rome, New York at an abandoned U.S. Air Force base, which you might think is rather fitting for a Woodstock show to take place at, being the antithesis of war and conflict that these festivals initially became known for. Instead, though, it turned out to be somewhat prophetic of what was to happen when the bands started playing.
I hadn't seen such a hellish looking gathering of music fans before I saw this. It literally looked like hell at times, especially as the weekend of this event progressed (...digressed?). At times I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were a wide variety of acts from most genres, some of which had no business being at what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering of music lovers convening for a weekend of entertainment. The middle day of the event was perhaps the most harrowing, featuring hard rock and metal bands combining for a toxic soup of aggression that flirted with hatred and destruction on near-epic levels. Put Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine and Kid Rock together on one bill, and what would you expect to get? Metallica and Rage are respectable enough acts, but even they seemed challenged to restrain themselves from dipping their fingers into what was to become a cesspool of mayhem. I'll say this about Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock -- I never liked them before, but I pretty much hate them now. They made ample contributions to premium White Trash Rock that pretty much set the standard for how hopeless the metal genre can be with the wrong audience. And this audience, virtually colorless, young and pretentious, was priming to let loose any inhibitions and lawlessness, because it was clear that they could get away with it. This is 'Lord of the Flies' with a modern adult setting.
It wasn't without its bright spots, though. James Brown, the band Live, Korn, and The Offspring seemed to put on admirable sets. Offspring in particular came off to me as heroes calling out audience members for groping crowdsurfing half naked girls, telling the women to grab the balls of any guys who crowdsurfed themselves to turn the tables. Alanis Morrissette and Jewel seemed a bit puzzled at how to handle the steadily increasing hostile audience. Some commentary is provided by Moby, who inherited prominent bad vibes from the crowd and bolted from the venue immediately after his set out of fear for their safety. It was more than a bit scary to see humanity unleashed in all its fury without any control to restrain their ugly behavior. It looked like a literal war zone at times.
Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments for me came when the Red Hot Chili Peppers had their set and came off stage with all the mayhem, with sound and lighting towers set ablaze and toppling to the ground to rabid cheers all over. One of the promoters begged singer Anthony Kiedis to distract the crowd to try to quell the violence; only to see RHCP go back onstage amidst the hell that was happening and play "Fire" from Jimi Hendrix.
Corporate greed plays a big part in this story, with overpriced food, and water that was the same price as a beer. There was a lot of money to be made by virtually stealing from this audience, and once the people began to clue in how much the promoters didn't give a shit about them, they responded in kind, tenfold. Perhaps deservedly. The film opens your eyes to what the culture of the late 90's was actually like. I was left thinking that I underestimated how ugly things were in that age at that time.
It's not easy to watch at times, but this is pretty Smooth Gravy for a doc.
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