If you're old enough to remember the first Woodstock music festival -- the one held on Max Yasgur's farm in August 1969 -- you're too old for Woodstock '99.
Don't worry. They won't be checking IDs at the gate and turning away everybody over the age of 30. If you're willing to pay your $150 ($180 at the door), the folks at Woodstock will be more than happy to let you spend the weekend of July 23 with the quarter million other music fans expected at the festival.
Still, if you're hoping for a flashback to the '60s sound of the original "Three Days of Peace and Music," you're going to be disappointed.
It isn't just that this Woodstock will take place at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., some 110 miles from the town of Woodstock. Woodstock '99 is worlds away from the original in terms of music, organization and culture.
A nostalgia trip it ain't.
Start with the bands. Of the 40-odd acts scheduled to play the festival's two main stages, most consist of musicians who weren't even born when Jimi Hendrix torched "The Star-Spangled Banner" with his guitar. Moreover, some of those groups will be playing music -- hip-hop, techno, thrash -- that the original Woodstock audience could not have imagined in its wildest acid-fueled hallucinations.
But the most telling difference is who won't be there -- anyone from the class of '69. "We did reach out to a couple of '69 artists," says concert promoter John Scher, who, along with Michael Lang, is producing Woodstock '99. "Specifically, we originally had a deal with John Fogerty, who was going to open the festival. He accepted our offer, but then decided not to tour this summer.
"And there were some discussions going on with the Who about them re-forming, but that didn't come to pass, either."
Even so, this Woodstock was never intended as a remembrance of things past. Although Scher says that Woodstock II, the 25th anniversary show in 1994, made "a conscious effort to build a bridge to '69," that's not the case this time. When plans for this show were announced in April, Lang -- who co-produced the original festival -- declared that this Woodstock "is not a retro re-look at 1969."
And there's another difference in attitude: "Woodstock '94 did not make a profit," said Lang, flatly. "We hope to make a profit this time."
Making money has not been a strong tradition at Woodstock. After several hundred thousand kids turned up without tickets at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, N.Y., the first Woodstock was declared a free concert. At that point, only 186,000 of the estimated 400,000 attending had purchased tickets.
The promoters lost money big-time. According to reports, Lang and his original partner, John Roberts, were more than $600,000 in the red after the concert (although royalties from the Woodstock film and soundtrack album eventually put the festival in the black).
History repeated itself -- though on a smaller scale -- 25 years later, when Woodstock II was held in Saugerties, N.Y. Tens of thousands of fans flocked to the site. Unable to buy tickets there (the town of Saugerties declined to issue the proper permits to the festival promoters), they tore down fences and went in anyway. In the end, there were some 350,000 people there -- but only 203,000 paid.
Lang and Scher, who were also teamed in '94, have no intention of giving fans a free ride this time. "Anyone who thinks they can get into Woodstock without a ticket is in for a very rude awakening," says Ken Donohue, head of security for Woodstock '99, in an interview posted on the Woodstock Web site (www.woodstock.com).
"People seem to think that this concert site is just some big field, but this is not '94 or '69," Donohue continues. Not only does the Woodstock '99 site have its own fence -- a massive, 12-foot high, steel-reinforced wooden barricade -- but it sits within the defenses of Griffiss Air Force Base.
"We're talking about a former military base," says Donohue. "This place was built to be defended against a full military attack. I think it can keep out a few attempts at gate-crashing." In addition to festival security, Woodstock and Griffiss will be defended by New York State Troopers and Defense Department personnel.
"We have a holding cell on site that can detain over 200 people, and we'll have district attorneys and judges on site 24 hours a day to process any charges," Donohue adds.
Woodstock '99 means business. Where the first festival seemed to revel in the chaos of too many people and not enough support systems, this year's production prides itself on infrastructure. And while some of that planning and plotting may seem to fly in the face of Woodstock's happy-hippy mythology, the truth is that this Woodstock will likely be the better for it.
"We've gotten ... away from being concert producers, first and foremost, and almost given ourselves [the role] of resort operators," says Scher. "We're inviting several hundred thousand people to come spend a long weekend with us. It's principally about the music, but it's not only about the music."
To that end, Woodstock '99 will augment its live music offerings -- two main stages, plus a third "emerging artists" stage -- with a host of alternative attractions. There will be an extreme sports park, with ramps and facilities for skateboarding and BMX biking. There will be a 24-hour independent film festival, sponsored by cable's Independent Film Channel. There will be all-night raves, a cyber village and hundreds of vendor booths.
"We don't expect any of those things to have anywhere close to the number of people that are in front of the two main stages," says Scher. "But it will be a little bit of a diversion -- almost a rock and roll Club Med. We're going to try to make this experience a wholly enjoyable experience."
It should also be a drier experience. There were drenching rainstorms at both previous Woodstock festivals, which in '94 transformed most of the concert site into a sea of mud. And while Scher and Lang can't control the weather, they're doing what they can to keep moisture levels to a minimum.
"We moved it three weeks earlier [than previous festivals] because the weather bureau tells us it rains a lot less in late July than it does in mid-August," says Scher. "Michael [Lang] says that if it doesn't rain at least a little bit, a lot of people will be disappointed. But I would be very happy if it didn't rain. The rain causes complications for everybody."
Despite the differences in attitude and attractions, Scher insists that Woodstock '99 will be like its predecessors in the most important way. That is, it will serve as a personal landmark for a specific group of music fans.
Woodstock, Scher says, is "a rite of passage. And a rite of passage for a very specific audience: Late teens to late 20s." That doesn't mean there won't be people in their 30s, 40s or even 50s attending. But Scher expects those age groups will constitute a small percentage of the crowd.
"Once you hit your 30s, most people have moved on in their life," Scher explains. "Woodstock is a camping experience. It's not a Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons or even a Holiday Inn experience. So you generally have to be of a certain age to want to go through that."
That emphasis on youth is why Woodstock '99 has so little interest in nostalgia. From the bands to the Web site to the extreme sports park, Scher and Lang have their sights set on kids who don't want their father's Woodstock -- or even their older brother's.
Still, Scher is enough of a romantic to believe that there are certain things about Woodstock that will hold true regardless of who is in the audience.
"I think that what we proved [in '94] was, put a few hundred thousand kids in a big pasture in upstate New York, and they tend to behave exactly the way their parents or older brothers and sisters did.
"We expect that again."
WHO'LL BE THERE
These are the performers scheduled to play the two main stages at Woodstock '99:
James Brown: The Godfather of Soul. The Hardest Working Man in Show Business. Perhaps the most sampled musician of all time, he has been getting down and funky since 1956.
Buckcherry: Hard rock band in the Guns 'N Roses tradition. Current single is "Lit Up."
Bush: English alt-rock band known for the songs "Everything Zen" and "Glycerine." Fronted by Gwen Stefani boyfriend Gavin Rossdale.
The Chemical Brothers: DJ duo known for bringing rock singers into techno. Current single is "Hey Boy Hey Girl."
Collective Soul: Gritty Southern alt-rock band that made its name on the 1993 hit "Shine." Current single is "Run."
Elvis Costello: Veteran new-waver who recently collaborated with Burt Bacharach. Currently touring with keyboardist Steve Nieve.
Counting Crows: San Francisco-based sextet known for the 1994 hit "Mr. Jones."
Creed: Pearl-Jam-influenced hard-rock band with a subtle Christian bent. Current single is "One."
Sheryl Crow: Accomplished singer/songwriter who was a new artist at Woodstock '94. Current single is "Anything But Down."
DMX: Often compared to Tupac Shakur, this controversial rapper and actor has sold over 5 million albums in the last two years.
Everclear: Santa Monica, California-based punk/pop band that has had enormous MTV success through such songs as "I Will Buy You a New Life."
Everlast: A rapper and former member of the House of Pain, Everlast is now riding high on the bluesy hit "What It's Like."
Fatboy Slim: English "big beat" DJ and former member of the Housemartins. Best known for "The Rockafeller Skank."
Godsmack: Metal band with a sound halfway between Sound-garden and Metallica. Current single is "Keep Away."
Al Green: Legendary soul singer and ordained Christian minister known for such hits as "Let's Stay Together" and "I'm Still in Love With You."
Guster: Jammy-trio from Boston, not to be confused with Gus Gus or Gus.
Bruce Hornsby: First famous for the 1986 hit "The Way It Is," Virginia-based Hornsby is celebrated for his tuneful, improvisational rock.
Ice Cube: A true O.G. rapper, Ice Cube was a founding member of NWA, and was recently featured on Korn's Family Values tour.
Insane Clown Posse: Clown-faced rap pranksters from Detroit, famous for spraying Faygo soda on their fans.
Jamiroquai: Retro-ish English dance rock combo fronted by singer Jason Kay. Current single is "Canned Heat."
Jewel: Sensitive, poetry-spouting singer songwriter who made her name with the 1997 hit "Who Will Save Your Soul."
Kid Rock: Detroit-bred rock rapper whose current single is the onomatopoeic "Bawitdaba."
Korn: Iconoclastic metal band that single-handedly popularized detuned seven-string guitars. Best known for "Got the Life."
Limp Bizkit: Jacksonville Fla.-based quintet whose rock/rap fusion has made them one of the hottest live groups in America. Current single is "Nookie."
Lit: Punk/pop trio known for the single "My Worst Enemy."
Live: Pennsylvania-based quartet whose dramatic, spiritually-inclined alt rock was popularized by the single "Lightning Crashes."
Los Lobos: Rootsy quintet from East Los Angeles that topped the charts in 1987 with its remake of "La Bamba."
Dave Matthews Band: Jazzy, pop-savvy quintet whose solid songwriting and virtuosic playing has made them a multi-platinum phenomenon.
Megadeath: Pioneering, politicized thrash band led by former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine.
Metallica: The most popular and influential metal band of the '90s, known for such hits as "Enter Sandman" and "Until It Sleeps."
Moby: Pioneering techno DJ known for his eclectic sound and rock-oriented live show.
moe.: Popular (if peculiarly punctuated) jam band.
Mickey Hart & Planet Drum: Percussive, danceable world-music project headed by former Grateful Dead drummer.
Alanis Morissette: Once the poster girl for angry young women, thanks to the hit "You Oughta Know," she has since emerged as a sensitive and surprisingly spiritual singer/songwriter.
Willie Nelson: One of country music's original outlaws, this gifted interpreter's work runs the gamut of American musical styles.
Mike Ness: Singer and guitarist who led the legendary Los Angeles punk band Social Distortion.
The Offspring: Sarcastic, socially-aware punk rock band that became enormously popular on the strength of the single "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)."
Oleander: Hard rocking alt-rock combo responsible for the single "Why I'm Here."
Our Lady Peace: Alt-rock band with a fondness for heavy guitar.
Parliament/Funkadelic: Groundbreaking funk/rock ensemble whose hits -- "One Nation Under a Groove," "Flashlight," and more -- have been sampled by countless rappers.
Rage Against the Machine: The first band to create something new from hip-hop and hard rock, their proudly politicized third album is due this fall.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Groundbreaking punk/funk quartet known for "The Bridge" and "Give It Away." Recently reunited with guitarist John Frusciante.
The Roots: One of the few rap acts with an instrumental component, this Philadelphia-based group's current album is "Things Fall Apart."
Rusted Root: Strongly percussive jam band with a deep, tribal rhythm feel.
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Swing-style big band fronted by the former Stray Cats singer and guitarist.
Sevendust: Aggressive skate-rock combo, currently part of the Vans' Warped Tour package.
Sugar Ray: Raucous, California-based quintet enjoying mainstream success thanks to the atypically gentle "Every Morning."
The Tragically Hip: Smart, tuneful Canadian ensemble whose live shows are legendary up north, but much less known in the States.
Umbilical Bro: Rock, R&B; and Caribbean flavors, brought together by former Fugees member Jean.
ON THE THIRD STAGE
In addition to the two main stages, there will be a third, "Emerging Artists," stage. Artists scheduled
for this stage include Ben Lee, 2 Skinnee J's, Pushmonkey, Big Sugar, Muse, Indigenous, Beth Hart Band, Push Stars, Mike Ericco, Liars Inc., Chris Perez Band, Sherri Jackson, Serial Joe, Gigolo Aunts and Full Devil Jacket, among others.
WOODSTOCK '99
When: July 23-25. The festival officially opens at noon on Friday; festival grounds open at 6 a.m. Thursday, July 22. All festival-goers must leave the grounds by noon Monday, July 26.
Where: Griffiss Park, Rome, N.Y.
Tickets: Before Thursday, $150 (plus tax, service charges and $7 transportation fee). Beginning Thursday, remaining tickets will be available on the site for $180 (plus tax, service charges and $7 transportation fee). Call 212-397-7474 for tickets.
TV: Complete coverage of Woodstock '99, "live and uncensored," will be available on pay-per-view through Direct TV (on Direct Ticket), Echostar (on Dish on Demand), Prime-star, TVN and National Programmer's Service.
MTV: Offering an "All Access Weekend" of Woodstock coverage, beginning 3 p.m. Friday, July 23.
Cybercast: There will also be a Woodstock '99 cybercast, with live streaming video. Point your browser to www.woodstock.com.
Pub Date: 07/18/99