cannabisnews.com: A Teen Takes Stock of Woodstock ’99! A Teen Takes Stock of Woodstock ’99! Posted by FoM on July 28, 1999 at 11:55:45 PT By Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, Special To MSNBC Source: MSNBC I left Woodstock ’99 at a near run, dodging flying trash and debris, checking over my shoulder for rioters and growing fires. As the last searing notes from Jimi Hendrix’s guitar were whisked away in the smoke and confusion, the crowd quickly moved on from the 11 giant bonfires to loot the souvenir tents that lined the main stage at Griffiss Park. IT SEEMED THAT the shirtless girls, the mud and the reappearance of Grateful Dead drummer Micky Hart were just symbolic allusions to the trinity that dominated the 1969 celebration: peace, love and rock ’n’ roll. I had grown up listening to the classic performers that made Woodstock legendary. Now, the summer before leaving for college, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of Woodstock, partly to hear the music, but largely to see if the spirit of that memorable concert 30 years ago could be recreated. I wanted a great story, something that I could tell about years from now, something I could later use as tangible proof that I once was young. So, arriving in Rome, New York, on Thursday night, I had only one fear — an uneventful concert. MISPLACED MR. SOUL From the very beginning it was clear that Woodstock ’99 was light-years away from Woodstock ’69. Even the opening comments underscored the contrast between the current festival and the original. Although the festival’s promoter, Michael Lang, asked the hundreds of thousands in the audience to “Be good to each other,” Master of Ceremonies Wavy Gravy set a very different tone: “You’re going to be on TV! You’re going to be on CD! You’re going to be on the Internet,” he yelled. It seemed like a good idea A graying baby-boomer — too young to have attended the first Woodstock Festival and too uninterested to have bothered with the second — would bring his 12-year-old son to Woodstock ’99 for three days of music, adventure and cross-generational bonding.— Joe Leydon In a gesture of respect for and deference to an accomplished talent, the legendary James Brown opened the show. But it was clear that even he did not connect well with the boisterous young audience. When he politely requested 30 seconds of silence for the Kennedy family, he received just 15 — and one could hardly call it silence. While the audience did not seem to appreciate the giants who built rock ‘n’ roll into what it is today, the performers certainly did. Artists from every genre showed a sense of respect for predecessors who had made Woodstock part of musical history. The most memorable was the Red Hot Chile Peppers cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire,” sung at the end of the concert, as the bonfires raged. Both Hendrix and Joplin earned a number of covers, including a piece from Wyclef Jean and the Refugee Allstars. Kid Rock also paid homage, with a riveting cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s classic hit “Fortunate Son.” But the affinities between the two generations were not to be found in the audience. Performers such as The Roots couldn’t get the crowd into even the most basic sing-along. The audience in ’69 connected with a platform of peace; Kid Rock tapped into this audience’s violent nature by encouraging fans to throw the plastic water bottles. They littered the field. WHERE’S THE ACID? Over the next few hours, I saw more and more incidents of reckless behavior. It was common to see people standing on the coolers screaming things like, “I have $5 bucks in my hand and I want some good acid!” Several of my friends sneaked onto a dangerous unmanned roller coaster simulator. Dozens of young men climbed on top of the refrigeration trucks and harassed passing women. When they were asked to come down, one man fell and was taken to a nearby hospital with head injuries. Hammering on a dozen emptied trash cans with water bottles, sticks, pipes or whatever they could find, men and women dropped in and out of the ensemble. Still, the carefree spirit that contributed to much of the rowdiness made for some surprisingly happy moments. On Saturday, I happened upon a spontaneous percussion jam session that lasted well into the next day. Hammering on a dozen emptied trash cans with water bottles, sticks, pipes or whatever they could find, men and women dropped in and out of the ensemble. One woman climbed to the top of a can, removed her top (to the delight of onlookers), and did her best to dance to conflicting beats. As I expected — but couldn’t quite fathom — sexual freedom was one of the few themes that recalled Woodstock ’69. Beyond the mass of topless girls, men and women went completely naked (except for their shoes), including at least one man who walked around in a state of full arousal. A man sported a sign that read, “last chance for guilt free sex.” Many others carried signs asking women to remove their shirts. The men created a truly frightening environment. Two of the girls in my group, with tears in their eyes, told of their attempts to get close to the stage during two sets. Both felt so frightened they had to body-surf their way out to the edge of the crowd. One had her shirt and bra ripped off. FLICKERS TO FLAMES Sunday evening, during what proved to be one of the festival’s few moments of unity and peace, candles provided by PAX were lit as part of a movement to end gun violence. Flickering candles dotted the field. Ironically, these very candles were used to start many of the raging bonfires. When a sound tower caught fire, the show had to be stopped. As ash flew through the air and toxic smoke spewed from plastic bottles thrown into the fires, I feared a mass panic. I was also afraid that any attempt at law enforcement would turn the crowd riotous. People seemed to have forgotten about the festival; they either focussed on how to make the fires bigger or how to save themselves in what rapidly became an unsafe situation. By the end of the evening, despite the Chile Peppers’ impressive showing, their set had degenerated into background music for the destruction surrounding them. As the flames danced in the field, it occurred to me that the fires had a different meaning for each Woodstock generation. In 1969 the fires were a show of unity in protest of real issues — to burn bras and draft cards had symbolic significance. This crowd, like its predecessor, wanted to rebel. But it wasn’t rebelling against anything, real or symbolic — the fires existed simply to destroy. There was no peace, no love; the music was overtaken by screams and the wail of sirens. As we hurried to our car, I resisted buying a pilfered T-shirt. It was difficult. When I looked back at the growing flames, I thought of a fisherman whose catch grows larger with every retelling, and wondered just how large those flames would someday seem.Arthur Gregg Sulzberger lives in Manhattan. He’ll be a freshman at Brown University in the fall. Pubdate: July 28, 1999 http://www.msnbc.com/news/294390.aspTalking ’Bout Our De-Generation http://www.msnbc.com/news/294420.aspWoodstock ’99 Ended On Sour Notehttp://www.msnbc.com/news/290627.asp The Burning Question at Woodstock '99 - 7/27/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2237.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by amanda on January 25, 2001 at 08:20:13 PT: rebelion i think that woodstock is a good idea, but in 1969 everyone was rebelling against war. well in 99 there wasnt any big war thingy going on and so our youth of course must rebel so it rebelled not against war and hate but against peace and love. the younger generation will be rebelious lets hope if we have another woodstock we rebel against abortions or gun violence instead of going crazy and destroying stuff. amanda [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 28, 1999 at 18:57:07 PT: Riot Could Mean End For Woodstock, Rock Festivals Riot Could Mean End For Woodstock, Rock Festivals Images of Woodstock http://www.nandotimes.com/nt/images/woodstock/State troopers reportedly posed with naked concertgoers http://www.nando.com/noframes/story/0,2107,74966-118449-840340-1,00.htmlBy DAVID BAUDER NEW YORK (July 28, 1999 4:09 p.m. EDThttp://www.nandotimes.com/ - The idea of more Woodstocks may have gone up in the flames stoked by rampaging rock fans this week. The riot that ended the three-day Woodstock '99 over the weekend will probably make it difficult for anyone who wants to stage such a concert again, industry watchers said. "Right now you have to ask yourself whether any community would ever allow another Woodstock," said Bob Grossweiner, a concert industry analyst. The weekend's final act, Red Hot Chili Peppers, was performing before what was left of the 225,000 music fans at an abandoned military base in Rome, N.Y., when a mob began to set fire to 12 tractor-trailers, a small bus and several portable toilets. Bottles were hurled at police and vendor booths destroyed before the site was brought under control early Monday. Five people, including two state troopers, were injured, and seven people were arrested. It was the second Woodstock of the 1990s modeled after the original 1969 concert, known for its memorable music and counterculture vibes of peace and love. The rain-drenched Woodstock of 1994 is best remembered for its mud. After the ugly ending to Woodstock '99, promoters weren't talking Tuesday about what this meant for their plan to repeat Woodstock every five years. "I saw a lot of young kids in there, people in high school," said Chris Connelly, who covered the event for MTV. "You have to wonder if parents are going to be very concerned about letting their kids go to things like this." The melee will be remembered by any city that is considering allowing music festivals, said James Griffis, town supervisor of Saugerties, the last location of a Woodstock festival. He wouldn't say if the town would bid again for the next Woodstock. "It's not going to make it any easier, that's for sure," Griffis said. "Communities that will want to host it, if there is another one in five years, are going to be a lot more cautious." A New York state senator said Tuesday she will propose legislation giving the state final say over any such mass gatherings. "I think it's going to be pretty hard for (promoters) to find a community that will accept things on the terms they dictated this time," said Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, a Syracuse Republican. Rock festivals that last several days are already a rarity in the United States, in part because promoters lost money on the first two Woodstocks. Authorities were unable to explain what triggered the melee, but there was no shortage of theories: hot weather unrelieved by rain, dissatisfaction caused by filthy grounds and high food prices, or simple lawlessness propelled by peer pressure. Woodstock's most popular artists - Limp Bizkit, Korn, Kid Rock and Rage Against the Machine - specialize in an aggressive combination of rock and rap that some say encourages aggressive behavior. "Kids like this are basically nonviolent unless somebody instigated them," Grossweiner said, "and the instigation came from the stage." Copyright © 1999 Nando MediaCopyright © 1999 Associated Press Riot Could Mean End For Woodstock, Rock Festivals [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 28, 1999 at 18:49:19 PT: State Police Supervisor Suspended After Woodstock State Police Supervisor Suspended After Woodstock Incidentshttp://www.boston.com/By Associated Press, 07/28/99 19:15 ROME, N.Y. (AP) A state trooper assigned to Woodstock '99 was suspended without pay Wednesday amid an investigation into police misconduct. State police began investigating after several newspapers reported troopers had urged female concertgoers to strip and pose nude while they snapped pictures early Monday as rioters burned and looted concert grounds. A news release from state police headquarters in Albany Wednesday stated that ''a few'' troopers reportedly participated in the inappropriate conduct and that an on-site supervisor assigned to the post where the conduct occurred has been suspended. Officials would not release the name of the suspended trooper or any other details, but said that the investigation was continuing. Discipline in the state police ranges from a written reprimand to dismissal, officials said. State Police Supervisor Suspended After Woodstock [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 28, 1999 at 18:14:50 PT: Woodstock '99 Melee Has Lawmaker Thinking! Woodstock 99 Melee Has Lawmaker Thinking Of Preventing Repeat!AP-ES-07-28-99 0107EDThttp://www.newsday.com/ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Laws must be revised to allow state officials to prevent a repeat of the violence and mess of Woodstock '99 at future mass gatherings in New York state, a state senator says."It makes me sad to think that our wonderful and beautiful upstate region is now fixed in so many people's minds as the site of the piles of trash and ripoff food prices where there were no creature comforts for concertgoers who paid hundrds of dollars for the privilege of attending Woodstock '99," Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann said Tuesday.She said she will propose a bill which gives the New York State Police the right to set public safety standards at mass gatherings and which makes the state Health Department responsible for on-site public health measures.Both security and public health arrangements were subject to criticism at the Woodstock '99 gathering, which dissolved in its final hours into violence as some concertgoers set fires, vandalized property, looted trucks and threw debris at authorities. The festival was held at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, which is in Hoffmann's district.The senator attended some of the festival and said the outcome would have been different if the state police had been more involved with security arrangements from the beginning.Order on-site was maintained by a 1,250-member security force, but it was not equipped or trained to deal with riot-like conditions. Some 700 state troopers in riot gear moved in to restore order once rowdy concertgoers got out of hand late Sunday."It's very apparent that we need to put the planning and approval in the hands of the people who do that sort of thing best," Hoffmann said Tuesday. "That means the state police and the state Health Department need to sit down at a table with any promoter who ever contemplates again presenting something on this scale, or anything close to it."She also argued that the health of those at the concert was threatened by the trash which continued to mount, in sweltering temperatures, as the weekend went by. She said she complained to promoter Michael Lang about the garbage on Saturday. But the legislator said by that point it was too late to bring in the heavy equipment that would have been needed to remove all the garbage.The trash was used by trouble makers to fuel some of the fires and to throw at state police.Hoffmann said she would also file a bill requiring organizers of mass gatherings to follow state recycling laws for trash generated at their events.Oneida County officials issued the permits to stage Woodstock '99, though the state police and the state Department of Transportation had some input beforehand.The Oneida County Health Department also approved the gathering, with help from the state Health Department, said Health Department spokeswoman Claire Pospisil.Pospisil said the state agency would be willing to consider changes to the law Hoffmann and others propose in light of Woodstock '99 but that it makes sense to leave the permitting up to local health officials."At this point, we will be continuing to assist the local health departments in issuing mass gathering permits," she said. "They have a handle on what's happening in their community."Sgt. Jamie Mills said higher-ups in the state police force would also consider Hoffmann's proposals. But in the meantime, the force will work with local governments on planned mass gatherings "as they know their communities best."State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has received complaints about price gouging at the Woodstock site, where 24 ounces of bottled water were selling for $4. But his spokesman Darren Dopp said Tuesday there is little Spitzer can do."There is a price-gouging law for milk, but there isn't one for burgers, fries, candies and other items sold by vendors at events," Dopp said.There is also an anti-price gouging law for staples like water, food and electric generators during natural emergencies like blizzards and hurricanes but an event like Woodstock does not qualify, Dopp said."The next time around, we're going to require the promoters to make a much more aggressive effort at planning for contingencies," Dopp said.The state required the promoters of the Woodstock festival to put up $1 million to cover possible state security costs at the event.It was unclear Tuesday whether the cost of turning out troopers at Woodstock would use up most or all of that bond or whether additional state costs were incurred, Mills said."That usually takes a couple of weeks for the field troops to get that (overtime and expenses) material in," she said.AP-ES-07-28-99 0107EDTCopyright © Associated Press. http://www.newsday.com/ap/rnmpmt1d.htm [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: