Word: woodstock
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Like the first festival, Woodstock '94 did not actually take place in Woodstock. It was held over three days last weekend in Saugerties, New York, and attracted about 255,000 people, half the number who made up Woodstock Nation in Bethel, an hour's drive away. The crowd was overwhelmingly white and middle-class. The bands, 50 of them, were more diverse and included everyone from sexy female rappers Salt N Pepa and trippy alternative rockers Blind Melon to punk-funksters Red Hot Chili Peppers and even soul crooner Joe Cocker, who reprised his Woodstock '69 classic With a Little...
Rock has expanded since 1969 -- as these bands indicate, there are now many thriving subgenres -- but like sports heroes, the performers have gotten smaller. There were no young musicians at Woodstock '94 who compared in sheer potency to Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin. Still, some turned in rousing sets. Rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill flouted authority, smoking a marijuana joint onstage and then throwing himself into the crowd to surf on the hands of his fans. Guitarist-singer Melissa Etheridge offered a punchy, joyous version of her pop-rock hit Come to My Window...
...first Woodstock became a symbol of communalism by accident. Says John Scher, an executive with Polygram Records, which invested in Woodstock '94: "There's this myth that Woodstock was a free festival. It wasn't a free concert at all, and it wasn't intended to be a free concert." On that weekend in '69, the kids broke down the fences; the promoters couldn't stop the influx, so they gave in to the inevitable and announced that the show was free. It was a huge money loser for its backers...
This time around, the financial stakes were higher. To stage the first concert, promoters spent $3 million; Woodstock '94 cost more than $30 million. Tickets to the original were $18; this time they were $135 and had to be purchased in pairs. In 1969 there weren't even official T shirts; in 1994 there will be an official CD-ROM. The Eco-Village, ostensibly devoted to educating the public about the environment, resembled a strip mall where you could buy clothes, camping gear and even Woodstock air ($2 a bottle). The promoters will reap an estimated $5 million...
...action that bespoke little peace and love, the organizers of Woodstock '94 lodged an $80 million lawsuit against rivals who tried to hold an event called Bethel '94. That festival was to take place on the original Woodstock site and was to include such performers as Melanie and Country Joe MacDonald, who appeared in 1969. The suit was settled out of court. Although Bethel '94 was later officially canceled, 12,000 people gathered there spontaneously, and Woodstock veterans like Arlo Guthrie stopped by to give free, impromptu performances...