The first trailer has debuted for the upcoming HBO documentary on the ill-fated 1999 ‘Woodstock Festival. Titled ‘Woodstock ‘99: Peace, Love, and Rage‘, the documentary will kick off HBO‘s new ‘Music Box’ documentary series on July 23rd. Far removed from the ‘Woodstock‘ of 1969, aggressive weather, overpriced water and a lack of proper facilities and accommodations helped to sour the crowd at the event, which was held in Rome, NY back in July of 1999.
A heavier lineup that included the likes of Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, Korn, Megadeth, Sevendust and more is thought to have riled up the audiences even more, leading to destruction, vandalism and more, in particular during Limp Bizkit‘s infamous performance, which saw numerous sexual assaults in the audience, vandalism and more reported. Fires and rioting would follow during Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ set afterwards.
In 2015, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland told Stereogum of their time at the festival:
“I think that was a really bad idea, because Woodstock ’99 — I don’t feel responsible at all for that. I feel like the promoters of that festival were overcharging people for water, for instance, the cash machines were running out of money. The conditions were really poor, and I think that ‘Woodstock ’99‘ should have not invited bands like us on it unless they expected — no one said, ‘Tone it down, this audience is not going to react in a positive way to your show.’
I mean, who knew that the festival was gonna turn into that, that atrocious riot that it did? But it’s never happened again, which I think is a good idea. I think that if they were to do it now and have the music that’s popular now — Foxygen and Mumford & Sons and a bunch of bands that are more tepid, or just a little more ‘Coachella‘-friendly — I think it would probably work out great. There were a lot of really heavy bands on that festival.”
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