Woodstock '99

In a new Netflix documentary, DJ Norman Cook is told about the chaos that unfolded during his headline performance.

Looking devastated, he says: “That is just hideous to think that in the midst of all those people having fun, and me wanting to make everyone love each other, that was going on literally under our noses.” “That was literally the moment when everything started to look a bit less fun,” he said. When stage manager, A.J. Srybnik, finally got to the van, he found someone wielding a “rusty old” machete, and an unconscious teenage girl with her clothes pulled off alongside a boy pulling up his pants. Aptly, Cook launched into his set with Fucking In Heaven, and had only got a few tracks in when he noticed something large moving into the hangar. In the documentary, one member of staff working that night said: “I remember shining my flashlight on the floor and literally seeing people on all fours having sex”, while another said it was more debauched than the dark room at Berghain: “I saw from the stage one wall of the hangar several naked people lined up with their hands up against a wall and a line of people behind them… And while people are still talking about it 23 years later, unfortunately, it’s not for the reason he hoped.

This tense, brisk watch inspires a sense of dread as it lays bare the rape, riots and arson that destroyed a 1999 festival. Sadly, the deeper questions ...

In the end, it doesn’t have the heart to go there in any depth, following the adrenaline-inducing spectacle of the fires and the riots instead. Was it the culture, or the environment? The biggest questions are why it turned, and why in such a particular and grotesque way. The crowd was – by many accounts and from the plentiful footage of the time – macho and aggressive, a “frat boy” culture dominating the event. A cardboard sign saying “show us your tits” – which someone had taken the time to make – is waved at female artists from the crowd. Each episode follows a day of the festival, from an optimistic start on Friday through to the apocalyptic scenes in the early hours of Monday morning, using a ticking clock to count down to each fresh catastrophe.

What was supposed to be an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the iconic 1969 festival filled with peace, love, and music, devolved into a chaotic, ...

Throughout Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, attendees, organizers, and several of the artists that performed share their experiences from the festival. This direction not only creates a more “in the moment” feel it also helps distance the new docuseries from the 2021 HBO documentary Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love, and Rage, which looked at the festival from a more modern view. Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 takes what other documentaries and news specials have done over the years and turned up the volume to provide an unprecedented look at the notorious event.

Its tone captures a bittersweet rush that you must have had to be there to truly get.

So much in this story could have been prevented, and predicted, and this documentary shows its collapse with one compelling passage after the next. The purpose of going to this story is to be amazed at how obvious these developments are. Trainwreck" is quickly paced with one episode for each day; its different themes, pop culture references, name-drops, and general schadenfreude always pop, but that acute nature can make it guilty of glossing over some of the more significant or curious pieces in the big picture. The series is especially compelling with behind-the-scenes footage, starting with VHS footage of planning meetings that went from nostalgic optimism to complete negligence. Similarly, this documentary is dedicated to humanizing those who were treated as animals and then perceived as such when they started to rebel, destroying the grounds by its closing Sunday night. They hired a bunch of popular acts who are paid to be angry (Korn, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock) and then they gave thousands of concertgoers numerous reasons to be angry at them.

A Netflix documentary, 'Trainwreck: Woodstock '99' explores what went wrong at the copycat festival. Here's everything to know: arrests, deaths, ...

Reports from the 1999 concert revealed that there was a general lack of access to clean water, trash everywhere, and rampant reports of crimes like sexual assault, looting, and vandalism. Some people even died at the concert. According to The Baltimore Sun, more than 700 people had been treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration halfway through the weekend concert. And two decades later, in 1999, fans attempted to recreate another version of the iconic concert—dubbed Woodstock ‘99. But this time, it was a total disaster. This led to some people developing trench mouth. They were holding her arms; you could see she was struggling.”

In a new Netflix documentary, the veteran DJ talks about the "terrifying" moment a van drove into the crowd during the infamous festival.

"That was literally the moment when everything started to look a bit less fun.” he says. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. "I was floored," Srybnik says, realising he had just witnessed a serious sexual assault. "Then I got the tap on the shoulder, and it's like: 'We gotta stop the music. The vans gotta go, and I said 'Aw, not tonight. "I'd been closeted in my dressing room all afternoon with people just going, oh it's a bit chaotic out there" he recalls.

Woodstock 99 was a volatile cocktail of problems, doused in gasoline and with multiple matches thrown on the fire by out of touch officials who just wanted ...

Woodstock 99 was a volatile cocktail of problems, doused in gasoline and with multiple matches thrown on the fire by out of touch officials who just wanted to make a quick buck. Trying to pin the blame on nu-metal and rock music is, quite frankly, ludicrous. Fight Club is blamed for the root cause of the issues (despite being released six months AFTER the event) while American Pie is also cited as a problem. With plenty of talking head interviews, the episodes break down all the logistical problems with the event. During the hottest month of the year. Instead of the rolling hills and fields though, the promoters chose an abandoned airstrip for their base of operations.

In 1999 400,000 people descended on an airfield in New York state to celebrate “peace, love and great music”. Instead what happened was a weekend of violence ...

During Limp Bizkit it was reported that people were tearing wooden boards off the walls. Violence was present in many forms, and during several sets the crowd started rioting. MTV also reported that two women were allegedly gang-raped during Limp Bizkit and Korn’s sets. Very few women performed over the weekend. - Spitfire “Instead, the festival degenerated into an epic trainwreck of fires, riots and destruction.

New Netflix documentary explores how 1999 festival Woodstock descended into violence, with numerous reports of sexual assaults and deaths.

In the original Woodstock festival, three people also died: two from drug overdoses and a third, who was aged 17, was run over and killed while sleeping in a sleeping bag, by a tractor that was collecting rubbish. The official synopsis of Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 reads: ‘Woodstock ‘99 was supposed to be a millennium-defining celebration of peace, love and great music. A 24-year-old man died from a heat-related illness, while one woman, 28, was hit by a car when she left the concert, and a 44-year-old man with a pre-existing heart condition died of cardiac arrest in a Woodstock camping site. Bonfires were set off after candles were given out during the Red Hot Chili Peppers set, and on the final night of the festival, a car went up in flames. While there were very few female performers over the weekend, with the line-up including the likes of Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, sexism was particularly rife. In 1999, 30 years after the original festival and five years after a revived festival, Woodstock festival took place in New York, with more than 400,000 people buying tickets.

Woodstock '99 was supposed to be a reincarnation of the legendary 60s festival. Instead, it descended into violence and rioting, with women attendees being ...

- Spitfire During Limp Bizkit it was reported that people were tearing wooden boards off the walls. Violence was present in many forms, and during several sets the crowd started rioting. MTV also reported that two women were allegedly gang-raped during Limp Bizkit and Korn’s sets. Very few women performed over the weekend. “Instead, the festival degenerated into an epic trainwreck of fires, riots and destruction.

Acts including Muse, James Brown, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine and Fatboy Slim were left dealing with violent audiences who frequently erupted into ...

West Stage West Stage West Stage

Fatboy Slim has recalled the "terrifying" moment a van drove into the audience during his DJ set at Woodstock 1999.

“I did exactly what I was told and ran,” he said. Fatboy Slim said: “That’s just hideous to think that in the midst of all those people having fun and me wanting to make everybody love each other… Shit’s kicking off and it’s kind of not safe.” The vehicle had been stolen by a gang and was travelling through the rave hangar crowd towards the stage. He then recalled how some people began “throwing things” at him. “I’d been closeted in my dressing room all afternoon with people just going, ‘Oh it’s a bit chaotic out there’,” Cook remembered.

On the final night of the festival, state troopers and local New York police forces were called to help end the mass rioting.

Speaking on the documentary, he said: "That was literally the moment when everything started to look a bit less fun. In an interview as part of the documentary Trainwreck: Woodstock 99, Cook described the moment he was forced to flee for his life when things got out of control. Cook then spent the night at an airport until his flight the next day. "Then I got the tap on the shoulder, and it's like: 'We gotta stop the music. Brighton DJ Norman Cook was forced to run for his life after playing the terrifying Woodstock 99 concert. The festival was infamous for being a total abject failure.

Netflix's new Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 documentary has been hailed as Fyre Festival 2.0 but more sinister - on account of the deaths, casualties and other ...

Pitchfork (opens in new tab) reports that there were 1,200 admission to the onsite medical facilities during Woodstock 99. He also claimed that the medical tents were not well equipped to treat heat stroke patients. According to Syracuse, her lawyer, Joseph Cote said that organisers did not provide enough water and had inadequate medical supplies for the 400,000 fans who attended. Esquire (opens in new tab) reports that access to water was another concern, with 25 minute queues forming around water fountains. Yet sadly this didn't turn out to be the case for Woodstock's third and final outing - Woodstock 99 - taking place during a now infamous July weekend at a former air force base in Rome, New York. Sign up to the GoodTo Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Over 400000 people attended the highly anticipated festival in Rome, New York, with Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica, and Korn, taking to the main stage.

Three people also died at the original Woodstock festival in 1969. That year, 5,000 people were treated at medical tents and 800 were taken to hospital, according to the South Florida Sun. Over 400,000 people were in attendance. The event was home to serious violence and riots, sexual assault against women, fires, looting, and more. He died on Monday, July 26 after being in a coma for two days. First, there was Woodstock 1969, a festival celebrating peace, love, and music at the height of the Vietnam War. It was followed by Woodstock '94, which was a complete and utter mudbath, with more than double the attendees turning up.