Woodstock ’99 is to Woodstock as The Phantom Menace is to the original Star Wars — a disaster that only taints the memory of the original. Despite massive hype and crowds, the oppressive heat, shoddy organization and a lack of facilities doomed the show from the beginning. By Day 2, the crowd was in mass rebellion, lighting massive bonfires and cutting water lines, leading the Red Hot Chili Peppers to remark during their set that the scene looked like something out of Apocalypse Now. While no one was killed, several women were raped during the festival and property damage reached upwards of $1 million, quashing hopes of reprising Woodstock again anytime soon.
Top 10 Music-Festival Moments
Can't make it to Texas to see one of the 1,700 bands performing at the 2010 SXSW festival? You can console yourself with this list of the 10 most famous — and infamous — moments in music-festival history.
Woodstock — 1999
Full List
Memorable Festivals
- Flaming Lips at SXSW — 2006
- Bob Dylan at the Newport
Folk Festival — 1965 - Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival — 1967
- The Who at Woodstock — 1969
- The Rolling Stones at Altamont — 1969
- U2 at Live Aid — 1985
- Woodstock — 1999
- Rage Against the Machine at Lollapalooza — 1993
- Jay-Z at Glastonbury — 2008
- M.I.A. at Bonnaroo — 2008