Chaos d'anthologie: Woodstock 99

So Michael Lang, the organizer of the original Woodstock, sells his soul, if he ever had one, to help put on what he hopes will be a money-making Woodstock II in Rome, NY. The lesson being that we are idealists when young, but realists when we grow up. Unfortunately he and his partners were out of touch with the young people who showed up in 1999, who felt robbed by expensive food and disrespected by "the man." Lang went from hippie to "the man." In the end, this documentary does not tell us if W2 made money, but to many of the attendees it was the event of a lifetime, despite the chaos. Based on this three episode docu, I'm glad I wasn't there.

Let's just say it right now and get it over with - Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 is easily one of the best documentaries Netflix nas come up with in recent years; it's partly because most of those has been utter crap, but in a way, Trainwreck can really hold up its own. And if you're a fan of seeing things go south (and you are, aren't you, why else would you be here?), then you'll enjoy every bit of this one.

But of course, Oscar for best documentary short contender this one is not. And it isn't for the lack of trying - it's properly produced, nicely put together, with a clear vision almost till the end. Because -much like the event it's trying to portray- it's towards the end where things really start to fall apart. Are there repercussions? Ramifications? What do we really feel about the festival, 20+ years later? Have we learned anything or, was this documentary -again, much like the event- just an excuse to see s#it burn? Is saying, no plans for another Woodstock, really it?

A good documentary is a pure and simple art form - it's a music piece, an opera. It must come together effortlessly and it must make sense from the start till the end - here, you're left with an unfinished symphony. Unless this has always been the idea. Much unlike the even it's trying to portray.

They didn't touch on the lack of resources enough- clean toilets and showers! By day two we left and found a place to shower at a local park; just couldn't take it anymore! And even though we paid for the entire event, we could never find a way back in. They had it all sealed off. After driving in circles for hours, we gave up and angrily left.

Maybe that was a blessing in disguise after seeing the horrors of day 3.

And they were correct on the ridiculous prices. Most of us were under 30 and didn't have a fortune to spend on simple bites to eat and waters.

These promoters really should be ashamed of themselves, but they obviously won't take the blame.

Ahh, the late '90s. Such a wild time. The rise of nu metal and the rising popularity of alt rock. That was the first time I got introduced to the likes of RHCP, KoRn, Limp Bizkit, and all those names. At a time when popular music was perceived to be soft (and focused primarily on positive feelings alone), these guys who screamed at the top of their lungs delving into deep, inner levels of anguish and distress became more relatable to the average youngster. Back then, there were no smartphones or social media where you incessantly receive validation from. Life was simpler, but it was also still heavily focused around the male gaze (in everything pop culture - and music was no different).

Now, we can't blame the team of Woodstock in their attempt to revive a classic music festival which symbolized peace, love, and harmony in trying times. But the makers of this three-part documentary run us through the finer details - we get to know early on that Woodstock '99 was never meant to work in the first place because it was an attempt at cash-grab with no real sense of organization, safety, security, personal hygiene, or sanitation. You can put big names on a poster and expect people to attend in droves, though no one would remember a show if the music alone was decent.

What makes a days-long concert memorable is firstly of course, the music and its presentation (stage setup, sound systems, pyro etc.). Then comes the F&B, decent sanitary facilities and so on. But more importantly, you coming out alive and healthy at the end of it all is what matters the most (Astroworld and many recent incidents come to mind). Woodstock '99 probably only worked in one aspect alone - getting thousands of people to a single spot all in the name of music (and drugs, and hopes of getting laid, etcetera). Everything else seems like a natural clusterfuck - the choice of location, the ultra expensive food & beverages, the main acts themselves which were focused around riling people up (than calming them down), the lack of a proper security system, and riotous crowds acting like they were ready to raise hell any moment.

It's insane to still see part of the Woodstock team (the OGs i.e.) continuing to blame a few bad apples and not admit how criminally chaotic things got. I'm glad the documentary brings these things to light with crazy footage, insights from people who ran the event and who attended it, and also including the perspective of some of the musicians (good to see you, JD!). If you watched the more recent Fyre Festival documentary and found that amusing, then this one will certainly grab your interest and maybe, even make you look up more content on this infamous event.

Slightly longer than last year's "Woodstock: Peace Love and Rage" documentary, and the 3-episode chronological format (covering each day) works better and seems more focused. As another reviewer pointed out, this could've been several episodes longer, or at least longer than 45 mins an episode; for anyone who listened to music critic Steven Hyden's 10-episode podcast in 2019 ("Break Stuff: The Story of Woodstock 99") both of these documentaries seem lightweight by comparison. But in the end, I guess there's only so much available footage to use and people to interview.

And to the reviewers who said they never mention Woodstock 94 or blame the organizers instead of the bands, what documentary were you watching? 94 is mentioned in the first episode, and the organizers are painted throughout as being ignorant to the many problems happening, and then spinning the truth for damage control and refusing to accept any blame in the aftermath.