SOME CALL IT GREED$TOCK

IN SPITE OF EVENT'S COMMERCIALISM, PEOPLE ATTENDING FESTIVAL WERE OUT TO CREATE OWN IDENTITY

DATE: Monday, August 15, 1994

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (2) Black and white / ED SUBA JR. / Beacon Journal
SOURCE: BY ROBERT HILBURN, Los Angeles Times
Copyright (c) 1994, Beacon Journal Publishing Co.

Woodstock '94 or Greed$tock '94? It was hard not to be cynical about this $30 million festival, dismissing it as a shameless attempt to exploit the 25th anniversary of one of the most defining moments in pop culture history. The event was underwritten by record industry conglomerate PolyGram, with every sort of money-making side venture known to man: pay-per-view TV (nearly $50 per household, thank you), an album (in time for Christmas, of course), a documentary film (video to follow) and an endless array of souvenirs, including an official Woodstock '94 condom. Tickets, $135 a pop, could be bought initially in blocks of four (credit cards accepted). Each order was accompanied by rules so restrictive it conjured up the image of going to prison instead of a concert grounds. So much for the liberating spirit of Woodstock. Yet they came over the weekend to this 840-acre Hudson Valley site --

300,000 strong and counting; 200,000 of whom paid -- and they, as did the original Woodstock audience, became the story. But Woodstock '94, the most ambitious rock undertaking since the "Live Aid" benefit concerts a decade ago, was exhibiting sufficient energy and spirit, still by yesterday afternoon, to stand as more than simply a footnote in history. Beneath all the weekend rock-summer-camp trappings, you had the feeling of another generation of young people struggling to find its own identity in a rock culture that has long been in the shadow of Woodstock. It's a struggle as dramatic as any song that was played by the 50-odd bands during the weekend, which was good for the festival because the talent lineup hadn't the cutting-edge urgency of its legendary predecessor. There were occasional attempts Friday and Saturday to identify with the hippie philosophy of the '60s, including peace signs flashed on stage and in the audience. However, most fans, in a crowd dominated by 18- to 24-year-olds, were interested in making their own statement, even if those interviewed seemed uncertain of the precise nature of that statement. "I'm tired of all the talk about us being the Generation X or the slacker generation, and I hope this gives everyone a chance to maybe prove we do have a direction and a goal," said Chris Black, 19, of Alliance, Ohio. Jimmy Miller, 19, who drove from Atlanta, said he was proud to be at Woodstock, doubly so because so many older adults had put down the festival. "My parents ... even some guys at work say we have no right to have another Woodstock because our generation doesn't have anything to protest against ... no Vietnam War, no civil rights movement. "Haven't they heard of AIDS or the homeless or the economy?" he continued, standing near the stage before the opening act Saturday. "The way I look at it is, Woodstock was supposed to represent an idea, but a lot of those ideas have disappeared. Maybe we can get some of them back today." That doesn't mean that there was evidence of a generational consensus. Just as the contemporary music scene is far more splintered than it was in the '60s, part of the audience felt closest to the anger and aggression of such contemporary bands as Nine Inch Nails and Metallica, both of whom were on Saturday's bill. Others leaned more toward the mainstream rock spectacle of Aerosmith, which was also part of the Saturday lineup, while some expressed a preference for the social consciousness of Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, both of whom performed Saturday night. Others, however, were just eager to party. Several artists took irreverent slaps, in interviews or onstage, at the commercialism and stringent rules of the festival. "Has anyone seen the Woodstock spirit? Is it out there?" the lead singer of the British band James said onstage at one point in what was a slap at what he thought was the overcommercialization of the affair. "It's not on the (expletive) Pepsi can." (Pepsi Cola is one of several concert sponsors). Moments later, however, the bassist with King's X, another contemporary band, seemed to embrace the Woodstock spirit, urging the crowd to assert its own identity. "This is not Woodstock '69, this is Woodstock '94," he shouted into microphone. "This is your year." But his exhortation for the crowd to make its own statement was followed, ironically, by a version of a song associated with one of the biggest heroes of the original Woodstock: the late Jimi Hendrix. In the understatement of the day, Joe Cocker, who also performed at the original concert, smiled when asked in the press tent after his performance about the difference between the two Woodstocks. "Well, it's really like two different things," he said. Many of the young fans in the crowd seemed only vaguely aware of the English singer's history. "Wasn't he at the first Woodstock?" asked one as Cocker walked onstage at noon. The result was the crowd remained relatively passive as Cocker went through some of his old hits, including Feelin' Alright and The Letter. But that changed when he got to his signature hit, With A Little Help From My Friends.

Apparently recognizing the song from the Woodstock film and album, the crowd started cheering during a lengthy instrumental introduction. Even though his version was far more subdued than in the old days, hundreds in the huge mass of fans locked arms and sang along. As Cocker finished, Charles Williamson, who came here from Wisconsin to celebrate the day in 1969 when he marked his 22nd birthday at Woodstock, said he felt chills. Then he cast a fatherly glance over the mass of young fans stretching as far as he could see from his spot near the stage. "I always thought it was a miracle that we all got through the first Woodstock, and I just hope that these kids get through it and can come back (25 years from now) and watch another generation trying to find its own place in the world."

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