'Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage' - Film Review (HBO)

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Netflix three-part documentary Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99. Since I just got MAX (HBO) to watch the final season of Barry, I went ahead and watched the HBO documentary on the music festival as well.

Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage debuted in 2021. Unlike the Netflix documentary, the HBO version is a standalone movie. It is about two hours long.

My first impression is that the Netflix documentary is better. I will say that the Peace, Love and Rage delves more into the “why” of the festival going off the rails. The Netflix version looks more into the actual destruction and human interactions. The HBO version talks more about the cultural mindset of the 90s, especially among early 20s white males. This, coupled with the choice of bands and location and time of year of Woodstock 99 all equaled a giant mess.

How is it possible that promoter John Scher comes off even worse in Peace, Love and Rage than he does in the Netflix doc? Dude literally brushes off the sexual assault claims, says women should not have been topless and squares the blame on Fred Durst for being “a moron.” Ok, but to blame the entire Woodstock 99 catastrophe on Durst is inane. The riots and fires did not start until Sunday night and Durst and the rest of Limp Bizkit performed Saturday.

This documentary features interviews with different musicians, including Moby. His commentary is pretty insightful, especially when he discusses “venue mood,” – a skill he honed over decades as a performer. Moby says that pulling into the venue he knew the vibe was off. Other artists made similar comments, saying things like “That was weird” or “Get me out of here” after their performances.

Original Woodstock visionary Michael Lang again produced the ill-fated 99 event. He also made some clueless and flippant remarks in the HBO documentary. Just not quite as insane as Scher. That’s not saying much.

A place where the HBO documentary trumps the Netflix version is with the following of one group of friends who just happen to be the party that included David DeRosia, the man who died of hypothermia and heat stroke during Metallica’s set. DeRosia’s entire goal of the fest was to be in the pit for Metallica. He got there, but the intense heat, crush of bodies and lack of water eventually killed him. After being treated by medics on scene and transported to a local hospital, DeRosia died a few days later.

In addition to his friend’s recollections of the festival, the documentary also features passages from the journal DeRosia kept of the event.

The Woodstock 99 debacle has always fascinated me on different levels, including as a music fan and explorer of the human condition. I’m a writer and I like to stand back and observe folks. These documentaries have been eye-opening for me. A good way to use a couple of hours inside the A/C if you are hiding out from the heat this summer.