Volunteer artist Mikey Laurence of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., works on the ``Peace Wall'' being erected at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., site of Woodstock '99. Dozens of artists are creating work for the three-mile-long, 20-foot-tall security wall. MICHAEL OKONIEWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The new and improved Woodstock

Taking lessons from past festivals, organizers of the century's last Woodstock prepare to take fans on a musical journeyThe new and improved Woodstock

Web posted July 20, 1999

By David Bauder
Associated Press

ROME, N.Y. -- It's a long, long way from Max Yasgur's farm.

Forget the ``garden'' where the original Woodstock festival was held 30 years ago. Woodstock '99 will blast off next week from an abandoned Air Force base, its entrance still guarded by a full-scale B-52 bomber.

Three hours away by car and light years removed in ambience from the storied festival that defined a rebellious generation, the ghostly hangars and towers of Griffiss Park await a crowd that will put its own stamp on Woodstock.

``It's not going to be an ugly site at all. It's going to be beautiful,'' said promoter Michael Lang, sitting on a terrace overlooking a two-mile-long asphalt runway, and envisioning a frenzy of construction.

Mr. Lang, the perpetual dreamer, helped put together the original Woodstock in 1969. He lost money then and again with the raucous, mud-filled 25th anniversary show in Saugerties, N.Y., in 1994. He and his partners can't afford a three-peat.

They want to make Woodstock the country's premier rock festival, a fixture every five years, and to do that, Woodstock '99 must work. The concert, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, features Elvis Costello, the Dave Matthews Band, Jewel, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Metallica, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow and dozens of others.

Mr. Lang had hoped to return to Saugerties but searched for a new site when authorities in the lower Hudson Valley didn't welcome the festival back.

The concert grounds are massive, three times the size of the late Mr. Yasgur's farm. Two stages are being built nearly a mile apart. The huge, empty hangars that once stored the Air Force's best weaponry will be used for all-night raves and an experimental film festival.

Promoters are planning for a crowd of 250,000. Two weeks in advance, they claimed sales of just over 150,000 tickets at $150 apiece.

Their fear is that thousands of fans will turn up in Rome hoping to get in for free -- an expectation their track record has done little to dispel.

Most of the original Woodstock's half million fans walked in for free. Organizers said that wouldn't happen in 1994, but it did. An audience that swelled past 300,000 at its peak included thousands who easily scaled fences to gain entry unchecked.

It won't be as easy this time; Griffiss has several fences, and the perimeter will be ringed by a 12-foot plywood and steel wall that stretches three miles.

``This place was built to be defended against a full military attack,'' said Ken Donohue, Woodstock's security director. ``I think it can keep out a few attempts at gate-crashing.''

A worker picks up metal rods as others in the background move sections of scaffolding for the stages at Woodstock '99, which will run from Friday through Sunday. NANCY L. FORD/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Perhaps more important, organizers have a financial incentive to keep it secure. They will sell tickets on the days of the show at parking lots or entrances. In 1994, they weren't allowed to sell tickets once the concert started, so there was little real effort to keep out freeloaders.

Even with the changes, thousands of fans are likely to head to Rome to test the security.

Other differences stem from experience. Beer will be sold, a recognition of 1994's futile effort to keep the festival alcohol-free. Upon entering the concert, fans will be sent to a 245-acre campground and forced to stow their gear; many brought tents to the edge of the stage five years ago.

Most of the parking is on site. Shuttling fans back and forth to distant lots in 1994 proved to be far more expensive than promoters expected.

Acts like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Insane Clown Posse and the Dave Matthews Band make Woodstock '99 a dream concert for the serious 21-year-old rock fan. But who else will care?

``There's really no buzz on this one,'' said Bob Grossweiner, a concert industry analyst. ``It's sort of strange. This is the most together one that they have done, in terms of putting it together and a site that's easy to use and get to. Yet I don't hear the excitement.

``If you're a 35-year-old adult who went to the last one, these might not be the acts you want to see,'' he said. ``There are very few superstars up there.''

Of course, fewer people in their 30s want to camp out for three days to hear music, risking rain and overflowing portable toilets. Promoters want to give each generation its own Woodstock and are focused on appealing to an 18-to-24-year-old group.

It's also harder to draw attention to Woodstock '99 simply because the last concert was five -- not 25 -- years ago.

``It's a little bit less of a media event,'' Mr. Lang said. ``But the idea of the festival is unique. There are no festivals that happen like this in America every year, unlike Europe, where they are more common. This is the American festival. There is no other place to go and get this experience.''