Woodstock '99 on PPV:
The pay per view show was hurt by flawed presentation- rapid cuts by the multiple cameras and split screens put on a damper on the music presentation. Oftentimes second stage acts were abruptly cut away from to present a main stage act, oftentimes in the middle of a song. What is more, during the breaks in the music, not enough of the Woodstock culture was presented. Just lots of breasts.

Pervert vision:
The constant display of nudity was acceptable, even laudable if considered as a part of the free spirit exuded during the Woodstock celebration. However, not acceptable, understandable or enjoyable were the deliberate hunt for nudity by the cameraman, who often encouraged the masses to strip with statements such as, "C'mon, you're live on pay per view". The lack of respect for women was abundant, as only a handful of musicians took the time out to comment on the hundreds of men wildly and disrespectfully groping women. Dexter of the offspring and Flea of the red-hot chili peppers (who it should be noted, performed completely naked) both asked the fans to show the women some respect. Dexter asked of the women: "If you see a guy pass by, kick them in the balls."

The medium is the message, but what was the message?
Music speaks for itself, but the lack of a message or attempt to deliver one by the artists was very disheartening. While some festival-goers attended the original festival, and others in attendance possessed the spirit of change that the Woodstock legacy is all about, most people were left to themselves to decide what the festival was supposed to signify. Lacking a definite direction, it was no surprise that riots on Sunday morning would signify the end the 3-day festival, and the irony of a peace festival turned upside down by the mindless actions of the few given to violence.

At least the Music was good:
The music spoke volumes for the enduring culture and art of our generation. The diversity of the acts, from Brian Setzer Orchestra to DMX to Jewel to Metallica to Mickey Hart and Planet Drum, the music was the center of enjoyment. Simply put, as the musical energy of Woodstock increased, so too did the celebration.
Many performers took audience participation to the limit, as when Wyclef Jean asked the crowd to throw all their garbage onto the main stage. Art Alexakis of Everclear allowed 50 Woodstock attendees to come on stage as "The Everclear Dancers" and Fred Dirst of Limp Bizkit rode a makeshift piece of wood as a surfboard to sing his band's rendition of "Faith" in the midst of the crowd.

Many bands gave respect to the late Jimi Hendrix, who made the original Woodstock famous with his amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner". The video of this performance was put on a giant screen on the main stage as an end cap to the entire festival. Wycleaf Jean and Lit burned guitars on fire in honor of Jimi, and Dave Matthews provided the most intense musically oriented tribute with a cover of "All Along the Watchtower".

Other highlights included a word by word recitation of Live's "Lightening Crashes" by the nearly 250,000 attendees. Live's performance on the first day was an example that other bands had to go by to be remembered for a great set. Metallica performed the greatest (and longest) Woodstock set: a 2 hour, 6 encore performance which included such notables as "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters", "Turn the Page", "Fuel" and "Seek and Destroy". The entire performance was something truly memorable and to be appreciated.

The one negative about the music was the lack of pay per view coverage of the rave and emerging artists stage, both live and on overnight telecast. If you weren't there, you couldn't participate.

In the end, the significance of Woodstock 1999 was more than anything else- including the music- the experience of a unified humanity on grand display- with both its good qualities and its bad ones. For $59.95, there wasn't much more you could ask for.