Wall Street Protesters, More Like Woodstock 1999 Crowd

Woodstock 1999. It would be inaccurate to say that the entire audience was like the current Wall Street protest crowd. Just as it isn't accurate to say the concert promoters are equivalent to the Wall Street brokers being protested, (I think that is the gist of the protest, no one seems to know for sure). But, it is accurate to say that a small number of those present at each event tarnish the message for the rest.

Woodstock '99: The day the music died
Egotistical, angry bands fueled crowd's passions

Reminds me of the labor unions working behind the scenes with the WallNuts, and of those paying people to show up and protest; the leaders of the WallNut mob are ginning up a reaction.

If right-wingers want to throw a punch at musicians for inspiring bad behavior among America's youth, they can lay off poor Marilyn Manson, whose worst influence is his fashion directive. But they'd be dead-on if they pointed to the likes of Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, especially, Limp Bizkit.

Insane Clown Posse started the ball rolling by throwing $100 bills into the audience and watching gleefully while a melee ensued. Kid Rock demanded that the kids pelt the stage with plastic water bottles. Soon, it looked like a plague of locusts, with Rock himself having to seek shelter from the hail of plastic projectiles.

(Videotape of Rock afterward showed his lack of concern. Grinning, he told MTV News that he felt "a little bad" about his incitements, but was psyched at how riled up everyone was.)

Red Hot Chili Peppers could argue that the situation already was out of control when they played the final set of the three-day weekend Sunday near Rome in upstate New York. In fact, vandals already had set fires throughout the air base that was the site for Woodstock '99. But what did these idiots do? Played a cover of Jimi Hendrix's classic, "Fire," which further enflamed the crowd.

The worst perpetrator was Limp Bizkit, the huge metal-rap band. I witnessed the megalomania of singer Fred Durst in June, when he nearly caused a riot at Shoreline Amphitheater during the LIVE-105 show by encouraging the audience to rush the guards and get close to the stage. Stagehands, recognizing they were outnumbered by whacked-on-music kids, wisely stepped to the side and let nature take its course.

And it almost did, in a nasty sense. Kids in the front began to get crushed, and some on the Shoreline stairs were tumbling, not able to see where they were stepping. Durst, realizing what he'd done, entreated everyone to be nice, but he was lucky nothing terrible happened. This time, his irresponsibility was more costly.

At Woodstock '99, as fans started moshing crazily to the ear-shattering screaming that passes for singing on his part, Durst told the crowd he'd been asked by promoters to calm the volatile situation. "But I don't think you should mellow out," he was videotaped saying. "This is 1999, mother- - ers - stick those Birkenstocks up your a- !"

He took it a step further when the band played its song,

"Break Stuff." "Ever have one of those days when everything's f- -ed up and you just want to break stuff?" he taunted the crowd. Shortly after, the crowd began destroying a tower and pelting the MTV crew atop it with garbage, and tearing planks from the stage. Durst, too, was videotaped coming off the stage with a huge grin on his face, elated at the response.

I hope they send him the bill.

Woodstock 1999 shares one ignominious comparison to the oirginal concert, they left the place a mess.



So did Occupy Wall Street, both crowds are absolutely careless that way.



Losers.

Update: Now Occupy rapists too, it is more and more like W1999