The Truth About Woodstock ’94 Thirty Years On

Even though I didn't attend, I have vivid memories of Woodstock '94.

I spent the weekend at my friend Tommy's house, and his mom paid for the pay-per-view of the festival. We spent the entire time in his living room, barely sleeping watching performance after performance, moshing with his beautiful Husky mix, Rusty.

Woodstock '94 was the original bridge between our parents, or Boomers as they're referred to today and Gen X. We were wild and free, and like our parents before us, held music in high regard. This was to be our show.

Woodstock '94 was held in Saugerties, New York and was scheduled for August 13-14 with Friday the 12th added later. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the original festival, it was held in Saugerties, New York and billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". 164,000 tickets were sold with an estimated 350,000 showing up.

Acts such as Blues Traveler, Joe Cocker, Metallica, Aerosmith and Cypress Hill were among many that graced the stage. There are a few performances that will be etched in my mind for life, and have continued to influence me.

***videos may contain coarse language

Rollins Band

This is one I'll never forget. It spoke to my 1990s teenage soul. As soon as Hank took the mic and said "this song's about not fitting in" I sat right up and paid attention. This era of the Rollins Band will always be desert island listening.

Primus

I'll always remember Primus at Woodstock due to the crowd. I wish I was in the middle of it. Everyone was dancing and pogoing and having a great time. Primus is a phenomenal live act, and has always been as evidenced by this video.

Green Day

If you know, you know about the epic mud fight during Green Day's Woodstock set. They were a young band, brimming with energy. The most punk rock thing to do after it rained was start an epic mud fight only to be trounced by security thinking they were concert goers.

Nine Inch Nails

This is it, the pinnacle, the top of the heap for me. NIN's Woodstock performance was a post apocalyptic daydream. The band and the crowd were caked in mud and darkness and the angst of the time. When someone looks up Gen X, this is what should come up.