Woodstock ’99 Fest Almost Too Hot to Handle

At the original Woodstock, there were warnings about bad acid. At Woodstock ‘99, the admonishments are about water: Drink lots of it.

Organizers tried to push water on more than 225,000 people sweltering in 90 degree-plus temperatures Saturday during the second day of the three-day megaconcert.

“There’s lots of free water here. There’s water all over the site. We just have to get people to use it,” promoter John Scher said. “Without being preachy or lecturing them, we are telling concertgoers to drink lots of water, wear hats and use sunscreen.”

Since the concert began Friday, Scher said, emergency medical crews had treated nearly 1,000 people for heat exhaustion and dehydration, and that continued to be the top concern.

Not crime. Not traffic. Not the growing piles of garbage and overflowing portable toilets.

Other than the heat, the 30th anniversary festival at an abandoned military base in upstate New York was running fairly smoothly.

There was one death: A 44-year-old Massachussetts man suffered a heart attack overnight at his campsite. The man had been in the hospital two weeks ago for heart surgery, and state police believed his death was unrelated to the heat.

A concertgoer also gave birth, but the delivery came at a hospital, not the festival site, officials said.

The possibility of scattered showers in the forecast might afford concertgoers some relief.

“It’s almost unbearable,” said Angela, an 18-year-old from New Hampshire. She was sporting a serious sunburn around her neck and shoulders.

There were water fountains and “rain rooms”--tents with sprinklers--set up throughout the site. At each stage, concert workers sprayed those in the front with hoses and passed jugs of water back into the crowd.

Even as the second day began, people continued streaming into the concert grounds. About 25,000 people arrived overnight Friday, and Scher said organizers would continue to sell discounted tickets--now priced at $120 apiece--as long as people wanted to buy them.

Six more people were arrested Friday night, bringing the total to nine since Thursday. Four of those arrested were driving drunk, one was charged with drug possession and another with shoplifting.

Among the musicians performing Saturday were Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette and Metallica.