MUSIC: Woodstock Suburb

Twenty-five years later, there were clean-cut fans, Pepsi as the official soft drink, and cash machines

Well, it turns out everything didn't go exactly according to plan. Despite the chain-link fence surrounding the 840-acre site, despite the 550 state troopers, the metal detectors, the confiscation of drugs and alcohol and the roaming private security force with the Orwellian name "Peace Patrol," a bit of the anarchy of the original Woodstock crept into its successor 25 years later. Several hundred people crashed the gates. The transportation system broke down early on, stranding huge numbers of fans and making the roads impassable. The audience pitched tents all over the grounds, despite pleas from the stage to do so only...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!