In 1969, half a million hippies and music lovers flocked to Max Yasgur's farm outside of Bethel, N.Y., for three days of the definitive '60s experience. Twenty-five years later, two separate promoters are finding that the original festival's success depended as much on the spontaneity of its audience, most of whom heard about the event only days earlier, as it did on big-name acts. Last week, one of the concerts, which would have reunited Woodstock vets like Richie Havens and Melanie, was canceled after just 3 percent of the 50,000 $95 tickets sold. The remaining tribute is set for this weekend in Saugerties, N.Y., 45 miles from Yasgur's farm, with a lineup that's less Woodstock generation, by now middle-aged, than Lollapalooza. Woodstock '94 will showcase Generation X favorites like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Spin Doctors. Even that tack is proving disappointing: Only half of the 250,000 $140 tickets have sold, proving that staging a concert near Max Yasgur's farm does not guarantee a second Woodstock.
