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Hell, some people might say. But to be specific, it’s Hellfest.
Yes, Hellfest 2005, the all-hardcore three-day festival which will roar into Sovereign Bank Arena Aug. 19-21. It’s a big deal to music fans, and could be a big deal to local businesses, too. It’s a minor coup for Trenton to score a big music event like Hellfest. But some people of a certain age might bristle at the name.
Scared? Of a festival with "Hell" in the name?" That’s okay. Like many negative stereotypes, summer concerts have earned their bad reputations.
A nasty precedent has been set with Woodstock ’99, which set the benchmark for price-gouging ($8 for water? Where’s the class action lawsuit?) and later on in the weekend, rioting and terrifying vandalism, no doubt prompted by said gouging.
The only upside to Woodstock ’99 was that it may have helped hammer the coffin shut on Limp Bizkit’s career. When your audience is crowd-surfing on burning pieces of plywood they’ve looted, it’s time to get off the stage.
Woodstock ’99 not only soiled the memory of the first Woodstock, but ruined massive outdoor concerts for many. And that was before we entered The Age of Terror.
Promoters have to be as responsible as those that go, or else, there will be hell to pay.
And then, there was the mother of all bad scenes at summer concerts.
Altamont, 1969. An estimated 300,000 people showed up to attend the so-called "Woodstock of the West." What happened that day was the opposite of peace and love, though.
The big mistake at Altamont can probably be traced to the Rolling Stones, who hired local Hell’s Angels as security.
When the Rolling Stones played that night on December 6, Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Alan Passaro, a Hell’s Angel. It’s worth mentioning that Hunter was African-American. His concert-going companion was not. This may have attracted attention from the Hell’s Angels, which led to a brawl, which led to Mick Jagger famously saying, "People, people, why are we fighting? Who wants to fight?"
Passaro was acquitted by a jury after they saw footage from the 1970 documentary "Gimme Shelter," which showed Passaro fatally stabbing Hunter -- after Hunter was shown brandishing a gun. The jury ruled Passaro acted in self-defense.
Hunter’s family fought the ruling for years, arguing there was a second stabber. The investigation was renewed two years ago, but last week, Alameda County sheriff Sgt. Scott Dudek said the case is closed, finding Passaro the only party wielding a knife at Altamont.
Hellfest 2005 could easily go without incident. Last year it just raised a lot of eyebrows.
It depends on who wants to fight. People?
Alex Richmond is a columnist and staff writer for the Trentonian. Her columns appear on Mondays and Wednesdays. She may be reached at arichmond@trentonian.com.
