The Setlist From Limp Bizkit Notorious Woodstock ’99 Performance

What exactly did Limp Bizkit play in their setlist that got Woodstock '99 so riled up?

When it comes to negatively perceived music festivals, the events of Woodstock '99 are often on the tips of the tongue for many responders. And, as shown in the 2021 documentary, Woodstock '99: Peace, Love and Rage, a lot of the blame was pointed toward Limp Bizkit, who's aggressive performance on Saturday, July 24, 1999 seemed to be the tipping point for festival's descent into chaos.

What Did Limp Bizkit Play At Woodstock '99?

At first glance, nothing seems too out of the ordinary for Limp Bizkit fans. This came at a period where the band was arguably the hottest band in the land. The group's Significant Other album had been out for about a month, while the single "Nookie" had captured the imagination of fans, with the song rising into the Top 10 at Alternative and Mainstream Rock Radio as well as receiving significant MTV airplay.

For the group, Woodstock '99 was a great platform for their new album, with the band digging into the record to open the show with their album opener "Just Like This," working in pre-single release performances of "Re-Arranged" and "Break Stuff" and receiving positive reactions to some of the album's deeper cuts "9 Teen 90 Nine" and "Show Me What You Got."

Add in already established favorites such as "Counterfeit," "Stuck" and their cover of George Michael's "Faith" and nothing seemed too out of the realm for a Limp Bizkit performance at the time. The full setlist, as shared on Setlist.fm, can be viewed below:

Limp Bizkit Woodstock '99 Setlist - July 24, 1999 - Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York (per Setlist.fm)

1. "Just Like This"
2. "Show Me What You Got"
3. "Counterfeit"
4. "9 Teen 90 Nine"
5. "Thieves" (Ministry cover)
6. "Stuck"
7. "Re-Arranged"
8. "Break Stuff"
9. "Nookie"
10. "Faith" (George Michael Cover)

About Limp Bizkit's Woodstock '99 Performance

The Woodstock '99 bill was representative of where music was at the time, with nu-metal's emerging acts stocking a good portion of the weekend and bringing a more aggressive sound to the "peace and love" festival that what previous editions had.

The festival was criticized for everything from its location (an abandoned Air Force base in Rome, New York with little shaded areas) to the weather (heat in the '90s with extreme humidity as well) to the high prices and limited availability of concessions. So fans had already endured a heated opening pre-party on Thursday, a full-fledged Friday bill and an excessively warm Saturday before Limp Bizkit played in the golden hour as the sun started to set.

The band took the stage, with bassist Sam Rivers flipping off the crowd, and even though the audience had started to wane a bit from the heat, Limp Bizkit continually urged the masses to equal the energy the band were putting out onstage. By the time they got to "Show Me What You Got," a visible swell of pogoing audience members seemed to be vibing hard off their energy.

Things started to take a more violent turn though as the band rocked "9 Teen 90 Nine," as fans had notably taken some blue tarp from a neighboring structure to catapult fans upward and other audience members had started dismantling plywood from some of the media and camera towers to use in crowd surfing.

When Fred Durst was asked to address the crowd by Woodstock '99 officials, he stated, They wanna ask us to ask you to mellow out a little bit. They say too many people are getting hurt. Don't let anybody get hurt, but I don't think you should mellow out. Mellowing out? That's what Alanis Morissette had you motherfuckers do. If someone falls, pick 'em up."

For the remainder of the performance, more and more people started to climb on the broken plywood pieces being crowd surfed around the audience. Things took a more visible violent turn during "Break Stuff, with Durst directing the audience ahead of the breakdown, "When this song kicks in, I want you to fucking kick in." During this period, a combination of aggressive moshing, fighting and collapsing structures caused by the removed plywood led to notable injuries in the crowd.

Durst's mic was muted after the song, causing the band to delay their next song as medical staff attended to some audience members. They then performed "Nookie" and finished up with "Faith," with Durst making his way into the audience to crowd surf on one of the pieces of plywood just as other audience members had been doing over the past few songs.

READ MORE: Was Limp Bizkit Really to Blame for Woodstock '99?

In the aftermath of the performance, organizers had placed some blame on Limp Bizkit for escalating the chaos during their set. But much of the rioting, looting and assaults that occurred would happen on the closing day of the festival, well after the band had performed.