[Editor's note: Over the holiday season, SonicNet is looking back at 1999's top stories, chosen by our editors and writers. This story originally ran on Saturday, July 24.]

ROME, N.Y. — Woodstock '99 planners have said they hope to summon the spirit of the late Jimi Hendrix with an all-star tribute to the original Woodstock icon at the end of the day Sunday (July 25).

But the spirit of the blues-rock guitarist who set the original festival ablaze with his performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" showed up early, during rapper Wyclef Jean's incendiary set Saturday (July 24) afternoon.

Jean paid homage to the Hendrix version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and then lit his guitar on fire. He proceeded to smash it against the stage like an ax then tossed it violently away.

"I am at Woodstock. I want my guitar louder," Jean implored his sound man at one point.

Jean, a member of hip-hop superstars the Fugees who also has enjoyed solo success, parodied old rock 'n' roll songs — during one shuffle in the style of '50s rocker Chuck Berry he sang about the many bare-breasted women in the crowd. He also altered his hit "Gone Till November"

(RealAudio excerpt) adding lyrics that served as an ode to marijuana.

In another nod to the original Woodstock, he brought up a guest singer, who introduced herself as Diana, to cover Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."

During that song, Jean implored the crowd to "make some noise for Kid Rock. Make some noise for DMX."

Kid Rock, who played on the east stage immediately before Jean, covered a song by another original Woodstock act — Creedence Clearwater Revival's anti-draft song, "Fortunate Son."

For the most part, though, a line from Kid Rock's song "Cowboy" (RealAudio excerpt) told his story: "I'm not straight outta Compton/ I'm straight out the trailer."

The rapper, a 10-year veteran who finally achieved chart success this year with his album Devil Without a Cause, walked onto the stage in a white fur coat, white derby and sunglasses. His lowbrow cultural references — "Monica Lewinsky is a motherf---ing ho and Bill Clinton is a goddamn pimp" — kept the crowd laughing throughout his hour-long set.

Kid Rock's set began loudly, both sonically, from the noise of his band's guitars, and visually, from his red pants and muscle shirt. After the band kicked into Kid Rock's latest single, "Bawitdaba," the rapper (born Bob Ritchie) was joined by diminutive co-rapper Joe C. They played songs from Devil Without a Cause

(RealAudio excerpt of title song), occasionally dropping in riffs that quoted classic songs by such hard rockers as Aerosmith, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Deep Purple.

Joe C was the set's comic relief. He dressed up as Hendrix for a stretch, talked about his marijuana habit and wore a shirt that read, "I am not a f---in' midget."

As Kid Rock left, he urged fans to throw as much debris toward the stage as they could. Within seconds, it was raining empty water bottles.

"I'm not really a fan of his music, but obviously, Kid Rock's just an awesome performer," Dena Wilson, 23, of New York said. "In the middle of the day, in this kind of heat, to give that kind of performance is incredible."

Together, Kid Rock and Jean helped drop a large dose of hip-hop culture into the festival's lineup.

"It definitely brings more culture to the people," Josh Baver, 16, of Staten Island, N.Y., said. "I mean, the original festival just had rock."

Earlier on the east stage, Canadian rockers the Tragically Hip played a set of emotive, power-chord-driven rock, including such songs as "Courage" and "New Orleans." Canadian flags waved near the front of the stage as they performed.