Counterpoint Recap
Atlanta was graced with a gift from the festival fairies last weekend. Counterpoint Music Festival took place on Sept. 27-29 in Fairburn, Ga., just south of the airport. The debut festival brought in big names in electronic music, such as Bassnectar and Pretty Lights, but also featured a few hip-hop artists, like Wale and Atlanta’s own Big Boi.
The 350-acre area allotted for Counterpoint stretched along the Chattahoochee River, giving the festival a different ambience than most festivals. There were two camping lots, on either side of the venue. Two tents and two stages hosted the central performances, along with art installments, vendors, carnival rides and a Silent Disco. As a whole, the festival offered music lovers a chance to escape their busy lives to dwell on a campground overlooking the Chattahoochee for a weekend while enjoying the company of friends, music and art.
Thursday
Arriving Thursday, my crew and I were ready to go to a show as soon as we parked in the lot. Right around 9 p.m. , we walked to the venue to catch Beats Antique. I had only seen them once before, but I knew how artistic their show was and just could not miss it. The experimental electronic group goes against the norm by including world music elements and belly dancing. Next up at the Beat Tent was Big Gigantic. The duo put on a crowd-pleasing show of their electro-funk music, combining beats with saxophone.
Although I enjoyed part of their set, I was compelled to end the night with Up Until Now with David Murphy of STS9. Being a big fan of Sound Tribe, I was prepared for an interesting set. I was not disappointed. The combination of two driving forces kept the crowd – which included me – cheering and begging for more. Both DJs and the drummer fused multiple genres to create one exclusive electronic show to set the stage for the weekend ahead.
Friday
Sleeping in later than I had planned, Friday started off in an interesting manner. I was just about to head to the venue when a heavy downpour hit the grounds. While I was helping my friends keep our tent up, shows were being cancelled. After the storm, it was time to get a move on. The first show I caught was Crystal Castles. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath brought the festival back to life by performing an intense set, filling the Beat Tent with a fierce, unstoppable dance sound. Glass’ light purple hair bounced around on her head as she hopped all over the stage with her microphone, singing and rocking out to Kath’s accompanying tunes.
I had been wanting to see this duo for a while, so I had to unfortunately skip out on Archnemesis, another great electronic pair, who played during the same set time. After going wild with Crystal Castles, it was time to wander around the venue. My friends and I hit up some vendors, met up with our fellow festival friends and chilled in the pond before striking some festival luck – we got to meet Lorin Ashton, the man behind the music of Bassnectar. Ashton held a secret meet-and-greet at the Counterpoint Live Tent two hours before his set. We got to talk, take pictures and have him autograph multiple belongings of ours while hanging out on fake grass couches. Not only was this extremely exciting, but it also just made us even more eager to see his show. After meeting Ashton, I lost my crew during the middle of Excision’s set. This can easily happen in the middle of a festival, especially since my phone had been dead. But luckily, I ran into part of my group and we all reunited while getting down to Bassnectar’s amazing set at the Point Stage. Ashton whipped his hair back and forth as he dropped some bass in our faces.
Playing favorites like “Ugly” and his remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights,” I suddenly did not care that I was covered in immense amounts of mud from the knees down. All that mattered in that moment was the fusion of music and friends. To end the night, I headed to the Backbeat Tent to discover the startling concoction of hip-hop and techno made by A-Trak. Then, we danced until the sun came up at since Up Until Now’s DJ set at the Silent Disco. (something is missing here)
Saturday
Realizing that there was only one day left, I made the most of it by waking up early and catching many of the shows. Friday’s vibe was more intensified electronic, whereas Saturday’s lineup offered more of a chill side of the genre. Starting off the day with Zoogma was a fitting choice. The electronic rock band kept up the energy while remaining true to its funky roots. A guy was generously distributing multiple copies of Zoogma’s most recent mixtape to audience members.
At the end of their show, I was able to catch up with some friends I had not seen yet and we just sat up on a hill as Reptar took over Counterpoint Stage. From there, I decided I had to change my clothes for the day since the sun was blazing hot and I had to eat. The festival food is hit or miss, according to many people, but I enjoyed the delicious veggie panini I grabbed before hitting up Emancipator at the Backbeat Tent. As I walked into the tent, I automatically recognized the song playing and ran up to the front to watch the violinist, Ilya Goldberg, play as Douglas Appling mixes “Anthem.” (this doesn’t sound right to me) I had been pleased with the fact that the shows I saw did not conflict with other shows I did not want to miss, well, at least up until this time.
My friend Lindsay and I had to abandon Backbeat Tent prematurely to catch the end of Big Boi’s set. Since I had seen Big Boi multiple times before, I knew I would not want to miss out on the end of his show. He did not disappoint; Big Boi pumped up native ATLiens and out-of-towners equally by bringing back Outkast’s classic “Kryptonite.” After enjoying some hip-hop, I wandered from show to show, enjoying snippets of music from Conspirator, Zeds Dead, Michal Menert and Gramatik. In between the last two sets mentioned, my group and I luckily spotted Derek Vincent Smith, also known as Pretty Lights. The reason Smith was so accessible to us was because Michal Menert and Gramatik are part of Pretty Lights Music. Both had showcase sets at the Backbeat Tent, and their mentor was just a few feet from us as we were leaving the tent. We talked to him and took a few pictures, then expressed how excited we were for his set in a couple hours.
Until then, we settled for the LOTUS. This electronic jam band’s incredible set was mellow, yet lively. I had never seen them perform, but the fact that they morph rock and dance music together only contributes to the distinctive feeling among the crowd. Before I knew it, the time had come to see Pretty Lights end the stage performances for the festival. Pretty Lights debuted new music, as well as playing older tunes such as “Hot Like Sauce” and his sampling of Radiohead, Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails. Toward the end, Smith assumed we had all already heard his next song this weekend, referring to Avicii, as he began playing “Finally Moving.” This was truly unexpected since Smith had not played the song any other time I had seen him perform. And everyone went wild. If there was one thing Smith accomplished besides a hip-hop electronic soul performance and a truly pretty light show; it was getting the crowd riled up and ultimately, the whole festival’s attention with a fireworks display at the end of his show.
The final show of the festival for me was Ghostland Observatory. These two guys really brought it in for the end – their laser show in itself was just mesmerizing. After their set, my two friends and I had the pleasure of meeting both members of the “agreement between two friends” – they refuse to call themselves a band – and take a few pictures as well. Thus ended my Counterpoint experience and it would soon be time to return to the real world.
Conclusion
I would have to say my favorites shows were Up Until Now with David Murphy of STS9, LOTUS, Ghostland Observatory, Bassnectar and Pretty Lights. Other highlights unquestionably included meeting Lorin, Derek and Ghostland. I do not doubt that there will be a second Counterpoint next year. The festival was successful in many ways even though it was not a large-scale festival like Bonnaroo or Coachella. Counterpoint delivered exactly what I wanted from an electronic music festival – and much more.
