CounterPoint Music Fest: Glowing lights in the land of headbangas
Freaky costumes, LED hula hoops, mud baths, weed smoke, a Ferris wheel, and too many thousands of die-hard electro heads to count
- Eric Cash
- Saturday at CounterPoint Music Fest
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FRIDAY
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I get to CounterPoint Music Festival Friday afternoon just as a storm has passed. Lightning tore up the sky, and someone tells me later that M83’s equipment was damaged so badly that the band couldn’t play. There’s plenty more havoc where that came from: One editor says that her reporter suffered a severe concussion. A college student from India, who goes by Fridge Organic, tells me that his tent and possessions were ruined.
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I do not pitch a tent. This is for the simple reason that I would definitely die in the wild, probably on the first day, and I have a nice car. After setting up my campsite (which is to say, parking), I walk down the graveled path to the festival grounds.
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Atmosphere is the first set I catch, and he plays a roster of heartfelt songs including “Godlovesugly” off the 2002 album of that name and “Dear Jake” from his 2005 album You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having. Sean Daley’s voice is clear and strong enough to carry through the open air and crowd.
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Crystal Castles goes on next. There are two stages right next to each other, so that the sets can start one after the other. Alice Glass has dyed her hair silver purple, and otherwise wears black. Producer Ethan Kath plays the keyboard with his whole body. Glass crowd-surfs during “Alice Practice.” I notice a couple dozen helium balloons along with skulls, Pokemons, and related toys on sticks, suspended above the crowd. This will go on all weekend. Bubbles and beach balls and weed smoke float into the air during the drop of “Celestica.” They end the set with their cover of Robert Smith’s “Not in Love.”
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I move with the crowd from the main stage area to the Beat Tent and Backbeat Tent — two stages that mostly showcase dubstep. Just between these two areas spins a Ferris wheel, which lights up at night like a beacon. Next to the Ferris wheel lies a huge expanse of mud that you have to walk through. Many people’s feet are covered in mud. Some have ditched their shoes altogether. One guy comes out of a Port-a-Potty in his bare feet.