My time spent at Counter point 

This past week, I went to the Counterpoint music festival held at Atlanta, Georgia from September 27-29.  And because I would be away missing class, I was told to blog about it.  Too excited to ask specifics, I was on my way.  Well, now I sit in front of my computer and ask myself what do I say about Counterpoint?  Am I allowed to mention all the drug use?  And how exactly do I connect this all back to projection and audio design?  So here goes for those of you who care to hear my story...

My time spent at Counterpoint was supposed to be of excesses; of sensory overload of good times.  It was supposed to be about experiencing the atmosphere created by the music, freedom, excitement, and possibilities.  And it was, and it was much more too.  You see, I ventured into Counterpoint with a car, three friends(Mauricio, Alex, Monica), camping material, a  red/black bag of my cool clothes and merchandise, food, beverages, illicit drugs, my camera and a bottle of water in hand.  My goal was to experience the moment and capture it.  

I got off of work and was home packed and bathed by four p.m.  I waited an hour for everyone else to shower and soon enough we were driving north to Atlanta.  Arriving at the city some six hours later.  We had no hotel to stay the night and the campgrounds(where the event would take place) would not open until 10 a.m. the next day.  So somehow we ended up hanging out at the Westin hotel...  And boys and girls, if you have never heard of the Westin Peachtree Plaza; well, it’s a 73 story behemoth presiding over the downtown area with the revolving Sun Dial Restaurant apex of it all.  We stepped onto the glass structured elevator overlooking the city and rode up to the Sun Dial.  It was so fun, we set the dial to repeat.  We were setting the precedent.  As we rode up and down we got our highs and lows just like we would do once inside the gates of Counterpoint.  

We woke up the next day having camped at a Super Walmart parking lot crammed inside of Alex’s car.  The 10 a.m. hour was nearing and Pokemon trainers from the far reaches of the Kanto region gathered at Viridian city to prove their merit against the best.  Except this was festive goer’s from the far reaches of the American continent gathered ‘round some rich dude’s private property to do our best at dub-stepping out to electronic music.  And so it finally begins.  We got inside, set up camp and soon enough Alex and me were interacting with the three cute neighbours, Jenny, Stephanie, Hannah and there was Chris with the cool owl tattoo across his chest.  We made wrist band from beads, messed with some hullahoops.  It was Thursday; we stepped into the gates by 3p.m.  Inside, there is a security gate to search for illicit stuff, there was the Point and the Counterpoint stage, the Beat and Backbeat venue.  The musical acts include Adventure Club and Big Gigantic Thursday.  Atmosphere, Crystal Castles, Avicii, and Bassnectar on Friday.  Zoogma, Big Boi, Skrillex and Pretty Lights on Saturday.  A Ferris wheel, a revolving ride of sorts, a silent disco, a Heineken, a Playstation, and a smoker’s venue.  Not to mention all the food, arts, porta-johns, and general mayhem created when nerd, bro, hippie, hipster, freaks, geeks, american, etc etc kind  of cultures are brought together on a rolling plot of fertile landscape.  My Thursday night went off without a hitch.  It was the calm before the storm.

I awoke Friday morning inside of Alex’s car to damp weather.  I had some drugs I wanted to take for the night.  The hot afternoon air was giving way to the cool evening breeze and I could not be more excited.  The night was young as we made our way to a giant board with the nights line-up.  Lets just say like Popeye, I took my spinach as I headed to the Counterpoint stage.  Atmosphere was rocking it hard.  The crowd was going into a frenzy as Atmosphere joked with his fans and shook us like a beehive when he spit into the mike.  A wave of energy was building.  Avicii was the next act I experienced.  There were bright lights of all colors pulsating from the stage as they intertwined with smoke.  I was deep inside the belly of the beast as sweaty bodies convulsed to the beat of the music.  Meanwhile, on stage, Avicii was building up the bass only to drop it down like a thunderous crash.  The crowd went Tsunami.  My energy was spent, I needed a recharge.  I wasn’t gonna let this feeling go away and so more spinach I took to no avail.  The night was still young but the storm had passed and now I was left to pick up the pieces.  I was rolling down hill.  And what came next was a feeling of despair.  My night wasn’t over but for all it was worth; it wasn’t much.  

Weary of my previous’s day feeling of emptiness, I went armed with my camera on this last day of the event.  I had lived it, now I wanted to capture it.  I walked around everywhere looking for something beautiful to capture.  I took pictures of the campgrounds, of the way everyone had creatively set up their tent.  I shot a single blade of grass, of the secret passageway to the river, of the stage where the artist performed, the unique art placed all around, of branches swaying in the wind, of the texture of the mud, of people chilling out atop the Counterpoint hill.  I took pictures of people expressing their individuality.  Everyone was free to be themselves.  And the promoters of the event facilitated this through the use of big projectors, loud sound systems and so much more.  This is only the beginning.