CounterPoint 2014 Review

The CounterPoint Music and Arts Festival, April 25-27, 2014, returned to a new home this year: Kingston Downs in Rome, GA. Home to the Atlanta Steeplechase for the past 20 years, the grounds were beautiful, well maintained and perfectly fit for a festival. The area was secluded, yet easy to access. A total of four stages were set up, and overall the festival felt rather compact and very easy to navigate. Yet, if necessary, the new location offers tons of room to grow and spread out for future years.

The surrounding towns and festival organizers worked well together to provide great signage leading to the festival and to keep the traffic flowing nicely every day. Day passes and parking were an option, and overall it was very easy to get in and out of the festival each day. Unfortunately, the Blank News team got stuck in heavy Interstate traffic Friday night and wasn’t able to get into the festival grounds by the time we finally arrived. But Friday and Saturday were enough to provide for a most outstanding festival experience.

While attendance was a bit scarce in the daytime, it quickly filled up in the evenings and the headlining shows were sure to be packed. The crowd skewed a bit younger (mid 20’s to 30’s), which is not unusual for festivals, especially considering that the CounterPoint line-up consisted in large of EDM artists. It was also a very diverse audience, yet it was clear that everyone shared the same passion: a great love for music, dancing and an overall great vibe.

Sunday experienced some thunderstorms in the mid- to late afternoon and the festival grounds had to be evacuated. Festival attendees were encouraged to return to their vehicles to stay safe from the lightning storm. The staff handled the situation very well and was very courteous and helpful. Updates were posted to the festival’s website and Facebook site. By 7:00 pm, everything was back up and running again. Fortunately, the bad weather did not result in a cancelation of shows, but the organizers of CounterPoint worked with the bands to rearrange schedules. Sets may have been shortened a bit, but at least everyone still got to play and fans got to enjoy their favorite artists.

Overall, I have to give proper respect to the staff. They were extremely helpful, communicative, well informed and kind. A friendly and knowledgeable staff are key to a great festival experience and I believe that it’s often underestimated. CounterPoint’s staff did an excellent job to help provide a seamless festival experience. I also want to mention that the festival’s sound engineers did a fantastic job. Although the four stages were located rather close to each other, one did not out-blast the other. Artists sounded great close up as well as far back. And finally, the fireworks at the end of each night’s headlining show were a nice touch. Of course there were also a few hick-ups here and there, as can be expected with any festival that’s only in its second year. Cell phone service was very spotty; daytime parking desperately needed more Porta-Potties (which especially became noticeable during the three-hour wait in the parking area during Sunday’s storms), and large screens next to the main stage would have been a nice bonus to allow fans in the back to also see what’s happening on stage close-up. But in sum, CounterPoint delivered a fantastic festival experience.

Here are the highlights from the CounterPoint weekend (in order of appearance):

Saturday:

1. Chris Bushnell: Despite an early set, which forces EDM artists to deliver a great show without the generally fantastic light show to support them, this young Orlando-native had the daytime crowd flocking to him in no time. Thanks to a high energy feel-good set, he brought out glitter-covered girls in tutus, bikinis and bunny ears to brave the hot sunshine Saturday afternoon.
2. Dan Croll: This British youngster is just boiling over with talent. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist released his first single “From Nowhere” in 2012 and released his first full album Sweet Disarray earlier this year. And I have to say: I’m in love. His sound, somewhere between folk and pop had everyone bouncing around.
3. Five Knives: This little gem from Nashville, TN always delivers a rocking show that’s somewhere between punk, metal, synth-pop and electronica. If you need to work out some serious aggressions, this is the way to go: dance, fist-pump or head-bang it out. Their sound was so unique and very different from anyone else at CounterPoint that it was refreshing to experience the change. No wonder these geniuses landed a record deal before ever even releasing their first album. They played older hits, such as “Messin’ With My Mind” and “Vive Le Roi,” but also a couple of new tracks, including “Criminal.”
4. Janelle Monáe: This teeny tiny little lady sure has a lot of energy and an incredible voice. The set, entirely in black and white, and tunes that reminded of old boom-bap, funk and jazz seemingly transformed you back to the 60’s. No wonder OutKast love and support her so much. I’ve heard others give Monáe’s live shows bad reviews in the past, but I have to wonder why. Monáe was simply amazing and delivered one of the most up-beat and fun sets all weekend. She even went crowd surfing toward the end. Plus she finished her set with a pillow fight on stage. It doesn’t get much better than that.
5. Kill Paris: I remember first hearing some Kill Paris tracks in my friend’s car a couple of years ago and immediately asking her to lend me the CD. What started as a fascination back then hasn’t stopped since. Kill Paris sure knows how to mix old favorite pop songs over new electronic beats and making a whole new generation fall in love with old classics. Well done, sir.
6. STS9: Have they ever disappointed, really? I would even go so far as to say that STS9 is the ultimate festival jam band. Their happy, chill, dancey tunes made everyone smile – even if you were freezing your butt off because the temperature dropped 30 degrees after sunset. What sweet kindness rolled up into the sound of music! So yes, although we broke away for a brief moment to check out another show, we quickly returned to STS9 because they were simply impossible to top.
7. Foster The People: Well, kind of awesome but also sort of weird. The three-piece played all of their past hits as well as new ones. And you know their sound is so very happy. But lead singer Mark Foster talked an awful lot about comparing (his) music to war. So maybe the word confusing is the best descriptor for this Saturday night headliner? Or maybe we just didn’t get what he was trying to communicate.
8. The Polish Ambassador: I’ve rarely ever seen a more entertaining electronica show. This nutty guy mixed old hip hop favorites like the Beastie Boys over out-of-space computer game beats. This show was in my top three this year, and to think I almost missed it hadn’t his set time changed! His recorded albums don’t do his live shows any justice. If you ever get the chance to see him live, GO!!!

Sunday:

1. Thievery Corporation: As soon as the storm passed and the gates opened, we were off to catch this rare treat. Although the set was shortened to only 45 minutes, every second of it was delightful. Thievery recently released a new album Saudade, which is rather down tempo. However, in order to get the patiently waiting crowd back into the festival spirit, they played mostly up-beat old favorites.
2. Phantogram: As soon as Thievery finished, Phantogram started playing at the neighboring stage. The band expressed gratitude for being able to play despite the earlier storms. Josh Carter brought the beats and lead singer Sarah Barthel brought the vibe and killer vocals, which is why every electronic rock fan loves this duo so much. The set was an indulgence from beginning to end.
3. Sleigh Bells: This experimental noise pop duo and their loud, harsh music were everyone’s chance to release some anger over the earlier storms. Whatever pent-up frustration you might have had from sitting in your car for three hours, it was easily released during this set that was somewhere between rock, pop and heavy metal.
4. OutKast: Not only was this OutKast’s reunion tour, the festival’s weekend also happened to fall on the 20^th anniversary of their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and it happened to be just outside of the duo’s home town Atlanta, GA. “It’s good to be back in the dirty dirty,” they said upon entering the stage. Needless to say, they delivered the show of a lifetime and performed every hit song they ever produced. Everyone was dancing and singing along. “I realize, I own more OutKast albums than any other group,” I overheard someone say. And yes, that pretty much sums up the energy, love, excitement and passion that was found at this incredible show. Janelle Monáe came out dancing to André 3000’s song “Hey Ya!” and Killer Mike made a cameo appearance for OutKast’s final song “The Whole World.” The fireworks at the end, only added to an already perfect experience. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get close due to the large number of fans, and photo passes were only granted to certain media. But I’m sure CounterPoint will eventually post them on their Facebook site, if you’re curious.