Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for Insomniac
Unseasonably warm weather and good vibes made Insomniac’s Countdown NYE a memorable journey into the year 2018. As usual, production value was stellar, with the NOS Events Center looking fab draped in neon-lit lanterns and shimmering lights. Countdown’s three monumental stages had more than 1,100 lights, over 40 lasers, 24 confetti cannons, over 1,100 video tiles and nearly 30 co2 jets. In the spirit of counting down, check out the 5 most wonderful things about this year’s Countdown NYE:
The Holy Mountain for Insomniac
5. STAGE SETUP
It seems Insomniac has figured out the ideal space maximizing setup, with the slightly off kilter placement of the Continuum Stage and relocated bathrooms avoiding the dreaded bottleneck present in past NOS events. Even the main stage, Resolution, was manageable at peak times. Splitting sets was a breeze if you so desired and thanks to the nice weather you didn’t have to brace yourself for a cold blast when doing so.
Jake West for Insomniac
4. VENDOR VILLAGE & FOOD TRUCKS
Who doesn’t love a good rave shopping spree? Countdown provided that and more, located in the main drag of the festival between the Infinity and Continuum stages. Hoodies, hats, vests or vapes – the choice was yours, and yes we did buy ANOTHER fashion lollipop from The Pop Icon because we manage to forget ours each festival. No harm in having a backup! Hungry attendees were met with a wide variety of food choices, from getting down on some ramen to a quick protein boost chicken skewer. There were also fresh fruit smoothies conveniently located just steps from the Infinity dancefloor.
aLIVE Coverage for Insomniac
3. THE PEOPLE
High fives, dance circles and just overall jubilation overflowed at this end of year celebration. Maybe it was the lineup, maybe it was the anticipation of leaving 2017 in the dust, either way everyone seemed genuinely excited to be a part of the Countdown NYE family including even the booth workers and security.
Jake West for Insomniac
2. CATS N’ BOOTS IN THE ROTUNDA
The rotunda was the sleeper hit of the festival, providing attendees with blasting heat, a circular bar with fast service but most importantly, one lit soundtrack that didn’t quit. With Countdown’s overall lineup providing some of the best bass in the business, the unexpected sound of the rotunda sucked attendees in to the deeper, darker vibe of L.A. record label Cats n’ Boots. We’re willing to bet some unsuspecting souls mistakenly spent their whole night here, vibing in the shadow of the DJ booth. Not the worst thing that could happen!
Jake West for Insomniac
1. THE ACTUAL COUNTDOWNS AT COUNTDOWN
The whole weekend boiled down to this moment – midnight, December 31. Tough decisions were made but no matter what set you found yourself at, you were blasted with one high quality intro to 2018. Deadmau5 wowed the throngs of humans with his Rick and Morty skit, Yellow Claw customized their banger “Do You Like Bass” to honor the celebration and Borgore made sure anyone at his packed set would be rocking a neck brace in the new year.
If the vibe and music at Countdown is any indication of how 2018 is going to go, we’re here for it. Happy New Year!