Avicii tops off Halloween Homecoming weekend at Pic-a-Chic Farms

Taxis sped through the back roads of Bloomington to and from Pic-a-Chic Farms as rays of green lasers shined overhead through the woods.

Air traffic was rerouted in order to avoid interfering with the $30,000 worth of lights. The only jet that was cleared was Avicii’s.

The headlining act landed in Bloomington on Saturday just before 4 p.m. and was gone by 10 p.m.

“The people, the pregame, the lights, the bass, the entire atmosphere was perfect,” freshman John Meier said.

Jared Lyons, concert coordinator and sophomore, said money wasn’t a limiting factor when planning the concert — he and his partner, sophomore Brandon Silverstein, wanted to show the town something they’d never seen before.

“We put on more than just a concert,” Lyons said. “Aside from having a name like Avicii, we had dancers, lasers and lights to create an entire atmosphere, and we did it all in one month.”

Lyons said for 30 straight days he was up at 8 a.m., calling organizers and making his girlfriend angry.

However, the end product was well worth it. About 5,500 Bounce Music Festival ticket holders were given what some called the show of a lifetime.

People said they could touch the lights.

Dancer Nora Mutlaq said she and her team Electro Kittenz are used to dancing in the underground world of electronic music.

But when she took the stage Saturday, Mutlaq said the spectacle of lights and thousands of raging faces in the packed field was a trip. In straight go-go gear, it was an adrenaline rush.

“We’re taught to be conscious of every movement we make, and right before I went on, I was definitely nervous,” Mutlaq said. “But the energy was peaked, and when I looked out, everyone was pumping and moshing, and I just danced the way I felt.”

The Swedish DJ and producer had his iconic smile as he seemed to direct the crowd with his hands. House-enthused electronica guided the sea of glowing faces, transforming the brisk late October field into a dance floor of warm bodies.

“You can’t go to a party without having Avicii played,” Meier said. “So to see it all live was wild. The crowd was insane.”

Meier said before the show things were hostile. People who bought bus transportation tickets to the farm were leapfrogging over each other to get into the buses from McNutt Residence Center. Some had drawn-back fists, while others were smothered by the pushing crowd into the sides of the four buses.

But in the moment of the show, Meier said all of the tension disappeared.

“The trip was just part of the experience,” Meier said. “No one cared once there.”

Hand in the air, Avicii mouthed, “Call it what you want to call it. I’m a fucking alcoholic,” causing the crowd to roar either in concurrence or mere hype for the producer’s involvement in the mix.

No one showed a glimpse of resentment despite the cold and earlier bus fiasco, and when the first three beats of “Levels” hit the speakers, it induced an even higher
“level” of excitement.

“You can’t argue with a field full of people raging,” Meier said. “It was set up perfectly, and everybody was partying.”

It was Hoosier Homecoming and Halloween. Avicii was said to be the cherry on top.

“It was a pure wild night, and that’s why it was so much fun,” Meier said. “The weekend was a perfect representation of the IU student. Our energy never stops.”