SnowGlobe vibrates with techno flare
By Kathryn Reed
Meghan Trainor’s song “All About that Bass” could be the anthem for SnowGlobe. It really is all about the bass. And that’s just what fans of this three-day music festival in South Lake Tahoe want.
It was a raucous eruption of DJ induced music by Disclosure that brought screams from the crowd at the main stage on Dec. 29. The throngs of people bounced to the beat as the techno sound reverberated across what is normally the community ball field next to Lake Tahoe Community College.
Dressed in all sorts of headware – from beaded masks to ski beanies to SpiritHoods to lighted get-ups – the rave is a place for self-expression.
With lights illuminating their jackets, friends Tori Kobayashi of Sacramento and Lina Kudinar of Fremont made the trek east for their first SnowGlobe experience. It was all about the lineup of artists that brought them to Tahoe. Disclosure and Porter Robinson topped Kobayashi’s list of people to hear. For Kudinar, the big draw on Monday night was Thomas Jack.
Emancipator Ensemble has people bouncing to the sound on Dec. 29 at SnowGlobe. Photo Copyright 2014 Carolyn E. Wright
“The vibe here is better than other places. There’s more chill here,” Dylan Bivens, who graduated from Whittell High in 2008 and now lives in Reno, told Lake Tahoe News.
He has a three-day pass for his third SnowGlobe.
At the Sierra tent Bro Safari was a big draw as people spilled out into the walkway. Not being able to see the stage is no big deal – the sound is blasting forth.
Exaggerated icicles hang from the roof like something that could have been from “Alice in Wonderland”, changing color as the strobe lights lighted the three-sided tent.
SnowGlobe is considered a boutique festival, but is still able to bring in some of the biggest names in the business. Zedd won a Grammy this year for best dance recording. He will be on the main stage New Year’s Eve. He’s ringing in the New Year at a gig in Las Vegas, while Flume does the honors at SnowGlobe.
Now in its fourth year, SnowGlobe is a multi-million dollar event when it comes to the economic impact on the community.
“I heard from a number of lodging properties and the association that if it were not for SnowGlobe again this year, they would have few bookings due to the lack of snow,” City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News.
Chad Donnelly, the promoter of the three-day event, is expecting crowds of 15,000 each night.
Traffic was a nightmare on both ends of town hours after the concert had started at 2pm Monday – with vehicles backed up on Echo Summit, and Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail near Stateline cluttered.
For those in the neighborhoods, it was a mixed night of disturbances because of the booming bass.
“About 8pm the SnowGlobe bass got extra strong for a few minutes and Charter cable went goofy. I had it on a TV cable music jazz station with my sound bar bass higher than usual, so we were co-existing pretty well but for the occasional thought that there was a semi-truck going down our street,” Diana Hamilton, who lives near LTCC, told Lake Tahoe News.
Another nearby resident told LTN, “This year’s first night at 6-ish is like last year’s last night at 10. At times it can be like living in a duplex with the world’s worst neighbor and other times not so bad.”
The city is monitoring complaints and ensuring the bass does not exceed the decibel level outlined in the three-year contract with Donnelly. (This is the first year of the contract.)
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Notes:
• SnowGlobe is Dec. 30 2:30-11pm, and Dec. 31 2:30pm-Jan. 1 at 1:30am.
• The city’s complaint hot line is 530.542.6001.
• There will be fireworks each night.
Is THAT what caused cable to get weird? Around 8 it became unwatchable, even way out in the county. Seems odd that there would be a connection.
Have fun, just be careful out there.
My cable was unwatchable last night, it was so messed up, still had internet though :)
Bass was pretty loud early on, but decreased about midway through the night.
Traffic was slow on Pioneer Trail for hours, late afternoon into early evening.
I like the fireworks at the end, cause it signals the end of the concert :)
It was North Korea that knocked out cable!!!!!!!!!!
If its too loud you are too old. TURN IT UP!!!
NimROD. It’s about showing some respect to the locals living around the event. You might want to look up the meaning. Turning up that ‘noise’ won’t make it sound better. Luckily I live far enough away from it.
I’m 21 years old and I think the music at snowglobe SUCKS. Watching all these idiots snorting bath salts and listening to computerized music makes me ashamed for my generation.
Snowgoobers sacked my Charter Cable signal? How does THAT happen?
Mr Mustache,GO HOME.
Wonder how many went to Barton last night?
My cable went out last night just about the same time they turned up the noise. I was thinking they might have pointed the speakers toward the cable dishes across from Safeway or pulled too much power.
I hope the bass-holes bring their blankets tonight to go with their passe-fires.
4:40pm Tuesday the 30th, we reside a 1/2 mile from this event off of Black Bart , there is no excuse for the sound operators to have the sub-woofers “so blatantly over the top loud”!
Dress warm tonight SnowGlobers. Could get down to zero or thereabouts tonight. The roads will be really slick to walk or drive on
and it will be windy. Have fun with the music you came to listen to and the REALLY “cool vibe” of another SnowGlobe!!! Enjoy the music, the drugs, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and the fireworks.OLS
@KATHY I am home. Born and raised. Why do I have a feeling it’s YOU who reside in the bay or sacramento? Typical.
Mr Mustache , I was born and raised here to, I still live here , Maybe you need to go to church and bow down and Pray for Happiness ,You are so young, I hope you find friends soon, Your only young once,Live Life and enjoy it,I am not judging you ,I know 21 Is young ,but God enjoy it ,I wish you a Happy New Year ,but thats going to be loud to,
If SnowGlobe gets big enough, it could be renamed “Freezing Man”!
Mr. Mustache,
Fortunately for you, it sounds like you were raised with a finer appreciation for music. Carry on.
Clever, Toni Hall.
mr mustache:
I couldn’t agree with you more. This computerized NOISE sucks and takes ZERO talent. I have to think most of the drugged out morons won’t even remember it. You are a member of one of the worst generations to come along but it sounds like you have some sage to you. Keep it up.
You guys sound like you have no life ,but to be on the news complaining all the time, Get a life ,your to old and washed up,You live here and never have anything nice to say, This paper is a complaint department , You KIT Carson , you sound like you belong in the frontier days,Your to old I bet and never was young your self ,stuck in the mud I say, Its not your fault ,Its your personality that sticks ,and always with the rest of you that have nothing better but to gripe about things ,YOU DONT SOUND HAPPY AT ALL, So sad ,but old age does that to a person,Go ahead aND delete I would not want to be around or listen to NEGATIVE ALL THE TIME, Happy New year I said HAPPY ,HOW ABOUT YOU ARE YOU REALLY Happy?
Kathy, you are very defensive about the style of music you like. Why are you attacking people because they dont like it, you seem to be taking it as a personnal attack on yourself. its ok not to like a certain style of music, many young people dont like EDM, if everyone liked the same thing how boring our lives would be. RELAX and enjoy your music and dont worry if others dont like it, you know you like it and that should really be enough for you.
Kathy,
You should have paid better attention in English and Grammar. You can’t construct a sentence and spell properly. Until then, I can’t take anything you say seriously. Enjoy your tech-no music. I will continue to enjoy my real music by real singers and instrument players.
An older generation bashing the music of a younger generation. Absolutely nothing original about that! Here is a small sample of what an older generation had to say about one of musics biggest stars EVER.
“Elvis can’t sing, can’t play the guitar, and can’t dance. Yet two thousand idiots per show yelp every time he opens his mouth, plucks a guitar string, or shakes his pelvis like any striptease babe in town.”
‘The Sun had sent reporter Mac Reynolds to view Elvis’s show in Spokane, Washington, the previous evening, and Vancouver Presley fans woke up on the morning of Elvis’s appearance in their town to see the following headline on the front page of the Sun: “Daughter Wants to See Elvis?—‘Kick Her in the Teeth!’”’
@biggerpicture kind of a poor example as Elvis really COULDNT sing and just stole most of his sound from black musicians.
@kathy should have gone to English class instead of raving. You’d be able to converse with the rest of society. I literally can’t even respond as I have no clue what you said. The rest of society doesn’t use “text talk” to communicate. (Omg lol wtf!?)
Pink Floyd, the Zep, Steve miller, Hendrix, doobies, etc. Am I so wrong?!
And Kathy. Good luck ever finding employment with your amazing command of the English language. “Can I super size that order please Kathy?
I work for the cable company. SnowGlobe had nothing to do with the issues we had the other night. Power surges from the headend in Reno. Long Live SnowGlobe!!!
And to the obvious old timer loco locals…please just fade or go away. ‘Real music with real instruments’. Kit Carson, you are actually embarrassing yourself. You sound most comfortable with the tired boom-chicka sound of blues or classic rock huh? Our 17 year old son started to get into electronic music to add background to his video projects. By osmosis I began to assimilate and listen to all the styles and subgenres of techno. It is a complex and colorful amalgam of advanced arrangements. Not being afraid to try something new, I have actually amassed a decent collection of electronic and like to groove when skiing or working out. I am thrilled that this genre continues to morph and evolve. Techno is the music of choice worldwide (I have partied in over 35 different countries) and I actually went to a bluegrass/techno concert that was truly mind melting.
I always love it when someone says, “If it is too loud, you are too old”. Basic ignorance. I always want to say, ” No, Sweetie. When you are old you have worse hearing and you like it louder. By listening to you music so loud, all you are doing is making those times come much earlier”. Enjoy.
@tahoebluewire oh, so YOU were the old weird guy “grooving” to skrillex. I’m sure your son thinks it’s really “hip” that you listen to his techno music.
I love the debate. Takes me back to the days of my Okie father and I was grooving to the Chambers Brothers, Jimi Hendrix and others. Am I too old? I think not. Do I like techno, not really. Do you and I have the right to enjoy the music we want and not be condemned for it? Absolutely! I have researched the artists performing at Snow Globe and I have to agree the most of the music being created probably is not live. Videos show the artist coordinating their light show in advance to the music that has been pre-programed on their computer. A lot of time and creativity is invested in creating a spectacle for the fans to enjoy. This can be compared to the lip syncing still being done by many other popular live “musical” artists today. Does it matter really? It is still performance art whether you are a singer/dancer or a computer techno/pop whizz kid with a killer light show?
On with the SHOW!
Never forget that with 15,000 participants per night, every bass boom translates into massive dollars for businesses and ultimately the employees who work in this town.
that’s right, world. 15,000 that by and large are not ‘born and raised here’, and likely have the discretionary cash to dump in the south shore economy
There you go again Mustache, Always judging people, I have a job,And you need to get a long little Doggy ,Elvis is Dead, It sounds like you are to,If you do not understand what you read, I wonder if you passed PRESCHOOL,,You always seem to be picking on people,You sound so pathetic,I wonder if your from TWILIGHT ZONE.
@kathy “to” and “too”. “Your” and “you’re”. Learn them and we can talk. If not I’ll assume you have a job and not a career. There is a difference.
I have a Career , You are Pathetic, No more said to you , You are a waste of my time,and life,Adios.
Mr mustache and Kathy, By all the unappointed and self designated powers vested in me, please go to your respective corners for a “cooling off period”.
If you cannot talk civily you will be penalized and be forced to become paid subscribers to Lake Tahoe News.
Happy New Year, OLS (Just havin’ some fun!)
OLS, I’ve been a paid (minimally, I confess) subscriber since the days of yore. And I don’t have a mustache (nor want one) but years ago I dated a girl named Kathy. Someone should have suggested a cooling off period back then. Would’ve changed my entire life.