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.

“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.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)