Snowbombing 2013
Monday 1st to Saturday 6th April 2013Mayrhofen, Austria, Austria
from £309 for B&B
Daily capacity: 20,000
First act worthy of mention is the man who turned the biggest venue in town into a sweat pit of electrified hype. Even from far behind the DJ booth in a 5000 capacity underground tennis arena, Carl Cox managed to exude his larger-than-life charisma out into the crowd, translating into the big bouncy party techno he's known and loved for. My SLR lens struggled to de-mistify long enough to get a decent shot, and it was hard to keep still with his driving baselines edging my feet into stomp mode!
Snowbombing always does well to spread the music throughout the resort, and a mountain-top set by the krankbrothers made for some extremely blissful hangover recovery one afternoon. (Top tip no1: always start the day with a pork roll from Hans the Butcher, sorts you right out.) Imagine jumping off the chair lift to be greeted by mellow deep house beats, bouncing lazily over a gathering of skiers and boarders, each armed with a bottle of something and big grin while bopping to tunes. A scattering of deck chairs and beanbags welcome your collapse for a spot of sun bathing. Behind you is a bar, a stage, and an impressive igloo which houses ice carvings and mood lit tables for the intimate Arctic Discos. Brilliant blue skies, bright sunshine and 19 degree warmth made for perfect conditions to enjoy the music and absorb views of crisp jagged mountain edges. Any hangover you have is soon blown away by fresh air, altitude and of course hair of the dog always helps. (Top tip no2: ask for a Gluhwein and Amaretto at the ice bar, cockle-warming heaven in a cup!)
Of course the warm sunshine meant boarding in tee-shirts all week, which means coming home with a decent tan talk about best of both worlds! (Top tip no3: stock up on sun block for the week, you'll need it). One such time for us to really appreciate the weather was on Thursday lunchtime, when we hit the Vans Park. The decking was packed with Bombers chowing down on some of the finest home made pizza in town, and we were soon sipping on summer fruit punch from sugar-rimmed glasses. But of course the food and weather becomes just an added bonus when Sir Norman Jay is your afternoon's entertainment.
Making his grand entrance on top of the Good Times double decker bus, Norman soon got the park partying to old school funk and Motown. To be grooving in the sun surrounded by snow-capped peaks amongst your nearest and dearest and several hundred other happy Bombers was just incredible. They really were good times, which got even better when Norman was joined up top by Carl Cox! After some big hug exchanges between the two, Carl proceeded to stay and enjoy the party. It was a nice surprise and Carl was his usual happy self, greeting revelers and extending the positivity.
From slopes to town, the official street party theme for this year was Mardi Gras. Things were already in full swing by the time we arrived around 5pm. 1000's of like-minded Bombers had descended the mountains to gather centre stage, alive and buzzing with carnival colours and movement. (Top tip no4: never take anything you might lose to the street party you will lose it.) My musical highlight was the Dub Pistols. Donning sharp suits and a truck load of attitude, the band stuck two fingers up at being genre pigeon-holed by fusing everything from ska to soul, punk to hip hop to reggae all played out on a platform of big and pacey break beats. As a whole package they were excellent. Combining lyrical rap with vocals, the band served up track after track of wholesome dubby funk.
The party went on until 9pm, during which time we were graced by comical duo Austrian Filter Haus. Decked out in traditional Tyrolean attire, the pair served up a culmination of quirky folk music, accordions and tubas mixed over mad electronica. The act (whos music they say was stolen by Julio Bashmore who claimed he "maked it himself") were highly amusing and the perfect tonic to get eager Bombers in carnival mode! A predictably outrageous performance by The Cuban Brothers followed suit, one of whom we had the pleasure of meeting in the crowd a bit later on. Even Hans the Butcher made an appearance, tossing out chorizo sausages from the stage into an adoring audience.
This is another thing I love about Snowbombing, the fact it is that intimate you can bump into your favourite acts when you least expect. In 2010 I'd caught a chair lift with Norman Cook, the year after I met Tom from The Enemy in top-of-town venue the Schlussel. This year we crossed paths with Kasabian, Dave Beer, and Pat Sharp an obvious highlight! (Top tip no5: always have your camera with you!) Of course because of the nature of this event, a lot of the artists take the opportunity to get involved during the day too. Dave Beer is a veteran boarder of 17 years, and Alex Niggemann boarded every day he was there - even after his mid-week set at the Schlussel, where his deep and house and tech tore the roof off and left us feeling a little wobbly the next day to say the least. Alex is great to watch and always looks like he's enjoying the party just as much, if not more than his audience, succumbing to his beats from behind the booth.
Speaking of Kasabian, the forest party on the last night smashed the living daylights out of any sense of fatigue that may have built up through the week. Even rain on the last and only day didn't matter to us, and the headliners delivered a set that had the forest jumping up and down and grinning from ear-to-ear. Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan, however I knew they'd put on a great show and couldn't help but get involved and sing along to every one of their hits including 'Underdog', 'Clubfoot', 'Re-Wired' and 'Shoot The Runner'. Tom was his usual mischievous self, inviting people to turn to the next person and ask politely if they could climb on top of their shoulders in exchange for things that might be in their pockets. Soon the skyline was filled with doubled-up giants swaying to the "laaaa la laaaaa's" of 'L.S.F'.
There is something quite special about partying in a forest to an awesome sound system and stage bursting with light and lasers, behind you fairy lights twinkle from log cabin bars while the fresh alpine air and a sense of massive satisfaction from an epic week fills the night sky. We didn't need much more to spur us on for the next party at the Bruck and Stadl, the fact we were flying home the next day eliminated all excuses to stop partying. (Top tip no6: pack BEFORE you head out on last night). Needless to say, getting picked up for your flight two hours after you've gone to bed is an landed and would drop everything for a chance to be back in the mountains... Until next year Snowbombing!
review by: Carrie Tang
photos by: Carrie Tang