Of all of Reno's festival events, Street Vibrations brings the most controversy. It's not that the annual motorcycle celebration is unsafe. Historically, it's much happier than the classic car celebration Hot August Nights. Its participants might look scary, but most are more likely to be corporate lawyers than Hell's Angels.
It's just that it is so loud.
Street Vibrations runs Wednesday through Sunday. There are motorcycles everywhere you look, from Reno (Virginia Street is blocked to traffic for a street party) to Carson City (the local Harley dealer sets up a beer garden and features rock bands in the afternoons while the Reno dealer does likewise and adds Dyno Drags), from Virginia City (a great party town with 400 parking spaces set aside for bikes this weekend) to Lake Tahoe (an irresistible ride). The main routes get the brunt of the traffic (more than 30,000 are expected to participate), but bikers are famous for checking out any and every road.
Ultimately, Street Vibrations is fun. There's no snobbishness, there's a great deal going on at the hubs beyond showing off vehicles, bands play everywhere, and the food from the street vendors is reasonable and basic (brats and burgers). Virginia Street is lined with interesting attractions, like tattoo parlors and biking regalia shops. Special performances pop up, like Monte Perlin's Globe-O-Cross Stunt Show and bike games several times daily.
There are undoubtedly bikers out there who enjoy Puccini and ride to the roar of Wagner, but the entertainment at Street Vibrations is more geared to the standard. It's rock 'n' roll all the time.
Other than the appearance of Ted Nugent at Silver Legacy and Queensryche at Grand Sierra (at 8 p.m. Saturday; $33, $49.50; grandsierraresort.com), this year's entertainment schedule is heavy with tribute bands. Some have admission charges, but most are free.
The Van Halen tribute band Hot for Teacher plays at 8 p.m. Friday, and Zepparella, dedicated to Led Zeppelin, does the same Saturday at the Nugget for $20 (800-648-1177). Harrah's Tahoe offers Skynnyn Lynnyrd at 7 p.m. Friday, and a Santana group called Caravanseri at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Eldorado is featuring a triple classic rock tribute in its cabaret at 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, pleasing fans of John Fogerty, Tom Petty and Bob Seger.
Other main attractions include: America's Finest Custom Bike Builders International, a free display and demonstration from 3 to 8 p.m. daily at the Silver Legacy; Tattoo Expo with around 100 vendors daily at the Reno Events Center; free entertainment at Roy Boy's Roadhouse, a temporary watering hole at Fourth and Virginia; the All Harley Competition Ride-In Show at Reno Events Center at 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and the Battle Born Derby Demons vs. the Lava City Roller Dolls roller derby at the River Rink Plaza at 7 p.m. Saturday ($10; bring lawn chairs).
Bikers are now called "motorcycle enthusiasts" in marketing circles, and most are not members of gangs. Street Vibrations participants have been found to be younger and more affluent than most Reno visitors (the event expects to bring more than $60 million into the local economy), and there are more women riders than would have ever been thought of a mere 10 years ago (a pink Harley pops up now and then). There are surprises everywhere in this event, overturning expectations and challenging perceptions.
Around the Silver Circle
A little calm in the midst of the din can be found at the Peppermill on Saturday evening as San Francisco cabaret artist Terese Genecco makes her Reno debut. In keeping with the weekend, she says, she "rode a motorcycle across the country. I love motorcycles." It was a Yamaha, but don't tell anybody.
Genecco is the winner of this year's Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Best Recording Award for her first album, "Drunk With Love." Five years ago, she entered the San Francisco Cabaret Competition and won the overall honor with her unique combination of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" and Sheldon Harnick's "Garbage."
"My show is like a nightclub show you'd find between the years 1958 and 1962 with a focus on the music of that period. It's a bogus nightclub act with a seven-piece band, like Louie Prima or Frances Faye, my big inspiration. I play piano, I play the drums, and I stand there and sing."
STREET VIBRATIONS
The celebration of motorcycles and motorcycle culture runs Wednesday through Saturday. Registration is at thea Atlantis, beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday and from 9 a.m. on succeeding days; walk-ups are permitted.
Terese Genecco: 8 p.m. Saturday at the Peppermill; $35; (775) 851-1638 or www.silverstarprod.com.
